Charles Tannock - The Japan Times

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Charles Tannock

For Charles Tannock's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 9, 2022

Xi Jinping and his radioactive friend from Russia

As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for an unprecedented third term, the growing desperation of Russian President Vladimir Putin should serve as a cautionary tale.

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 4, 2022

Russia’s likely invasion route

Portraying NATO as an aggressive threat has been useful propaganda for the Kremlin, even if what Russia mostly fears is NATO's defensive capabilities.

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 27, 2018

Poisoning demonstrates Brexit's threat to the security of Britain

Brexiteers must realize a 'Britain alone' is a 'Britain vulnerable.'

COMMENTARY / World

May 26, 2015

Putting Maldives back on the democratic path

Putting the Maldives back on the path toward democracy requires that the world begin to pay attention.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 11, 2014

Bangladesh at a crossroads

In the course of just a few weeks, Bangladesh's fragile democracy — which had made substantial social and economic progress in recent years — has deteriorated dramatically.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 26, 2010

Dark side of a Western defense of freedom

BRUSSELS — The price of freedom, it is said, is eternal vigilance. But that price can take the form of morally squalid decisions in which innocent people bear the brunt of the cost of freedom's defense.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 23, 2009

Stabilizing Africa's Horn

STRASBOURG, France — After almost two decades as a failed state torn by civil war, perhaps the world should begin to admit that Somalia — as it is currently constructed — is beyond repair.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 15, 2009

Bangladeshi voters say no to Islamist politics

DHAKA — As fears about the Islamization of politics in the Muslim world grow, Bangladesh, with the world's fourth-largest Muslim population (126 million), has moved dramatically in the opposite direction. Bangladesh is usually heard about only when cyclones and tsunami ravage its low coastline, but the country's relatively anonymous international stature belies its strategic importance.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 17, 2008

Anti-Chavez axis emerging in Latin America

BRUSSELS — The rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages who had been held for years by FARC guerrillas marks more than a turning point in Colombia's long war against its drug-running, Marxist guerrillas. It also confirms the emergence of a new troika of Latin American leaders — Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon — who are set on finishing off Latin America's destabilizing drug cartels and guerrilla movements, as well as isolating the region's demagogic upstart, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

COMMENTARY / World

May 20, 2008

Rescuing the revolution from Yushchenko

BRUSSELS — There is no more depressing sight in politics than a leader who, desperate to cling to power, ruins his country in the process. By his recent actions, President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine now looks like he has joined the long list of rulers who have sacrificed their country's future simply to prolong their misrule.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 23, 2008

Back to the 'great game' in Kazakhstan

BRUSSELS — Those who oppose Western rapprochement with Kazakhstan cite the country's lack of political and human rights. But, while Kazakhstan has not gone down the "color revolution" route to democracy that other post-Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia have followed, its timidity about reform does not justify isolation.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 24, 2007

Russia and the Kosovo card

TBILISI — Look before you leap is as sound a principle in foreign policy as it is in life. Yet, once again, the Bush administration is preparing to leap into the unknown. Even though lack of foresight is universally viewed as a leading cause of its Iraq debacle, the United States (with British backing probable) is now preparing to recognize Kosovo's independence unilaterally — irrespective of the consequences for Europe and the world.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 5, 2006

Iraq's Christians at risk of annihilation

LONDON -- The world is consumed by fears that Iraq is degenerating into a civil war between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. But in this looming war of all against all, it is Iraq's small community of Assyrian Christians that is at risk of annihilation.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 29, 2006

Uribe raises hope for Colombia's future

PRAGUE -- A leftwing tide has supposedly been sweeping Latin America. But President Alvaro Uribe's re-election in Colombia may not only have begun the process of reversing that tide; it has perhaps also shown conservative and liberal parties across the continent a way forward -- one that may soon be tested in Mexico's presidential vote on July 2.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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