For Richard Weitz's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
China and Russia should welcome Seoul's plan to deploy an advanced missile-defense system because it alleviates the need for South Korea or Japan to pursue other defense options, which could include the development of nuclear weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has struck banking and nuclear deals with Iran and scored diplomatic successes with North Korea and Pakistan, all but negating the Western strategy of of economic sanctions and international isolation to compel the Kremlin to change its behavior.
The Nobel Committee's decision to honor the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons with this year's Peace Prize should compel world leaders to increase their support for it.
While the likelihood of a nuclear war has fallen sharply since the end of the Cold War, nuclear deterrence has become more valuable for Russia and others.
To break the deadlock over nuclear disarmament, the U.S. must transform negotiations with Russia into a trilateral framework that includes China.
Regarding the Dec. 2 editorial "Abominable remark over Futenma": Perhaps the comment of the now former Okinawa Defense Bureau chief, Satoshi Tanaka, should be taken with a translation of "screwed over" rather than "raped". In which case his comment would suggest that the Japanese ...
The decision of China's sovereign wealth fund to buy shares of four of the country's biggest banks is a warning signal. The move to prop up the plummeting value of those institutions is intended to boost confidence; instead, it has highlighted the many unknowns ...
The Sept. 18 editorial "Slow transparency of universities" states that Japanese universities should teach students "how to evaluate information and make difficult, reasoned decisions." However, when it comes to nonvocational, nontechnical academic programs — what we call humanities in the West — I don't think ...
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the two main opposition parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, on Tuesday struck a deal, making it certain that the Diet will pass by Aug. 26 a bill to float government bonds needed for the fiscal ...
Railways are an important part of the infrastructure that was heavily damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Although major railway lines of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), such as the Tohoku Shinkansen Line and the Tohoku Line, have resumed operations, local ...
