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November 16, 2025

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COMMENTARY

Apr 29, 2010

Media vultures circle P.M.

By Gregory Clark

In Brazil they tell the story of the small-town TV crime reporter who gained fame and scoops by arranging crimes himself. He could then rush out and interview the victims well before rivals. But eventually his scoops caught up with him and he ended up in jail.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 29, 2010

Reining in Europe's debtor nations

By Hans-Werner Sinn

MUNICH — The euro-zone countries have now agreed to provide some 80 billion euro in cheap loans to Greece over the next three years, and hope that the International Monetary Fund will provide another 15 billion euro at the least. But the interest rate that Greece must pay buyers of its government bonds...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 28, 2010

Why China has got it right on the renminbi

By Barry Eichengreen

BERKELEY — After a period of high tension between the United States and China, culminating earlier this month in rumblings of an all-out trade war, it is now evident that a change in Chinese exchange-rate policy is coming. China is finally prepared to let the renminbi resume its slow but steady upward...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 28, 2010

Ethics of citizenship tests

By Jan-Werner Mueller

PRINCETON, N.J. — Can citizenship really be tested? An increasing number of countries — especially, but not only, in Europe — seem to think so.

COMMENTARY

Apr 28, 2010

U.K. overdoses on change

By David Howell

British politics has been turned upside down by recent events. The traditional two-party battle between Labour and Conservatives has been thrown into confusion by a big surge in support for a third party, the Liberal Democrats. The likely result could be a "hung parliament," with the Conservatives being...

COMMENTARY

Apr 27, 2010

New sanctions will only bolster hardliners

By Cesar Chelala

If past experience with authoritarian regimes is any guide, new sanctions on Iran will not succeed in curbing its nuclear power development and will, instead, strengthen the hardliners in government. Much more can be gained by improving the relationship between U.S. and Iranian citizens.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 27, 2010

Hatoyama's fate tied to Futenma

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama chose to use his 10 minutes with President Obama at a working dinner during the recent nuclear summit trying in vain to bend the president's ear on the increasingly vexing question of the relocation of U.S. military base facilities in Japan. He did this rather...

COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE

Apr 26, 2010

Transforming the judiciary

An epoch-making event in the Japanese judiciary system took place Jan. 27, when, for the first time in Japanese legal history, the prosecution's decision not to indict a suspect was reversed by votes of a panel composed of citizens.

COMMENTARY

Apr 26, 2010

China's true supporters versus the hackers

By Tom Plate

Caring about China can be hard to do. Many Chinese, for starters, resent it when others express concern, viewing it as an intrusion, especially when the other party disagrees with something China has done.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Apr 25, 2010

Book makes real those whose lives led them to become homeless

By Roger Pulvers

When I was living in Kyoto in the late 1960s, I would often see homeless people along the banks of the Kamo River. They generally lived under the bridges in structures made of cardboard and blue sheeting. Having seen many homeless people in my native Los Angeles, I was particularly struck by the neatness...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Apr 25, 2010

Results of carnal prohibition are no surprise

By Hiroaki Sato

When the Vatican "scandal" erupted, I happened to be reading Kumagusu Minakata's writings on homosexuality — to be exact, his writings as selected, with comments, by Taruho Inagaki. I was doing so because Inagaki (1900-1977) won Japan's literary "grand prize" for his book, "The Aesthetic of the Love...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 24, 2010

The limits of China's global charm offensive

By Jonathan Holslag

BRUSSELS — To many people in the West, China seems to have gone from a country that "keeps a cool head and maintains a low profile," in Deng Xiaoping's formulation, to one that loves a good international bust-up. Putting an Australian mining executive behind bars for 10 years, squeezing out Google,...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.

A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo

By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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