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November 13, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2006
Birthrate born of optimism
By Naomi Maruo
While visiting Sweden in late August, I was invited to the home of then Deputy Prime Minister Bosse Ringholm in an old, verdant residential area outside Stockholm. Ringholm and his wife were proud of their residence, which they said was more than a century old. It impressed me as a simple but neat residence....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2006
Study of nuclear issue demands caution
By Yoshio Okawara
North Korea's underground nuclear test of Oct. 9, which has drawn a flurry of sharp reactions in the international community, has also brought the perennially simmering question of Japan's nuclear option to the surface again.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 5, 2006
Conspiracy of complacency costs countless lives on the roads
By Roger Pulvers
Ihad a great aunt who drove a car right up until she was in her late 80s. On one occasion her daughter, my cousin, was a passenger in the car, and I heard the following from her. "Mom drove right through a red light," she told me, "but I decided not to mention it to her. Then she ran another red light....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2006
Affront to Korean identity
By Christopher Lingle
BANGKOK -- By distorting the historical record between Korea and China, Beijing has created a crisis that has united the ruling party in Seoul and its sometimes disloyal opposition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2006
Overcoming the finiteness of our world
By Jean-paul Fitoussi
PARIS -- No economy is a closed, autonomous universe, governed by rules independent from law, morals and politics. Indeed, the most interesting economic questions generally border neighboring disciplines. But nowhere is this clearer than in the interaction between economic processes and the natural environment....
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2006
Curbing the Iranian empire
By David Howell
LONDON -- The preemptive strike doctrine -- that is, hitting the other party quickly when it looks as though it is going to hit you -- is as old as mankind itself. History is strewed with accounts of daring raids to catch the threatening enemy unprepared, from the wars of Greek mythology to modern times....
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2006
The antitheocracy of Iran
By Mehdi Khalaji
WASHINGTON -- Iran's theocratic regime appears more confident than ever. Its standoff with the West over its nuclear program, together with its ties to Syria and its growing influence in Lebanon and Iraq, suggest the emergence of a strong regional power. But while Western analysts and Iran's neighbors...
COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2006
Even nuclear talk detracts
By Keizo Nabeshima
Some influential Japanese politicians have called for debate on whether the nation should adopt nuclear arms, causing repercussions at home and abroad. Since 1967, Japan has upheld the three-point policy of not possessing, making or allowing the entry of nuclear arms, while remaining under the U.S. nuclear...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 30, 2006
Erosions of a shaky moral high ground
By Hiroaki Sato
NEW YORK -- To choose the most bewildering action of George W. Bush since he became U.S. president in 2001 is tough. Is it starting a war without cause? Is it creating a dubious court and prosecuting a man for mass killings while committing even greater mass killings? Or is it concocting legislation...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2006
International role of NPOs
By Kazuo Ogoura
All over the world, culture is being pushed to the sidelines. I am not referring here to commercialized, globalized culture produced purely for entertainment. By "culture," I mean the provision of culture as a public good, such as through foreign-language education, intellectual exchange or groundbreaking...
COMMENTARY
Oct 27, 2006
Crisis boosts U.S.-China ties
By Frank Ching
HONG KONG -- North Korea's nuclear test Oct. 9 may have created a crisis atmosphere in the world but, at the same time, it has greatly improved China's relations with the United States as the two countries work closely together to put pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear-arms program.
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2006
No good exit strategy from Iraq for U.S.
By Gwynne Dyer
LONDON -- Landlubbers usually get maritime analogies wrong. "Changing course" is not cowardice; it's the sensible thing to do if the ship is headed for the rocks. "Cutting" (the anchor cable) "and running" (before the wind) is what you do when the storm is raging, the anchor is dragging, and the ship...
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Tokyo ranked world’s richest city by GDP, with Osaka-Kobe also rated highly
Tokyo has a gross domestic product of $2.55 trillion, just ahead of New York’s $2.49 trillion and Greater Los Angeles’ $1.62 trillion, according to CEOWorld’s global wealth index.
Tokyo looks to keep ‘monster parents’ at bay with new protocols
New guidelines are addressing struggles by teachers to deal with the burden of parents who make irrational complaints that go beyond what is considered socially acceptable, often referred to as "monster parents," which is overwhelming their workload.
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.
Japan lawmakers eye firm response to Chinese envoy's threat to behead PM
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Friday.
Tatsuya Nakadai: A masterful leading man and postwar icon
Tatsuya Nakadai had the look of a leading man in his youth, but his large and searching eyes suggested the pain and loneliness of an old soul.
As Japan’s female leader rises, can she cross sumo’s sacred line?
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
Florist Nicolai Bergmann flourishes outside the box
Florist Nicolai Bergmann shops for fresh flowers at the Ota flower market in Tokyo on Friday.
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.

Podcast

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

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
By Yukana Inoue

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