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COMMENTARY / World

Jun 12, 2005

Checking the threat that could be China

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- When U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld addressed the Shangri-la Security Dialogue in Singapore last weekend, most of the attention in the meeting and later in the press focused on his candid comments about China's military strategy, spending and modernization.

COMMENTARY

Jun 11, 2005

Slots, cops, and deception

By Ronald Morse

LAS VEGAS -- The Japanese have been kicking around the idea of building American-style casinos in Japan for four years now. The Parliament Committee on Casinos with 100 Diet members has been gathering information on casinos, and Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has been a major proponent of the idea. In...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 11, 2005

Indian growth must co-opt the bypassed

By Ifzal Ali

MANILA -- India is a paradox. The successes of a select group of sectors -- from information technology to industr and services -- are creating an urban elite showcased as the builders of a modern and vibrant country on the cusp of joining the major economic powers of the world.

COMMENTARY

Jun 11, 2005

Poor losers fan Filipino disenchantment

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- To characterize the public mood in the Philippines as depressed is no exaggeration. According to recent surveys, pessimism about economic prospects is on the rise, and a majority of Filipinos believe their quality of life has deteriorated in the past year. A recent Asian Development Bank survey...

COMMENTARY

Jun 11, 2005

Hilariously ineffective charm offensive

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Watch out, the Chinese oil-saboteurs may be coming. Hold on to your derricks! Western newspapers are reporting that the giant China National Offshore Oil Corp. may make a bid to acquire the U.S. oil group Unocal. If the effort is successful (note: the U.S. oil giant Chevron may have a...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 9, 2005

Hardest steps to harmony

By George Sioris

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The recent turmoil in Sino-Japanese relations has caused anxiety in Thailand. People here would clearly prefer a calmer atmosphere between the two giant powers of East Asia, as their future is linked to both and they stand to lose if there is a collision. Many believe that the...

COMMENTARY

Jun 8, 2005

EU muddles forth with market intact

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The proposed European Constitution was decisively rejected by French voters on May 29 and by the Dutch on June 1. The constitution has been ratified by other European states including Germany, which did not hold a referendum, and by Spain, which did. In theory, the referendums in France and...

COMMENTARY

Jun 7, 2005

Kudos here, detention there

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Journalism free from government constraint just isn't for everybody. It certainly wasn't for Richard M. Nixon while he was president. Unrestrained investigative journalism of the Watergate variety ultimately pushed Congress in the direction of potential impeachment and shoved Nixon onto...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 6, 2005

Catalyst for global stability

By Kazuo Ogoura

Asia's rapid economic growth, vast population and strategic geographical location are among the factors suggesting that the region should play a more prominent role in the international community. To cite but one example of Asia's influence on global issues, it is predicted that the rapid growth of energy...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 6, 2005

China showing a knack for taking risks

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- A China that is willing to take ideological and political risks is emerging not only in affairs involving Hong Kong and Taiwan but also in the increasingly troubled relations with Tokyo and Washington.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 6, 2005

Getting Japan off their back

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- Japanese whalers are coming and there appears no way of stopping them. Worse, their harpoons are about to slaughter more of the ocean mammals than ever.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Jun 5, 2005

Denial of existential needs

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- The blackout that hit Moscow late last month wasn't any better or worse than others that have struck big cities recently, say New York in August 2003. It is the same old thing over and over again -- people stuck in subways and elevators, hospitals canceling lifesaving surgeries, crowds grimly...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.

What comes after 100?

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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