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COMMENTARY

May 3, 2004

EU constitution no shoo-in

By Andre Fontaine

PARIS -- Now 78, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing managed at the end of last year to achieve two major successes: He was elected to the Academie Francaise, which for more than three centuries has been France's most prestigious intellectual institution; and the Convention of the Future...

COMMENTARY / World

May 2, 2004

Terrorists taken out inspire replacements

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- The good news is that the United States and its allies have captured or killed 3,500 to 4,000 terrorists since the hijacked airliner assaults on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. The bad news is that the terrorists are being replaced as fast as they are eliminated, especially in...

COMMENTARY

May 2, 2004

Taiwan Strait status quo grows riskier

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- The Shanghai Communique, signed by U.S. President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, asserted: "The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government...

COMMENTARY

May 1, 2004

Shelve NYSE derivative plan

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Deliberately injecting a new dollop of uncertainty into the already-shaky international financial system has got to be the white-collar dysfunctional equivalent of dropping a pair of terrorism car bombs on the steps of some nation's central bank.

COMMENTARY / World

May 1, 2004

China lacks sincerity in seeking apologies

By Christopher Lingle

GUATEMALA CITY -- It is a constant refrain of officials in Beijing that no other country should interfere with its internal affairs or even pass comment on events that occur inside China. However, this insistence on "noninterference" only works one way since Chinese officials often venture opinions on...

COMMENTARY

Apr 30, 2004

Tunnel vision on Japan trade

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The recent conclusion of the bilateral trade agreement between Japan and Mexico was heralded as opening the way to other bilateral trade agreements that would substitute for a successful round in World Trade Organization negotiations. This view is mistaken.

COMMENTARY

Apr 29, 2004

British fault line with Bush

By David Howell

LONDON -- Commentators on both sides of the Atlantic have been raising the possibility of a split between Britain and America on the handling of Middle Eastern affairs.

COMMENTARY

Apr 29, 2004

Asian values shade Japan hostage crisis

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- It's true that Asian values may not be all they used to be. But they still pop up now and again with the capacity to dazzle and astonish. It's possible to argue, in fact, that if Asian values remain a strong enough force over time, they could even mitigate emerging Asian nationalism. Two...

COMMENTARY

Apr 28, 2004

Polls to change face of Asia

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- Winston Churchill once said "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried." Recent elections in South Korea and Taiwan have already demonstrated that irony. This year contains a number of presidential and parliamentary elections that promise to...

COMMENTARY

Apr 27, 2004

Don't credit PM for recovery

By Gregory Clark

The Japanese economy is recovering. Why? Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi can hardly take the credit.

COMMENTARY

Apr 26, 2004

Democracy, Filipino style

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- Before I moved to Manila two years ago, a Filipino parliamentarian told me about election-related violence in his country. At that time I could hardly believe my ears. Now I have come to understand that ballot snatching, intimidation of voters and even assassinations are a sad reality in many...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Apr 26, 2004

Commercialization of science comes at a cost

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- The 18th-century American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin declined to claim a patent on the stove he invented. His reason was simple: If whatever he devised made people a little more comfortable during the winter, he'd be content.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.

A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan

By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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