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September 12, 2025

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COMMENTARY

Feb 3, 2002

Judge Beijing by its deeds

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- At a time of growing U.S.-Indian strategic engagement, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's unusually conciliatory tone during his visit to India last week reflected his country's desire to decelerate that process by emphasizing areas of potential Sino-Indian cooperation. China is suddenly signaling...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2002

Tackling global terrorism

By Ramesh Thakur

It is clear now that Afghanistan had been taken hostage by the murderous cabal of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. As the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance liberated the country from the grip of the terrorists, it was interesting to witness the depth of the Afghan people's hatred for the foreign fighters who...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2002

Ten years of Japan-Ukraine friendship

By Yuri Kostenko

Japan recognized the independence of Ukraine on Dec. 28, 1991 and established diplomatic relations with it a month later, on Jan. 28, 1992.

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2002

Afghanistan faces danger of donor fatigue

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- International pledges worth more than $3 billion from donors at the Tokyo conference called last month to discuss the reconstruction of Afghanistan are unprecedented. Never before has Afghanistan been the beneficiary of such a substantial largesse.

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2002

U.S. should help Philippines

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- Here they go again! Pundits who six months ago could not find Manila (much less Mindanao) on a map are now busily proclaiming the Philippines to be "the next Afghanistan" -- except, of course, those who are busy proclaiming it "the next Vietnam."

COMMENTARY

Feb 1, 2002

Truth and consequences

By Gregory Clark

The forced resignation of Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka says a lot about Japan's sloppy politics and its emotional inability to focus on the rights and wrongs of a dispute.

COMMENTARY

Jan 31, 2002

Toughest task yet: rebuilding Afghanistan's civil society

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- Two decades of war have exacted a horrific toll on Afghanistan. As the dust settles after the latest conflagration, the meaning of "nation building" is becoming clear -- and it's a mind-boggling assignment.

COMMENTARY

Jan 30, 2002

Chinese, when convenient

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- In an unusual move, China in recent weeks twice denied visa applications by a group of South Korean lawmakers. Relations between China and South Korea have been good in recent years, so it is strange that Korean legislators who wish to visit China should be denied the chance to do so.

COMMENTARY

Jan 30, 2002

Japanese-British links after 100 years

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed on Jan. 30, 1902. It was a significant and unique step for both countries. Britain had not previously concluded alliances of this nature in an area so distant from its shores; it was Japan's first alliance with a European power and confirmed its status...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 29, 2002

Encouraging households to spend more

By Pascal Nguyen and Soichi Nakamura

After much hesitation, Junichiro Koizumi's government has finally agreed to work on a second supplementary budget. More than ever, Japan's intrepid prime minister appears to be caught in the crossfire between the necessity to rationalize public spending and the obligation to shore up a flagging economy....

COMMENTARY

Jan 29, 2002

Work-sharing accord nears

By Kiroku Hanai

Amid the prolonged recession, Japanese officials are giving serious consideration to a work-sharing system that has been common in Europe for a long time. Last month, government, labor and management officials held a top-level meeting to discuss the issue under orders from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi....

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 28, 2002

Commission a model of global cooperation

By Ramesh Thakur

Responding to the call by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in September 1999, then-Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy set up an independent, 12-member International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty to try to bridge the divide between international intervention and national sovereignty....

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.

The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight

By Mai Yoshikawa

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