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August 17, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2008
Why Israel is engaging Syria
By Ramzy Baroud
On May 15, U.S. President George W. Bush gave a speech before the Israeli parliament, decrying "radicals and terrorists." His archaic references to the "promised land" and "chosen people" certainly appealed to the equally outdated and exclusivist views of many, although not all Israeli Knesset members,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2008
Reaping harvests of dire hunger worldwide
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
NEW YORK — Lack of food is rarely the reason people go hungry. Even now, there is enough food in the world, with a bumper harvest this year, but more people cannot afford to buy the food they need. Addressing this growing crisis is the aim of the three-day Global Conference on Food Security in Rome...
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2008
Energy-cost issue boils over
By David Howell
Is the green party over? Is the ferocious rise in energy costs worldwide, driven by the soaring price of oil, undermining all the enthusiasm for saving the planet in the longer term via cutting carbon emissions and penalizing all forms of fossil-fuel consumption?
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2008
Cluster bomb ban is a good start
By Gwynne Dyer
The British armed forces clung to their cluster bombs like a baby to its rattle, and some suspected that they were trying to sabotage the treaty on behalf of their American friends. But Prime Minister Gordon Brown overruled them, in the end, and Britain was among the hundred countries that agreed to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2008
Lectures from steak-lovers hard to stomach
By Chris Patten
London — I feel a little sorry for U.S. President George W. Bush. Whatever his other many failings, he has a pretty good record on aid to poor countries, particularly in health care. True to form, he recently announced a big increase in U.S. food aid good for the hungry poor and good for American farmers....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2008
Shaking Japan to the very core
By Michael Richardson
Singapore — As aftershocks from China's devastating earthquake continue to cause havoc, atomic safety experts from around the world are preparing to meet in Japan this month to scrutinize seismic standards at nuclear plants. Because they contain lethal sources of radiation, the plants are designed...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2008
The EU's Kyoto shell game
By Valdis Dombrovskis
With each passing year, the impending crisis of global warming looms closer and closer. Time is running out for preventive action to be taken. The European Union's "20-20-20" mantra aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent relative to their level in 1990 and to increase the share of renewable...
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2008
Macho move would make Burma's plight even worse
By Ramesh Thakur
Their paranoia and mistrust of the outside world are such that Burma's generals have been criminally tardy in permitting emergency humanitarian supplies and personnel to come into the country. More than 100,000 may have been killed and over 2 million displaced and made homeless by the cyclone.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2008
Racist youths are on a rampage in Russia
By Susanne Scholl
In Russia, if you have dark hair and a slightly swarthy complexion, you are likely to be in danger. Sadly, Russia's leaders have tolerated, if not encouraged, fear of foreigners and assaults on those whose appearance differs from the average Russian.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2008
'Civilized' talk contends with politics, culture
By Tzvetan Todorov
PARIS — What does it mean to be "civilized"? Obviously, being highly educated, wearing a tie, eating with a fork or cutting one's nails weekly is not enough.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 1, 2008
Is aging Japan really ready for all the non-Japanese carers it needs?
By Roger Pulvers
One of the cliches most bandied about in the Japanese business world is yareba dekiru. An English equivalent might be the title of Jamaican reggae star Jimmy Cliff's great 1972 hit, "You Can Get It If You Really Want."
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2008
Prospects for partnership in the Hindu Kush
By Ashley Bommer
KHYBER PASS, Pakistan — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai never had a shared border strategy. But at Michni Post, the highest point of the Khyber Pass, which overlooks the thousands of trucks and buses buzzing through Afghanistan into Pakistan under the shadows...
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
As Japan marks 80 years since WWII surrender, Ishiba expresses remorse
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lays a flower during the memorial service at the Nippon Budokan on Friday.
Trump shifts stance on road to Ukraine peace after meeting Putin in Alaska
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on next to Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a news conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
War must never be repeated, says WWII guerrilla commander
Former teacher Satoshi Ito speaks during an interview in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, in June. Ito underwent training for guerrilla warfare at a secret school to prepare for a possible battle in mainland Japan during World War II.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
Samansa bets on commuter cinema
Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
Recent deaths of Japanese boxers underline importance of emergency action plans
The Japan Boxing Commission's safety protocols have been thrust into the spotlight following the deaths of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, who suffered fatal brain injuries while fighting on the same card on Aug. 2.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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