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COMMENTARY

Mar 27, 2006

No more tax money to U.S.

By Kiroku Hanai

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has played down Japanese public sentiment against the U.S. military presence, believing that most people approve of it in general but object when their own community is affected.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Mar 26, 2006

One nation's icon carries a torch of conscience for all

By Roger Pulvers

On March 6, the Polish film and theater director Andrzej Wajda celebrated his 80th birthday. In fact, all of Poland celebrated it with him. I was in the country that week, and I have never before seen such total media interest in a cultural figure. Wajda is certainly Poland's "living national treasure."...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 25, 2006

Ukraine's watershed election

By Yuliya Tymoshenko

KIEV -- Ukraine's politics are not those of the steppe. Our voters cannot stroll in one direction during one poll, and in the opposite direction the next time they vote, without worrying about falling over the edge. Ukrainians are people of the watershed: We live on either one side or the other of a...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2006

Responding to new trends in Japanese studies abroad

By Kazuo Ogoura

The world is changing rapidly under the influence of globalization. At the same time, the political, economic and even academic environment surrounding Japanese studies outside Japan has changed a great deal. Traditional motives for studying Japan, such as curiosity in the exotic, the perception of Japan...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 22, 2006

War and poverty take a harsh toll on Iraqi children

By Amal Kashf Al-Ghitta

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's children have suffered more than just successive wars and economic sanctions. The loss of parents and family resources has boosted child labor, homelessness and inclinations toward violence and rebellion.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 20, 2006

Colonization obstructs peace

By Jimmy Carter

PLAINS, Georgia -- For more than a quarter century, Israeli policy has been in conflict with that of the United States and the international community. Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory has obstructed a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land, regardless of whether Palestinians had...

COMMENTARY

Mar 20, 2006

Iwakuni vote poses a risk

By Keizo Nabeshima

In a referendum March 12, a majority of residents in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, voted no on a government plan to host additional 57 carrier-based warplanes at the U.S. Marine Corps air station there. Under a plan for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, the planes are to be transferred from the...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 19, 2006

Africa's clock ticking on bird flu virus

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- The spread of avian flu to Africa and Europe, although expected, is unwelcome news. In the last few weeks the disease has reached several states in northern Nigeria and Niger. Together with other countries in West Africa, they are on the bird migratory route from Central Asia and the Middle...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Mar 19, 2006

Stirring time spent among rebellious free spirits

By Roger Pulvers

I have just returned from a remarkable trip to Dresden, Berlin, Warsaw and Krakow, a trip made all the more remarkable for three commemorative events that took place in Poland while I was there.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 18, 2006

A test for Thai democracy

By Thitinan Pongsudhirak

SINGAPORE -- One year after he was re-elected in a landslide, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been forced to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap election. Although his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party commands a 75 percent majority in the assembly, Thaksin is embattled.

COMMENTARY

Mar 16, 2006

How effective is local rule?

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- An elected representative cannot consult all constituents on every issue of importance and, in theory, at least should vote according to his own conscience. If electors are dissatisfied, they can turn him or her out at the next general election.

COMMENTARY

Mar 15, 2006

Flawed system aided dictator's atrocities

By David Howell

LONDON -- The death of former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic brings back bitter memories. Here was a man shaped in the mold of a 20th century European dictator, obsessed by dreams of racial superiority, unconcerned about the methods his subordinates might use to fulfill his will, oblivious to the...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.

If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

By Alex K.T. Martin

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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