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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Jan 26, 2004

Foreseeing the future -- and ignoring it

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy has recently reminded us why the U.S. forces decided not to go all the way to Baghdad during the Persian Gulf War. Addressing the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, he pointed out that it was none other than the first President Bush and...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 25, 2004

Ties that bound Seoul's foreign minister

By John Barry Kotch

SEOUL -- Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan's resignation Jan. 15 grabbed headlines in Seoul with South Korean-American relations at the heart of it. Although his successor and career diplomat, Ban Ki Moon, has promised to clean house, this won't be easy.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 25, 2004

Wise choice for the judgment of Hussein

By Toshio Kuroda

Last May U.S. President George W. Bush declared the Iraq war over, although the resistance movement showed no signs of abating. Even the arrest of former President Saddam Hussein in December has brought no fundamental change in the situation.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Jan 25, 2004

Surprise guests inspire unholy thoughts

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- It started with a rectangular jellyfish floating toward the lower right-hand corner of my computer screen. The jellyfish carried a logo, Kodak Easy Share, and was of a nauseating white-yellow-red design. The jellyfish had been there for quite a while, distracting me from students' papers and...

COMMENTARY

Jan 24, 2004

Tolerance in the name of God

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- So many crimes have sadly been committed in the name of religion that many humanists reject religion while Marxists regard religion as the opium of the people. Humanists and Marxists who condemn religion fail to see the good that can flow from sincerely held religious beliefs, but the perversion...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 23, 2004

Reliving the romance of nation-building

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- So you think your one-hour-plus commute into Tokyo each morning is agony! Pity passengers on Australia's newest train trip -- two days and two nights. And paying $12,000 for the privilege.

COMMENTARY

Jan 22, 2004

Keep Indo-Pakistani talks in public eye

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- The emerging Indo-Pakistani peace process is set to face its first political test in the next two months as India conducts national elections, creating an opportunity for hardliners to question the aims set out at this month's meeting between Indian Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and...

COMMENTARY

Jan 21, 2004

Washington-Seoul: tough times ahead?

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- Is the U.S.-South Korea relationship in for some tough times? The answer is "yes," but not because of the recent forced resignation of "pro-American" Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan (whose wise council and steady, mature leadership will be sorely missed).

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 19, 2004

Argument without contempt

By George Sioris

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Without entering the notorious, unending controversy surrounding Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, I would like to examine peripheral issues arising from it and to question the inability of some campaigners to respect the views of others. While I fully understand the fury of many observers...

COMMENTARY

Jan 19, 2004

Okinawans await assurance of lighter military presence

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- During a visit to Okinawa, which has long borne a disproportionate share of the U.S. military presence in Japan, I was peppered with questions about the impact of planned redeployments. Okinawans have high hopes that the moves will lighten their burden. I could not reassure them.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 19, 2004

Foreign affairs top U.S. political debate

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- For the first time since the divisive Vietnam era, foreign policy and national security will most likely dominate the U.S. presidential election campaign this year, especially since the line between issues abroad and politics at home has become more blurred than ever.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 19, 2004

S. Korea's recipe for economic disaster

By Christopher Lingle

COLOMBO -- A gathering of South Korea's leading policymakers and economists have agreed that Seoul should apply fiscal-stimulus measures through the first half of 2004. It is a great tragedy that this conclusion reflects the best judgments of mainstream economic orthodoxy, because the simple fact is,...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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