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COMMENTARY

Jun 24, 2002

There's a spoiler in China's dynamo economy

By Kiroku Hanai

It is becoming a fad among the Japanese media to praise China as a new economic giant. Some reports say the fast-growing neighbor poses a serious threat to Japan's economy; others say China is emerging as "the factory of the world."

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 24, 2002

Remote Okinawan location handicaps research university

By Philip G. Altbach

BOSTON -- The Japanese government has announced plans for a new research university to be built from scratch in Okinawa Prefecture, the island chain located 2.5 hours flying time southwest of Tokyo and known mainly for its tropical weather and U.S. military bases.

COMMENTARY

Jun 24, 2002

Lawyers see gold in tooth-filling lawsuits

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- The American judicial system abounds with scare stories and strike suits. Leave it to the trial lawyers to blame almost every human ailment on someone with a deep pocket. The latest cause celebre is tooth fillings.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 24, 2002

Breeze of de-escalation blows in Kashmir

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

MADRAS, India -- Maybe the world is breathing easier now. There will probably not be a nuclear conflict between the two long warring Asian rivals, India and Pakistan. There are distinct signs of de-escalation between their armies, which have stood in a defiant eye-to-eye confrontation for several months....

COMMENTARY

Jun 23, 2002

Support for reshuffle builds

By Kenzo Uchida

The regular Diet session has been extended for 42 days through July 31. On Wednesday, when the extension was approved, the Lower House voted unanimously to accept a request from the Tokyo District Court to issue an arrest warrant for legislator Muneo Suzuki. And later the same day, public prosecutors...

COMMENTARY

Jun 23, 2002

Pakistan's nuclear safety faces scrutiny

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- The arrest of the alleged "dirty bomber" in the United States last month once again is a reminder of the dangers posed by unchecked dissemination of nuclear knowledge, especially when it is dropped into the hands of militant individuals. That Jose Padilla, alias Abdullah al-Muhajir, would...

COMMENTARY

Jun 23, 2002

Time for redesigning tacky U.S. images

By TED RALL

WASHINGTON -- This will, for obvious reasons, be the biggest Fourth of July ever. People who tally such things predict record numbers of flag displays, cookouts and youthful fingers blown off by cherry bombs. Expressions of gung-ho patriotic sentimentality are selling briskly, from Royal Doulton firefighter...

COMMENTARY

Jun 22, 2002

Media: bulwark of democracy

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The British prime minister's chief of communications has publicly accepted that the overuse of "spin" in government has led to cynicism and that the emphasis should now be on policy and delivery. Most British observers would agree. But government ministers, who have spent much of their life...

COMMENTARY

Jun 20, 2002

Asian caveat on U.S. moves

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- The United States continues to make the war against terrorism its top priority. To keep the world focused on the battle, it is focusing on Southeast Asia, opening what some call "a second front" in the region. This agenda makes sense in Washington, but its single-minded focus could undermine...

COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE

Jun 20, 2002

Politics of homeland security

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- The specter of terrorism that has hung over America since Sept. 11 has created an enormous public demand for security. Homeland security has become a massive governmental program, a political issue, a growth industry, a rationale for all sorts of governmental spending and constitutional...

COMMENTARY

Jun 19, 2002

Key South Asia concern being ignored

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- Senior American envoys like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage deserve praise for their seemingly successful efforts to move India and Pakistan back from the brink of war once again. As history has brutally demonstrated, even a conventional armed...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 18, 2002

Australia tightens net against illegal aliens

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- Now that the monsoon season is over, the huddled masses of Asia's worst conflict areas, notably Afghanistan and Iraq, are again looking abroad for refuge. As in past years, they see a big, empty island on the map and steer southeast. Unfortunately for them, the folks already here have other...

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

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

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

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