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April 28, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2000
When political expression leads to jail
By Richard Humphries
Bo Kyi speaks English in a soft voice. He learned it the hard way, unable to see his teacher. They were political prisoners in adjoining cells in Myanmar's Thayawaddy Prison . His teacher whispered to him while the guards were away. Then Bo Kyi used a piece of brick to write out new words on his cell...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2000
A losing fight against smoking
By Kiroku Hanai
Amid global moves to tighten controls on smoking, the Health and Welfare Ministry, nongovernnmental organizations and other groups will hold various events in Japan to mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
COMMENTARY
May 29, 2000
Old prejudices burn bright in war memoir
By Hiroaki Sato
NEW YORK -- A new book on Iwo Jima demystifies the flag, said Richard Bernstein, reviewing it for The New York Times.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000
Whose Constitution is it?
By Hisahiko Okazaki
At a recent meeting of the Diet's Constitutional Review Council, Americans who participated in the drafting of the Japanese Constitution 54 years ago during the Occupation gave testimony. Their statements provided valuable clues to an understanding of the circum- stances that led up to the establishment...
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000
A brief reprieve for the nuclear club
By Brahma Chellaney
NEW DELHI -- The five original nuclear powers have won a much-needed reprieve at the first review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty since its indefinite extension five years ago. That reprieve, however, could serve as the lull before the storm.
COMMENTARY
May 29, 2000
Mori does Japan no favors
By Hugh Cortazzi
LONDON -- When I read the brief report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun about Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's remarks at the meeting of the Shinto Association of Diet Members, I was surprised not to see any reports of reactions to his reported statement. I wondered whether he had been correctly quoted and whether...
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2000
The U.N.'s impossible task
By Ramesh Thakur
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone has drawn criticism from many commentators. While much of this may be justified, there is a danger of missing the forest for the trees. The specifics of what went wrong and what could have been done better and how are important. However, the more critical...
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2000
U.S. bogged down in Kosovo quagmire
By Doug Bandow
The Clinton administration has ensnared the United States in the irrelevant turmoil of the Balkans. After NATO's nearly yearlong occupation of Kosovo, the General Accounting Office in Washington warns that "many difficult political, social and other issues remain unresolved" in the "volatile" territory....
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2000
Politicians don't create jobs, people do
By Christopher Lingle
As Japan's leaders do battle against the ravages of deflation and recessionary conditions that grip their economy, unemployment rates are at a postwar high. Government data indicate the unemployment rate set a record high for the second consecutive month in March and now stands at 4.9 percent.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2000
Wars drag on in an interconnected world
By Gwynne Dyer
LONDON -- Two wars should be ending this month, for the Tamil separatists have all but won in Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia has already won in the Horn of Africa. Neither result is wonderful, but -- at least in the past -- outcomes as decisive as these used to end the fighting and let ordinary people get on...
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2000
From Asian style to global style
By Philippe Ries
"If mankind eradicates the habitat of the giant panda, then the panda ceases to exist in the wild. The IMF package is a mandate to eradicate the existing habitat of Asia's corporates." -- Russel Napier, a strategist at Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2000
No time for anachronisms
By Minoru Tada
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's controversial remark that Japan is "a divine nation centering on the Emperor" reminded me of a group of people I saw at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan's war dead. As a veteran who survived the battle of Iwo Jima, I occasionally visit the shrine with...
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Japan to resist Trump efforts to form trade bloc against China
As Japan gears up for the trade talks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also seeking to cushion the blow that the U.S. tariffs may have on the domestic economy.
As many as nine dead after driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd
An ambulance is parked at the site of the Lapu Lapu day festival, where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver on Saturday.
Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
How to bring up bad news in Japanese
As in other cultures, when someone shares bad news in Japanese it’s best to respond with supportive words.
‘Wildcat Dome’ challenges Japan's historical narratives
On the surface, "Wildcat Dome" tells a personal story of damaged children — now adults — bound together by tragedy. Underneath, there’s a constant undercurrent of political consequence, invisible and pervasive like radioactive particles.
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe’s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo

Podcast

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

Longform

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

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