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May 15, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
May 28, 2009
Words alone won't end torture
By Cesar Chelala
"We are going to smash your hands to pulp like the Chileans did to Victor Jara." Those were the words of the torturers in a Uruguayan prison spoken to my friend Miguel Angel Estrella, a pianist from Argentina. They were referring to the fate of the imprisoned Chilean singer and guitarist Victor Jara,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2009
Incompetence marks India's new ruling caste
By Appu Soman
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The largest election in history, involving more than 700 million voters, has resulted in the victory of India's ruling alliance, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress. The verdict disproved gloomy predictions of a hung Parliament and the further strengthening...
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2009
What the Tigers taught al-Qaida
By Mia Bloom
WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — It took a pitched two-hour gun battle with Sri Lankan special forces. Then a rocket launched into his armor-plated ambulance. But on May 18, death finally came to Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Tamil Tigers separatist group.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2009
Regional challenges await Indian government
By Harsh V. Pant
LONDON — With India facing a regional security milieu in which all states on its periphery, barring Bhutan, are engulfed by crises of various kinds and magnitude, the new government has little time to waste in the realm of foreign policy.
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2009
Cross-strait gap narrows
By Gregory Clark
Two things became apparent during a recent visit to China. One was the vitality of the economy; the critics who fussed over China's recent export downturn overlooked Beijing's ability to shift to a domestic demand-oriented economy. The other was the importance of Taiwan in Beijing's thinking.
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009
Nuremberg set a valid precedent for trials of war-crime suspects in Iraq's destruction
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK — The Nuremberg Principles, a set of guidelines established after World War II to try Nazi Party members, were developed to determine what constitutes a war crime. The principles can also be applied today when considering the conditions that led to the Iraq war and, in the process, to the...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009
Whither G7, G8 or G20?
By Kazuo Ogoura
Current worldwide economic and financial difficulties have triggered a debate over the need to strengthen the Group of 20, a forum of 20 major "economic" powers, including newly emerging countries such as China, India or Brazil, as well as some additional Western European countries.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 25, 2009
Paying Aso back with praise
By Richie Hawtin
Ranking officials at the Foreign Ministry appear more preoccupied with presenting Prime Minister Taro Aso as dexterous at diplomacy than promoting the national interest. One official has confided that it is now their turn to return the favor given to them when Aso was foreign minister.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2009
Iran rules the hierarchy of Israeli emotions
By Dominique Moisi
PARIS — "It is reasonable to believe in miracles," David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, once said. Today's Israelis do not seem to believe in miracles. Instead, more than ever before, they are obsessed by nightmares, foremost among them, the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
COMMENTARY
May 24, 2009
An offer Pyongyang can't refuse
By Hisahiko Okazaki
Past U.S.-North Korea negotiations on nuclear issues can be roughly classified into two types.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 24, 2009
Was Japan's first Western screen star shameful to his homeland?
By Roger Pulvers
The Japanese have a term for certain types of movies made outside the country featuring Japanese actors who play Japanese characters. It is kokujoku eiga. Eiga means "movies," and kokujoku, derived from the words for "country" and "insult," means "disgrace" or "denigration." In other words, kokujoku...
COMMENTARY
May 23, 2009
U.S. fighting the wrong war
By Brahma Chellaney
The deeper Pakistan has dug itself into a jihadist dungeon over the past decade and more, the more the United States has gotten involved in that country, including in propping up its tottering economy through generous bilateral and international aid, macro-managing Pakistani politics and pampering the...
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

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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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