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COMMENTARY

Mar 2, 2009

Putting Asia first puts Clinton in driver's seat

By Tom Plate

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The U.S. secretary of state's recent four-stop swing through Asia led to some accusations of symbolic superficiality. Perhaps — but there can be more real meaning in acts of diplomatic symbolism than what first meets the eye.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 1, 2009

Pope should reflect on his universal mission

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG — Is the pope Catholic! This, of course, is a fabled American rhetorical expression, usually used sarcastically and meaning, how could you be so stupid as to doubt something?

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Mar 1, 2009

What 'prohibition' has wrought

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK — When I read the news that the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy "blasted the U.S.-led drug war as a failure that is pushing Latin American societies to the breaking point" (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 12), I thought: Someone is finally talking sense. I have long regarded the...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Mar 1, 2009

Obama please note: Those who fail to 'master the past' are guilty, too

By Roger Pulvers

In "Guilt About the Past," based on guest lectures that Bernhard Schlink gave at Oxford University last year, the University of Berlin law professor describes the "long shadow" cast by the perpetrators of war crimes on their descendants.

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2009

Little reason for Indians to claim 'Slumdog'

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

CHENNAI, India — Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" may have walked away with eight of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for, including those for Best Picture and Best Director, but the euphoria it has created in India is clearly misplaced.

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2009

Econ lessons from Japan

By Gregory Clark

Searching the reasons for Japan's "lost decade" — the deflation and stunted growth said to have plagued Japan ever since the collapse of the "bubble economy" in the early 1990s — has long been popular among U.S. and British commentators seeking an answer to the West's current economic problems.

COMMENTARY

Feb 26, 2009

Liberal Democratic parties: up and down?

By Gwynne Dyer

Big crises like the current recession change a lot of things that once seemed to be a permanent part of the landscape. In Japan the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed the country for all but nine months of the past half-century, is about to go over a cliff.

COMMENTARY

Feb 26, 2009

Barack Obama's Taliban itch

By Brahma Chellaney

How gun-toting Islamists are expanding their hold on western Pakistan has been laid bare by Islamabad's U.S.-condoned peace agreement effectively ceding the once-pristine Swat Valley to the Taliban to set up a mini-state barely 160 km from the Pakistani capital. The deal came even as Pakistani President...

COMMENTARY

Feb 26, 2009

Clinton gets off to a good start in China

By Frank Ching

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to China — the most important leg of her trip to Asia, which included Japan, Indonesia and South Korea — went off well, in part because she had indicated publicly ahead of time that differences over human rights would not be allowed to inhibit progress...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 25, 2009

Lots of blame to go around for 'losing' Turkey

By Dominique Moisi

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — "Who lost Turkey?" That question, often raised in the past, has been heating up in the aftermath of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's emotional outburst during the recent World Economic Forum 2009 in Davos, when he abruptly left a panel he was sharing with Israeli President Shimon...

COMMENTARY

Feb 25, 2009

Building an Asian safety net

By Michael Richardson

Asian finance ministers have agreed to build a regional safety net to help countries withstand currency weakness and avoid a financial meltdown. However, they appear to be making haste slowly when the deepening global recession demands decisive action.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 24, 2009

Communists looking better lately

The Japanese Communist Party, although still a minor factor in either house of the Diet, is gaining popularity among voters as its membership grows again and as an increasing number of people watch the Web sites of party chairman Kazuo Shii. This worries other political parties, since a general election...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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

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