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COMMENTARY

Jul 2, 2008

Puzzle awaits G8 delegates

By Gregory Clark

Spare a thought for the puzzle that will meet foreign delegations to the Group of Eight Summit in Hokkaido on July 7. On the one hand they will find a nation that organizes itself with clockwork perfection. Indeed, the summit organization will almost certainly be over-perfection, with every detail scripted...

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 1, 2008

Fukuda's heart for G8 leadership

By Kevin Rafferty

This fragile earth of about 6.5 billion souls faces grave and unprecedented challenges: soaring prices of oil and basic commodities that fuel daily life; price increases that make staple foods like rice and wheat too expensive for millions of poor people; a savage profusion of natural and man-made disasters...

COMMENTARY

Jul 1, 2008

Iraqi refugees desperate for a haven nation

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK — Several recent reports on the situation in Iraq draw attention to the desperate plight of nearly 5 million Iraqi refugees. If the situation is not better addressed, hundreds of thousands of lives, including women and children, will be jeopardized. The world cannot continue to turn deaf ears...

COMMENTARY

Jun 30, 2008

Taiwan's way with dignity

By Hisahiko Okazaki

The inaugural address that Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou gave was titled "Taiwan's Renaissance." It was well-composed, reflecting the president's views clearly while not evoking excessive alarm or expectations on complex and sensitive issues. These include the future of Taiwan's democracy, relations...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 30, 2008

Best way to beat the oil barons

By Thomas I. Palley

Over the past 18 months, oil prices have more than doubled, inflicting huge costs on the global economy. Strong global demand, owing to emerging economies like China, has undoubtedly fueled some of the price increase. But the scale of the price spike exceeds normal demand and supply factors, pointing...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Jun 30, 2008

Justices made right call on habeas corpus

By Hiroaki Sato

Among the commentaries I've read about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the one from George F. Will (The Japan Times, June 24) surprised me. The conservative columnist for The Washington Post upbraided Sen. John McCain for condemning Boumediene v. Bush — which upheld the right of habeas corpus...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 30, 2008

Get biotechnology on the agenda for Africa

By Calestous Juma

Leaders at the Group of Eight industrialized nations' summit in Hokkaido next month need to take strong measures to promote cooperation in using biotechnology to address Africa's food challenges. At present there is resistance from Europe, and even Japan is dragging its feet on this vital issue.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 29, 2008

Same ol' world after Bush

By Chris Patten

LONDON — There is a marvelous painting by Brueghel in the Brussels art gallery. British poet W.H. Auden was sufficiently impressed to write a poem about it: Icarus, his wings melted, is plunging to a watery grave. But the world goes on. Peasants continue with their lives, plowing their fields. They...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Jun 29, 2008

286 reasons to reflect on a Japan long gone, but worthy of reflection

By Roger Pulvers

I recently gave a talk on Japanese culture to a group of foreign students at Tokyo Institute of Technology. They hailed from a variety of places, including Scandinavia, the United States and Asian countries. I began by asking them to give me a keyword or two that they thought characterized Japanese life...

COMMENTARY

Jun 29, 2008

Japanese keeping score on a weighty matter

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES — The overweight citizen has been taking a pounding of late. But it may be that the issue is being blown out of all proportion. For starters, both Japan and the United States have been in the news on the issue of citizens who are pulling too much of their own weight around town.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 28, 2008

Pretoria's duty to Zimbabwe

By Neuma Grobbelaar and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos

Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the presidential runoff scheduled for Friday secured for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe a Pyrrhic victory.

COMMENTARY

Jun 27, 2008

Loving and loathing the EU

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON — The European Union now consists of 27 states, with more states in the Balkans and Eastern Europe jockeying to join. Turkey is a candidate for membership. There would be benefits for the EU from further expansion, including more trade, improvements in democratic institutions and the protection...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.

A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan

By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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

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