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April 29, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Nov 18, 2005
A chance to clean up terror
By Brahma Chellaney
NEW DELHI -- The Oct. 8 South Asian earthquake struck at the epicenter of a principal recruiting ground and logistic center for global terrorists, leveling a number of terrorist nurseries and training camps in an area that serves as the last main refuge of al-Qaida. Much of the quake's destruction occurred...
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2005
Making sense of the senseless
By David Howell
LONDON -- How can sense be made out of the senseless? How are the prolonged outbursts of mindless street violence and car-burning in town after town throughout France to be explained?
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2005
Seoul aims for leading role
By Brad Glosserman
PUSAN, South Korea -- South Korea, long considered "a shrimp among whales" in Northeast Asia, senses opportunity. Diplomatic developments in the region hold out hope of a transformation of relations among states, and South Korean strategists see their nation as uniquely positioned to lead this process....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2005
Liberia's new president brings fresh hope
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK -- The election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as president of Liberia could mean that a tremendously positive transformation could happen in Africa, one that may extend beyond Liberia's borders. In a country where women make up more than half the electorate, the election of Johnson-Sirleaf could...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2005
Strategic changes for Japan-U.S. alliance
By Richard Halloran
HONOLULU -- Much of the American and Japanese news coverage of the new security agreement between Washington and Tokyo has focused on its political aspects but overlooked the far-reaching strategic changes it has projected for the revitalized alliance.
COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2005
No wonder anti-free traders are angry
By Gregory Clark
If you want to understand why anti-free-trade demonstrators in Argentina were so angry nearly two weeks ago, visit a small metal-working factory in a humdrum Japanese village near where I spend weekends. Outside it looks nondescript. But inside it is a technological wonder -- CAD/CAM-operated machine...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2005
Aussies preparing for worst
By Alan Goodall
SYDNEY -- Tough new antiterrorist laws will soon give troops shoot-to-kill authority when patrolling Australian streets in anticipation of a terrorist attack. But the change will come only after the Australian public has agonized over a claimed loss of civil liberties.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2005
Beijing appears more apt to seek flu help
By Frank Ching
HONG KONG -- China's appeal to the World Health Organization for help to determine whether three cases of "pneumonia caused by unknown factors" in Hunan province could have been the result of the H5N1 virus indicates that Beijing is taking the threat of bird flu seriously.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2005
Enhanced order of security
By Keizo Nabeshima
Japan and the United States on Oct. 29 issued an interim report agreeing to expand military cooperation in connection with the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The agreement is intended to adapt the bilateral alliance to better deal with changes in the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 13, 2005
Nobel laureate set to be garlanded in cliche
By Roger Pulvers
Awarding this year's Nobel Prize in literature to British playwright Harold Pinter is giving the recipient an opportunity to mount a stage of enormous proportions, and his acceptance speech in Stockholm next month may be the most provocative, fiery and influential address ever given on this august occasion....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2005
Let business trump quest for dominance
By James A. Dorn
WASHINGTON -- The task for U.S. policymakers is to engage China while treating it as a rising great power that could be a legitimate threat. In particular, America needs to continue a policy of engagement and avoid destructive protectionism. Forging a constructive U.S.-China partnership will be the major...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Nov 12, 2005
Downsized Russian holiday
By Constantine Pleshakov
MOSCOW -- Wouldn't you feel confused if your government moved Christmas Day to Dec. 21 and named it the Day of Fraternal Oscillation?
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.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
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.
California says it overtakes Japan to become world’s No. 4 economy
Vehicles travel along the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. California's GDP has overtaken Japan's to become the world's fourth largest economy, according to the U.S. state.
Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.
U.S. secretary of the navy weighs ‘dual-use’ shipbuilding with Japan
John Phelan at a Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. secretary of the navy in Washington in February
Expo '25 gives the world a masterclass in mascots
2025 Osaka Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku dances on the stage during the event's official opening ceremony on April 12.
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.
‘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.

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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