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COMMENTARY / World

Sep 29, 2003

Poor options for Korea talks

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- As the United States, Japan and South Korea prepare for a second round of negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, the options for resolving this dispute seem to have sorted themselves into five -- one unlikely, another unacceptable, a third unproductive, the fourth unrealistic...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Sep 28, 2003

Welcome to 'Mother Sofa'

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Moscow seems to have the biggest concentration of furniture stores per square kilometer in the world. Downtown is a cramped place, with barely enough space for designer clothing and jewelry boutiques. Yet, in the peripheral neighborhoods, furniture stores thrive.

COMMENTARY

Sep 27, 2003

The Saudi Arabia dilemma

By David Howell

LONDON -- Times are very difficult for the government of Saudi Arabia. Assailed on one side by hardline Islamists for being too pro-American, Saudi leaders have also had to endure a hail of brickbats from Washington for not being sufficiently pro-American and supportive of U.S. policy.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 26, 2003

Lee's intensity hardly dulled by age

By Harvey Stockwin

HONG KONG -- A rare and remarkable Asian leader passed a milestone on Sept. 16. Former Singapore Prime Minister, now Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew celebrated his 80th birthday. He has been running Singapore, in substance if not in title, since his People's Action Party swept the polls in 1959.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 26, 2003

Dollar peg undermines China's economy

By Christopher Lingle

As Beijing is pressured to halt currency intervention, arguments are generally proposed in terms of the possible benefits to other countries. Such an argument is less compelling than one that points out how China might benefit from an end to its peg against the U.S. dollar. In any event, China's fixed...

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 25, 2003

So little done with so many

By Jean-pierre Lehmann

GENEVA — The outcome of the World Trade Organization ministerial midterm review in Cancun, Mexico (Sept. 12-14), was an unmitigated disaster. The United States, European Union and Japan share equal responsibility for failing to stand by the commitments they had made in the Doha Declaration of November...

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 24, 2003

Break the Mideast impasse

By W. Andy Knight

EDMONTON, Canada -- When the U.N. General Assembly opened its 58th annual session on Sept. 19 with a moment of silence in memory of the U.N. staff killed and injured as a result of the terrorist attack in Baghdad last month, its 191 member governments renewed their pledge to uphold the principles of...

COMMENTARY

Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

By Keizo Nabeshima

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.

COMMENTARY

Sep 22, 2003

Decentralization will finish road to democracy in Japan

By Kiroku Hanai

Some independent or reformist prefectural governors have come out with their own plans to revitalize local politics and economies. Their ultimate goal is to end the centralization of administrative power that dates back to the Meiji Restoration and establish real local autonomy. To achieve the goal,...

COMMENTARY

Sep 22, 2003

Can 'Special K' save Japan?

By Tom Plate

For all the attention given to the rise of China, it is still not the most important nation in Asia. Japan, with the world's No. 2 economy and a growing list of problems, is.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 21, 2003

Trade-environment debate deserves a judicial solution

By W. Bradnee Chambers

The Cancun World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting concluded last weekend with little progress on a swath of issues it must try and complete by Jan. 1, 2005. Agriculture subsidies were the main stumbling block, but the talks really failed on a number of other fronts including trade and environment....

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2003

Liberal ideals gain ground in the Asia-Pacific region

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- In past decades, liberal democracy and economic freedom have made great advances in all parts of the world. This general trend also applies to Asia, as is documented in the annual "Freedom in the World" surveys published by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and the "Economic Freedom...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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