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May 03, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
May 1, 2002
Le Pen victory a dark sign of the times
By David Howell
LONDON -- Political experts of all shades have been professing surprise and amazement that Jean-Marie Le Pen, with his wild mixture of views, some overtly racist, should have collected around 17 percent of the votes in the first round of the French presidential elections. But the real surprise is that...
COMMENTARY
Apr 30, 2002
How long will Koizumi last?
By Hugh Cortazzi
LONDON -- Voter disillusionment with Junichiro Koizumi's performance as prime minister has grown from an apparent lack of progress in clearing up bad bank loans, his inability to force through privatization of public corporations, limited action on deregulation and his failure to reform the Liberal Democratic...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2002
Another train trip in the cards for Kim?
By John Barry Kotch
SEOUL -- In the wake of South Korean presidential envoy Lim Dong Won's recent and apparently successful visit to Pyongyang earlier this month, there is renewed optimism not only over resuming inter-Korean dialogue but also on realizing the promised reciprocal visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il...
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2002
The virtue of keeping mum on Taiwan
By Tom Plate
LOS ANGELES -- From Beijing's perspective, the only acceptable U.S. public statement on Taiwan is no statement at all.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2002
Possibility of Osama's escape haunts U.S.
By Michael O'Hanlon
WASHINGTON -- Was Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Tora Bora in the first half of December? And did the U.S. decision to rely on Afghan militias and Pakistani troops, rather than American forces, to seal off escape routes from those mountains permit bin Laden to escape during the intensive bombing...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2002
America's own 'rogue state'
By David Hirst
BEIRUT -- Since the Taliban's defeat in Afghanistan, the United States has been focusing on that long-standing "rogue state" and newly anointed member of the "axis of evil," President Saddam Hussein's Iraq, as the next target of its "war on terror."
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2002
Latest Chinese puzzle has experts baffled
By Harvey Stockwin
HONG KONG -- For China-watchers, the puzzling China contrast is between a nation that sends the capsule Shenzhou 3 into space and one that drags a seemingly useless rusty hull halfway around the globe. China's first aircraft carrier has finally arrived in port, but the mystery remains as to what conceivable...
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2002
Can Musharraf stabilize what he wins?
By Farhan Bokhari
ISLAMABAD -- Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, is set to position himself for a five-year term following Tuesday's referendum, but questions are mounting over his ability to give much needed stability to South Asia's second-largest country. Pakistan remains under the global spotlight...
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2002
Pyongyang prod that works
By Ralph Cossa
HONOLULU -- "Our firm stance toward North Korea is working!" So goes the conventional wisdom in Washington these days, as supporters of President George W. Bush's "hardline" policy claim credit for Pyongyang's recent decision to resume its dialogue with Seoul.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2002
Greek Cypriots bluster over Israeli snub
By Russell Working
NICOSIA -- At first glance, Cyprus might seem a likely friend for Israel in a hostile region. An eastern Mediterranean island just 105 km from Syria, the Republic of Cyprus is a democracy with a free press, thriving banking and shipping industries, and a per capita gross domestic product of $16,000,...
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2002
'Cures' are killing the patient
By Gregory Clark
The Japanese economy is said to be showing signs of recovery. And so it should. You can't keep a strong economy down for ever -- though a lot of people have been trying hard to do just that.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2002
The truth can help set Afghanistan free
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK -- The coming meeting in June of a "loya jirga," or national council, that will name members of a transitional government to rule the country for the next 18 months, offers hope for a return to normalcy in beleagered Afghanistan. An essential component in this process should be the creation...
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
Truck driver's body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.
Want to see the future at Expo Osaka? Get in line.
“‘Future of life,’ by Ishiguro,” the World Expo pavilion by roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, displays humanlike androids.
Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.

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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