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EDITORIALS

Oct 22, 2006

China squeezes Pyongyang

A series of meetings last week among the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, South Korea and China were significant for helping the four nations confirm their mutual cooperation in implementing sanctions against North Korea following its first nuclear-weapons test Oct. 9.

EDITORIALS

Oct 21, 2006

Surrogate births raise complex issues

News that a woman in her 50s has acted as a surrogate mother for her daughter and her daughter's husband underscores the need to enact a law governing how to legally treat children born in this way. The guidelines of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology prohibit doctors from engaging in surrogacy-related...

EDITORIALS

Oct 20, 2006

Afghanistan at the tipping point

The top NATO military commander in Afghanistan, British Gen. David Richards, has warned that Afghanistan is at a crucial juncture. If the lives of ordinary Afghans do not improve soon, there is the very real danger that they will switch their allegiance back to the Taliban. Loss of the support of the...

EDITORIALS

Oct 19, 2006

What teachers and students need

The composition of the newly created education "resuscitation" council does not serve as any sure indication of how discussions on education reform, one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pet projects, will develop. The advisory panel is headed by Mr. Ryoji Noyori, a laureate of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry...

EDITORIALS

Oct 19, 2006

Nuclear logic fails

Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Shoichi Nakagawa's suggestion at the beginning of this week that Japan needs to discuss whether it should arm itself with nuclear weapons is both careless and thoughtless at a time when the international community is making efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons from...

EDITORIALS

Oct 18, 2006

A more user-friendly legal system

A nationwide system now offers people easy access to legal advice and services. On Oct. 2, the services of Nihon Shiho Shien Senta (Japan Legal Support Center) or Ho Terasu (Law Terrace) became available to anyone, including those involved in civil cases or those who have been arrested on suspicion of...

EDITORIALS

Oct 17, 2006

A clear message to Pyongyang

The sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council against North Korea represent a unified message from the U.N. member countries reprimanding the North for its underground nuclear test on Oct. 9. The unanimous adoption of a resolution imposing the sanctions less than a week after the test...

EDITORIALS

Oct 16, 2006

Test of Komeito's ideals

As Mr. Shinzo Abe took the helm of the Liberal Democratic Party last month, Komeito, the junior partner with the LDP in the ruling coalition, saw a change in party leadership. Mr. Akihiro Ota and Mr. Kazuo Kitagawa replaced Mr. Takenori Kanzaki and Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, respectively, as president and secretary...

EDITORIALS

Oct 16, 2006

Retirement of an aviation pioneer

On Sept. 30, the YS-11, a twin turbojet passenger plane, made its last domestic flight -- from Okinoerabu Island to Kagoshima. It was retirement day for the aircraft that holds a special place in the history of Japan's aircraft manufacturing industry.

EDITORIALS

Oct 15, 2006

Not all voters are equal

The Supreme Court ruled Oct. 5 that the 2004 Upper House election was carried out in a constitutional way, despite a 5.13-fold disparity in the weight of one vote between the most populated electoral district and the least populated one.

EDITORIALS

Oct 15, 2006

Backing off the merge lane

Talks between General Motors Corp., on one hand, and Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, on the other, concerning a three-way alliance have collapsed, as the U.S. automaker couldn't find a good enough reason to form such an alliance. The unanimous decision by GM's board to reject the alliance appears to...

EDITORIALS

Oct 14, 2006

The darkness in Russia

Three recent killings in Russia raise troubling questions about the rule of law in that country. The three incidents are not linked but that is not to say they are random killings: Investigations of the murders will probe the same murky corners where political and economic influence intersect. The realization...

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

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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