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EDITORIALS

Aug 5, 2002

No quarter in fight for democracy

Democracy is embattled. That is the message of the latest United Nations Development Program report, released earlier this month. Skepticism about the prospect of a new world order -- destined to be more democratic -- has given way to a backlash that considers democracy too messy for the job of state...

EDITORIALS

Aug 4, 2002

No exemptions for U.S.

Once again, Washington's single-minded protection of its freedom of action is raising eyebrows and jeopardizing international law. This time, concern about visits to U.S. civilian and military prisons has led the United States to block a United Nations vote on a plan to enforce a convention on torture....

EDITORIALS

Aug 4, 2002

High standards to uphold

Veteran diplomat Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello has been named the new U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. Vieira de Mello takes the job as questions rise about the wisdom of the commitment to human rights. The main causes of this "new thinking" are the war against terrorism and economic difficulties...

EDITORIALS

Aug 3, 2002

Positive moves from Pyongyang

The good news about North Korea is that it is ready to resume diplomatic contacts with Japan and the United States. At the ASEAN Regional Forum in Brunei this week, Pyongyang's foreign minister, Mr. Paek Nam Sun, expressed a willingness to mend fences with Tokyo and Washington in talks with Foreign Minister...

EDITORIALS

Aug 2, 2002

Diet stood in the way of reform

The 192-day regular Diet session that ended on Wednesday will be remembered more for what it did not achieve than for what it did. In brief, it failed in two critical areas: political reform and economic revival. While politics bogged down in a quagmire of corruption, deflation dragged on, with no recovery...

EDITORIALS

Aug 1, 2002

What matters for Nago airport

Japan is set to build an offshore airport for U.S. military and Japanese commercial planes in Nago City, northern Okinawa, almost six years after Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City, central Okinawa. On Monday, the central government and...

EDITORIALS

Jul 31, 2002

Defense bills need thorough review

As the regular Diet session draws to a close, several key bills remain on the table. Among these are three defense bills designed to deal with a direct attack on Japan, real or perceived. The proposed legislation, however, is flawed in so many ways -- including the lack of provisions for civilian protection...

EDITORIALS

Jul 30, 2002

Negotiations and desperation

North Korea has expressed regret for last month's naval clash with South Korea that left five sailors dead. While that is the responsible thing to do, questions swirl around Pyongyang's motivation for this surprising development. The most likely explanation is that North Korea's economic situation is...

EDITORIALS

Jul 29, 2002

Putting new wine in a new bottle

Bureaucratic reform, not just political reform, is urgently needed in Japan. In a nutshell, that is the message of the latest annual government report on the civil service. The report, for the first time, includes government employees' thoughts about themselves, their colleagues and their bosses.

EDITORIALS

Jul 28, 2002

End to Europe's 'last red terrorists'?

A botched bomb attack appears to have unraveled one of the most mysterious terrorist organizations in Europe. The Nov. 17 group had operated with impunity in Greece for 27 years; it seemed impenetrable and untraceable. But the premature detonation of a bomb last month gave police the leads they needed...

EDITORIALS

Jul 27, 2002

Some key questions skirted

Seventeen years ago, following the Lockheed payoff scandal that culminated in the arrest and indictment of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, the Diet set up an ethics council in both chambers. In an eerie flashback to that episode, the Lower House ethics panel on Wednesday grilled former Foreign Minister...

EDITORIALS

Jul 26, 2002

Steeling for a fight with Iraq

By every indication, the United States is eager to take the fight to Iraq and expel Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from office. President George W. Bush has said he is studying every option, and the U.S. appears to be proceeding with the diplomacy needed to prepare for conflict. Mr. Hussein's departure...

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

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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