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EDITORIALS

Mar 13, 2006

BOJ's intentions must be clear

The Bank of Japan has decided to lift its quantitative easy-money policy, an emergency and unprecedented measure introduced five years ago to pump vast amounts of interest-free money into a stagnant economy plagued by falling prices. The much-heralded decision, made Thursday, opens the way for a return...

EDITORIALS

Mar 12, 2006

A tribute to a brave soul

In May 2004, a woman named Dana Reeve delivered a commencement speech at her alma mater, Middlebury College in Vermont, where she and her husband were being awarded honorary degrees. It was an upbeat speech. There was nothing unusual about that. Commencement speeches are supposed to be upbeat. Most of...

EDITORIALS

Mar 11, 2006

Political storm batters U.S. ports

The controversy over the proposed sale of U.S. port facilities to a government-owned company of the United Arab Emirates was, in large part, political theater. The deal was a gift issue in election season: It allowed members of Congress to demonstrate their commitment to U.S. security and U.S. jobs....

EDITORIALS

Mar 10, 2006

Nuclear principle vs. pragmatism

Last summer the United States and India agreed to an historic deal, one that was designed to transform their relationship. The core of the agreement was a reassessment of India's nuclear program. The U.S. sought to end India's pariah status and to normalize Delhi's relations with the global proliferation...

EDITORIALS

Mar 9, 2006

Turbulent times for JAL

The drama started Feb. 10, when four board members of Japan Airlines Corp.'s international operations unit visited JAL President Toshiyuki Shinmachi with a petition carrying the signatures of some 50 managers. They urged him and two other executives to take responsibility for the JAL group's poor business...

EDITORIALS

Mar 8, 2006

On the brink of civil war

The destruction of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra has brought Iraq to the brink of civil war. Hundreds of lives have been lost in sectarian violence following the bombing of the Shiite house of worship. The divisions in the country have never been clearer. There is hope, however, that the sheer revulsion...

EDITORIALS

Mar 7, 2006

A battle that has barely begun

One year since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control went into effect, Japan's smoking rate still remains high compared with other developed nations. The government needs to create a strong momentum toward lowering the rate.

EDITORIALS

Mar 6, 2006

Long-term costs of education reform

In the largely classless society of postwar Japan, educational qualifications, particularly at the college level, have been the key determinant of career opportunities. Hence, standardized admission and low tuition fees ensured that anyone with brains had a chance to attend the top national institutions...

EDITORIALS

Mar 5, 2006

Red hats and purple dresses

If you are out on the town one day -- anywhere from Tokyo to Tijuana -- and you suddenly spot a group of animated, middle-aged women all wearing red hats and purple dresses, don't be puzzled. Smile! You might anyway, because it is an oddly heartwarming spectacle when a chapter of the global sisterhood...

EDITORIALS

Mar 4, 2006

Revamping Japanese ODA

The government is planning to break up the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as an integral part of reforms aimed at the nation's official development assistance (ODA) program. The bank's international finance division will be reorganized into a new government-run financial institution,...

EDITORIALS

Mar 3, 2006

Trying too hard to get ahead

When Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata spoke during a Feb. 16 Lower House Budget Committee session, it appeared that he possessed a strong political weapon for blowing up the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet.

EDITORIALS

Mar 2, 2006

'Black eye' for Philippine democracy

"People power" has a long history in the Philippines. Mass protests have unseated two presidents. The current president, Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, who came to office on the tide of the second uprising, is determined not to be the third. Last week, she declared a state of emergency to quash a coup. She has...

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

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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