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August 28, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Mar 16, 2006

Justice for Milosevic's victims

In death as in life, former Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic was contemptuous of the world. The heart attack that claimed his life while being tried for war crimes may have kept a tribunal from declaring him guilty, but there was no doubt about the eventual outcome. Mr. Milosevic was wrong -- and on...

EDITORIALS

Mar 15, 2006

Asbestos aid falls short

The Diet enacted a law in early February to financially help people suffering from asbestos-related health problems not covered by labor accident compensation. Eligible people can start filing requests for the aid under the law on March 20. Enactment of the law was quick -- in about seven months -- after...

EDITORIALS

Mar 14, 2006

Breathing room for detainees

The treatment of suspects arrested for questioning in criminal cases and of defendants undergoing trial has long been a human-rights issue in Japan. This problem will be partially resolved by a government bill to be sent to the Diet. Still, a bigger problem exists: the use of police holding cells as...

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...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.

From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past

By Alex K.T. Martin

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