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August 29, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Dec 24, 2003

Mr. Sharon strikes again

I sraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is known as "the Bulldozer" for his relentless approach to problem solving. Mr. Sharon likes to create "facts on the ground" that make certain outcomes -- his preferred outcomes -- inevitable. Recently, Mr. Sharon announced that he was prepared to proceed with unilateral...

EDITORIALS

Dec 23, 2003

The SDF 'is not going to war'

Japan's Self-Defense Forces are making final preparations for helping humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq. An advance party of air force personnel is expected to leave this week under an order issued last week by Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba. An air transport unit probably...

EDITORIALS

Dec 22, 2003

Forfeiting the watchdog role

Should a public works project have priority over the need to revise a plan? Some Tokyo residents were not only questioning whether an administrative disposition was correct but also seeking a judgment on whether their living environment should be protected. The Tokyo High Court, however, avoided a straight...

EDITORIALS

Dec 21, 2003

A crisis in Europe

The European Union's failure last week to agree on a new constitution raises crucial questions about the future of the union. Negotiations will resume next year, but the odds of success then are not likely to be much better. Although the consequences of failure may be the best incentive for a deal, that...

EDITORIALS

Dec 20, 2003

Captive of a democracy

Following the seizure of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein eight days ago, some riveting discussions took place among politicians and pundits of all stripes about how such a catch should be treated -- not just in the coming weeks and months, but from the first minutes of the deposed leader's detention....

EDITORIALS

Dec 19, 2003

Juggling act obscures real threat

The two ruling parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, earlier this week agreed on plans to shore up the faltering pension system for private-sector employees. The package calls for painful adjustments beginning in fiscal 2004: higher premium rates and lower benefit levels. What is missing...

EDITORIALS

Dec 18, 2003

Lame explanations for SDF dispatch

The Diet, although in recess, discussed the Iraq issue on Monday and Tuesday. The debate followed the government's decision last week to send ground troops to Iraq and, of course, Sunday's breaking news of the capture of Saddam Hussein. The government's answers, however, proved mostly unconvincing.

EDITORIALS

Dec 17, 2003

Deepening ties with ASEAN

During two days of summit talks in Tokyo last week, leaders from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, agreed to establish a broad-gauged relationship that includes not only trade and investment but also political and security cooperation. Described as the "Tokyo declaration,"...

EDITORIALS

Dec 16, 2003

With these words, Iraq's U.S. administrator Paul Bremer announced on Sunday that American military forces had captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. His arrest symbolizes the end of an era in Iraq. It also could break the back of a resistance that has stymied efforts to bring peace and stability...

EDITORIALS

Dec 14, 2003

What the Wright brothers wrought

History is rife with illustrations of those rueful conditional verbs "could have," "would have" or "should have" -- and never more so than when a momentous anniversary rolls around. The latest example is the 100th anniversary this Wednesday of the huge accomplishment of the American Wright brothers,...

EDITORIALS

Dec 13, 2003

A triumph for Mr. Wen

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is a happy man -- and with good reason. His four-day visit to the United States this week was a huge success, a personal triumph for the premier as well as a trip that helped advance his nation's relations with the U.S. His host, U.S. President George W. Bush, is probably less...

EDITORIALS

Dec 12, 2003

Russian reality test for Kyoto

It is still unclear whether Russia has decided to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. But reports that Moscow had rejected the proposal refocused international attention on the appalling lack of progress since the agreement was negotiated more than five years ago. Despite the now considerable...

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

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