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EDITORIALS

Jan 4, 2001

HAL, are you out there?

2001 is not just another year. For over three decades, those four digits symbolized the future, and triggered hopes, dreams and fears about what lay over the horizon. Brilliant though it was, Sir Arthur C. Clarke's imagination and Stanley Kubrick's rendering of life in the 21st century have also missed...

EDITORIALS

Jan 3, 2001

The dangers that lie ahead

One of the biggest holiday gifts last year was the Sony PlayStation2 video game console. Good luck trying to find one. Hundreds of thousands of gamers around the world are still waiting to get their hands on the elusive item. But, according to news reports, one customer managed to collect about 4,000...

EDITORIALS

Jan 1, 2001

The rebuilding starts now

At the dawn of a new century, the Japanese seem to be looking to the future with more worry than hope. The realities of contemporary Japan are grim. The nation seems to have lost its way. The social and economic systems that raised it to unprecedented levels of prosperity are falling apart at the seams....

EDITORIALS

Dec 31, 2000

Politicians fail to deliver

Japanese politics in 2000 was marked by two major milestones. One is the inauguration of the administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori following the late Keizo Obuchi's resignation due to sudden illness. The other is the July 25 Lower House election in which the governing Liberal Democratic Party...

EDITORIALS

Dec 30, 2000

Economy still stuck in a rut

Looking back to 2000, the critical question hanging over the Japanese economy is: Has there been movement, or at least the preparations for a move, toward a new system befitting the start of a new century? The answer, unfortunately, is no.

EDITORIALS

Dec 29, 2000

A good year for democracy

In a triumphant conclusion to a tumultuous year, reformers concluded their rout of the old order in Yugoslavia. In parliamentary elections held last weekend, an alliance of democratic parties won nearly two-thirds of the vote, crushing former President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party which took...

EDITORIALS

Dec 28, 2000

Protect the rights of children

Japanese children are in the news these days with a frequency that would have astonished earlier generations. Hardly a day goes by without reports of some new disturbing incident, ranging from heinous crimes committed by minors to instances of serious child abuse or neglect. When the news is not about...

EDITORIALS

Dec 27, 2000

Learning the wrong lessons

Japan's basic law on education, enacted after the end of World War II to replace the Imperial Rescript, should be reviewed -- that is a key recommendation from Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's advisory panel. The final report, released last week, calls for a set of reforms. The report is in marked contrast...

EDITORIALS

Dec 26, 2000

Take it easy, Mr. Clinton

U.S. President Bill Clinton does not seem to know the meaning of the phrase "lame duck." Although his successor will be sworn into office in less than a month, Mr. Clinton is pursuing a flurry of initiatives more worthy of a man taking office, rather than one packing his bags to go. His intentions may...

EDITORIALS

Dec 25, 2000

Budget does Japan a disservice

The Finance Ministry's budget for fiscal 2001, which was announced last week, falls far short of expectations, particularly because it does not lay out a road map for fiscal reform. It seems as if the ministry is marking time along with the stagnant economy. Critical issues, such as spending cuts, deficit...

EDITORIALS

Dec 24, 2000

The lessons of Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986, the world had its first full-scale nuclear disaster. On that day, the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant in Ukraine exploded, sending a huge cloud of radioactive dust across Europe. Earlier this month, Ukraine's government shut down the last working reactor at the Chernobyl...

EDITORIALS

Dec 23, 2000

Another round in Kashmir

It is difficult to get excited about talk of peace in Kashmir. India and Pakistan, the two main parties to the conflict in that troubled region, have tried and abandoned a series of initiatives in recent years. Indeed, India refuses to involve Islamabad in any discussions, and this is despite the fact,...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.

If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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