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EDITORIALS

Jan 28, 2000

A warning from cyberspace

Welcome to the digital world. That was not the actual wording of the message hackers left on Japanese government Web pages this week, but it was the meaning for anyone who bothered to read between the lines. This week's incidents were an embarrassment, or at most a nuisance. Next time, the damage could...

EDITORIALS

Jan 27, 2000

Freedom Party gets its chance

Political deadlock has brought Austria's far-right Freedom Party to the brink of power. That has created unease among those who worry that joining the Cabinet will legitimize the party's extreme views -- and those of like-minded political groups elsewhere in Europe. Freedom's views are troublesome, but...

EDITORIALS

Jan 26, 2000

Russia's mystery man

Far more is asserted about Russia's acting president, Mr. Vladimir Putin, than is known. He rose through the state security apparatus, where his steely eye and no-nonsense demeanor impressed President Boris Yeltsin, who named him acting prime minister in August last year. Upon Mr. Yeltsin's surprise...

EDITORIALS

Jan 25, 2000

A challenge for the next century

The coming months will probably see one policy proposal after another, both official and private, for Japan in the 21st century, in the wake of a challenging report last week from a private advisory council to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. A review of Japan's options titled "Japan's Goals for the 21st...

EDITORIALS

Jan 24, 2000

Saddam Hussein unrepentant

Last week marked the 10th anniversary of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, a move that launched the Persian Gulf War. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein lost the war, but he seems to be winning the peace. He has successfully blocked international efforts to enforce compliance of the treaty he signed and the United...

EDITORIALS

Jan 23, 2000

Aum by any other name...

Desperate people -- and groups -- can be expected to take desperate steps. The carefully orchestrated public relations campaign in which the Aum Shinrikyo cult is now engaged, including changing the cult name to Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, for a "fresh start," seems like little more...

EDITORIALS

Jan 22, 2000

A mother's place is in the Diet

Babies are always news, but an even more special baby than usual is expected in Japan in April. Its mother is a news-maker herself: Diet member and former Olympic speed skater and cyclist Ms. Seiko Hashimoto. Dubbed a "superwoman" of Japanese athletics, Ms. Hashimoto competed in seven consecutive Olympics...

EDITORIALS

Jan 21, 2000

Tough times require radical measures

This year's spring wage-bargaining season has barely started and a sense of confrontation is already in the air. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) has called for a 2 percent increase in the "regular pay hike" plus at least a 1 percent increase in basic pay. The Japan Federation of Employers'...

EDITORIALS

Jan 20, 2000

Indonesia on the brink

Indonesia threatens to become engulfed by violence. Religion, nationalism and feelings of victimization have triggered conflict across the immense archipelago. Clashes between Muslims and Christians have prompted calls for an Islamic jihad, or holy war. Some fear the breakup of the world's fourth-most...

EDITORIALS

Jan 19, 2000

Japan needs the presence of foreigners

Four years ago, central government officials and bureaucrats, especially at the Education Ministry, were expressing concern over the decreasing number of students from abroad coming to study at Japanese universities. The decline in students from neighboring Asian countries in particular, the first such...

EDITORIALS

Jan 18, 2000

Furor over 'Frankenfoods'

Worries about genetically modified foods are on the rise. Consumers around the world are increasingly concerned about the effects such organisms have on human health and the environment. Just as troubling is their suspicion of the companies and regulatory authorities who assure the public that those...

EDITORIALS

Jan 17, 2000

Begin the Constitutional debate

The postwar Constitution of Japan, which was put into effect in 1947, will come up for formal and continuous debate for the first time in the ordinary Diet session that opens on Friday. It is unclear, however, whether the Constitutional Review Council -- which was created last year in both houses --...

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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