More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

August 23, 2025

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE

Sep 25, 2004

Senate control up for grabs on election day

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- The meandering pattern of the presidential race has captured the attention of most Americans. But there are other important stakes that will be decided on Nov. 2, including 33 seats in the U.S. Senate and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

EDITORIALS

Sep 24, 2004

Elaboration needed on UNSC bid

I n New York this week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has focused his diplomatic efforts on Japan's bid for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. At the Japan-U.S. summit meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Koizumi sought President George W. Bush's active support for this quest. What he...

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 24, 2004

Bets off on Australian election

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- The long reign of Prime Minister John Howard is coming to an end if the latest pre-election opinion polls are any guide. But who believes polls? Certainly nobody caught up in a new round of election frenzy suddenly sweeping Australia.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Sep 23, 2004

Putin's bloodless coup d'etat

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- In what amounts to a coup d'etat five years after he came to power in August 1999, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a number of measures annihilating the fragile system of checks and balances constructed during President Boris Yeltsin's tenure in the 1990s.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 23, 2004

Look for a larger Russian role in Korea

By John Barry Kotch and Lyudmila Yushina

SEOUL-- With the six-party talks in the deep freeze, South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun is looking east to help break the ice. In his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week Roh is expected to both press Putin to play a more active diplomatic role in resolving the nuclear standoff...

EDITORIALS

Sep 23, 2004

A new broom in Jakarta

Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is set to become Indonesia's next president. The former general has been projected as the landslide winner of this week's presidential ballot. His victory could usher in a new era in Indonesian politics: He is the first president of the post-Suharto era who is genuinely qualified...

EDITORIALS

Sep 22, 2004

Landmark power transfer in China

The resignation of Mr. Jiang Zemin as chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the country's top military post, completes the transfer of power from Mr. Jiang to his successor, Mr. Hu Jintao. The handover is a landmark in modern Chinese politics, but its political impact is unclear. Mr....

EDITORIALS

Sep 21, 2004

An opportunity for Beijing

China has dodged a bullet. The recent legislative elections in Hong Kong returned a majority that is sympathetic toward Beijing. That means that there will be no confrontation between Hong Kong's feisty democrats and the Communist Party leadership in China. Instead, the results provide a chance to test...

COMMENTARY

Sep 21, 2004

Anwar release burnishes Badawi's image

By Harvey Stockwin

HONG KONG -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has unexpectedly taken a meaningful stride away from the authoritarian rule of former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad. As a result, the charismatic former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will now be free to influence the course of Malaysian...

EDITORIALS

Sep 20, 2004

Updating the defense program

The government is stepping up efforts to revise the 1995 Defense Program Outline, which sets guidelines for the buildup of the Self-Defense Forces. A revision is considered necessary in light of recent changes in the security environment surrounding Japan. Beyond adjusting to reality, though, it is essential...

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2004

'Fat liberation' movement declares war

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- Another civil-rights movement is stirring in America. A "fat liberation" movement. Complains Marilyn Wann of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, "We're living in the middle of a witch hunt."

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2004

Curb spread of WMD in U.S.

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The failure of Congress to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault rifles and other dangerous weapons may seem to politicians a simple price to pay to win the support of the National Rifle Association in the forthcoming presidential election.

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

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports