More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

August 22, 2025

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY

Jun 13, 2004

Personality could crown Gordon Brown

By Sarah Benton

LONDON -- Britain is governed by an unhappy couple -- a pair of men whose relationship excites more attention than any other aspect of British politics.

COMMENTARY

Jun 13, 2004

Freedom to end up different

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- Ideological fuzziness has become a hallmark of politics. Instead of accentuating ideological positions, politicians deliberately demonstrate vagueness. This, their advisers argue, prevents the politicians from alienating strategic interest groups crucial for victory in elections.

COMMENTARY

Jun 13, 2004

The torture of losing moral high ground

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- John F. Kennedy was no saint as president -- and America is not God. But, indisputably, JFK did inspire countless people at home and around the world to aspire to a higher standard. When Kennedy implored Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 13, 2004

European Parliament signals right turn

By Glyn Ford

LONDON -- This weekend the European Union faces its five-year parliamentary makeover as voters across an enlarged union go to the polls. Results will be shaped by three impulses:

EDITORIALS

Jun 12, 2004

A crucial vote for Iraq

The United Nations Security Council's vote to formally end the occupation of Iraq is a crucial step toward the restoration of sovereignty and stability in that troubled country. The decision is a milestone, but it is by no means a solution to Iraq's woes. In many ways, the real work begins now, with...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 12, 2004

Conviction, vision led Reagan to greatness

By Michael R. Czinkota

WASHINGTON -- A great man has died, moving a piece of the present into history. It is a history that many of us have been part of and that shapes our future.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 12, 2004

Time is ripe to establish G20

By Ramesh Thakur

In foreign policy speeches in Washington on April 29 and Montreal on May 10, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin proposed the creation of a new group of 20 countries (G20) at the heads-of-government level as the forum of choice for tackling pressing global problems.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 12, 2004

Korean democracy passes test

By Gerald L. Curtis

NEW YORK -- Politics in Japan and South Korea are a study in contrasts. It is nearly impossible to identify the polic differences between Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democrats. In South Korea, on the other hand, the ruling Uri Party, which now controls both the presidency...

EDITORIALS

Jun 11, 2004

Saying goodbye to Mr. Reagan

Friday, at a solemn state funeral in Washington, D.C., the United States formally bids farewell to Mr. Ronald Reagan, one of the most eminent, influential and widely liked U.S. presidents of the postwar era. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone will be there to convey this nation's sincere condolences...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Jun 11, 2004

Simple visionary hastened Soviet collapse

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who died last week after a long and dehumanizing struggle with Alzheimer's disease, will be remembered by most as one of the last great figures of the 20th century.

EDITORIALS

Jun 10, 2004

Iraqi people's trust will be decisive

The people of Iraq may have mixed feelings about the interim government that came into existence last week, for it is an unelected government assembled ostensibly under the aegis of the United Nations but actually under the influence of the United States. Nevertheless, it is set to take over power from...

COMMENTARY

Jun 10, 2004

China woos influence with softer style

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- Publicly, American officials such as Secretary of State Colin Powell are saying that relations with China are the best they have ever been. Privately, however, policymakers are not shy about admitting that the two countries are engaged in a diplomatic contest in many arenas, most notably...

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

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports