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October 06, 2025

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COMMENTARY / World

Nov 5, 2006

Study of nuclear issue demands caution

By Yoshio Okawara

North Korea's underground nuclear test of Oct. 9, which has drawn a flurry of sharp reactions in the international community, has also brought the perennially simmering question of Japan's nuclear option to the surface again.

EDITORIALS

Nov 5, 2006

Madonna, child and critics

Spare some sympathy for Madonna. Not a lot, mind you. Celebrities are better cushioned against life's slings and arrows than the rest of us, and the flamboyant U.S.-turned-British pop star is a super-mega-celebrity. Still, the pillorying she has suffered in recent weeks is unreasonable.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Nov 5, 2006

Conspiracy of complacency costs countless lives on the roads

By Roger Pulvers

Ihad a great aunt who drove a car right up until she was in her late 80s. On one occasion her daughter, my cousin, was a passenger in the car, and I heard the following from her. "Mom drove right through a red light," she told me, "but I decided not to mention it to her. Then she ran another red light....

EDITORIALS

Nov 4, 2006

Renewal of a commitment

On Oct. 27 the Diet approved extending for another year -- from Nov. 1 -- the special antiterrorism law that, among other things, allows Maritime Self-Defense Force ships to refuel navy ships of the United States and other nations in the Indian Ocean in support of the security campaign in Afghanistan....

EDITORIALS

Nov 4, 2006

Ideology ahead of education reform

The Diet is now discussing a bill to revise the Fundamental Law of Education, a carry-over from the previous session. The main point in the revision proposed by the government is to instill love of nation in children -- which carries the danger of imposing on children a particular view of the "correct"...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 3, 2006

Affront to Korean identity

By Christopher Lingle

BANGKOK -- By distorting the historical record between Korea and China, Beijing has created a crisis that has united the ruling party in Seoul and its sometimes disloyal opposition.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 3, 2006

Overcoming the finiteness of our world

By Jean-paul Fitoussi

PARIS -- No economy is a closed, autonomous universe, governed by rules independent from law, morals and politics. Indeed, the most interesting economic questions generally border neighboring disciplines. But nowhere is this clearer than in the interaction between economic processes and the natural environment....

EDITORIALS

Nov 3, 2006

Debate that sends the wrong signal

Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Shoichi Nakagawa continues to call for debate on whether Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons. On Oct. 30, he said to the effect: What if North Korea launches a nuclear-tipped missile aimed at Japan. Do we say, "America, please help us"? Before we can say...

EDITORIALS

Nov 3, 2006

Resumption of tough negotiations

North Korea's agreement to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear-weapons program is good news. At least, there will be no new nuclear-weapons tests by Pyongyang for the time being. But optimism is not warranted. The difficult task of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and related...

EDITORIALS

Nov 2, 2006

A new plan for Northern Ireland

Once again, there are signs of progress toward the establishment of a sustainable local government in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Mr. Bernie Ahern earlier this month announced that they had worked out arrangements yet again to share power between the...

COMMENTARY

Nov 2, 2006

Curbing the Iranian empire

By David Howell

LONDON -- The preemptive strike doctrine -- that is, hitting the other party quickly when it looks as though it is going to hit you -- is as old as mankind itself. History is strewed with accounts of daring raids to catch the threatening enemy unprepared, from the wars of Greek mythology to modern times....

EDITORIALS

Nov 1, 2006

Bid-rigging remains a problem

The recent arrest of a former Fukushima governor shows that bid rigging involving local government heads and officials continues. Local governments must devise a new system for public-works projects that ensures transparency in the bidding process.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.

Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?

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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