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COMMENTARY

Dec 28, 2000

The fight for liberty continues

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- We are entering a new year, the true third millenium. Unfortunately, the prospects for liberty do not burn bright. Human history is largely one of tyranny. The history of the last couple thousand years has been largely one of combatting tyranny.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 28, 2000

Protecting Japan's right to freedom of navigation

By Mark J. Valencia

HONOLULU -- Japan's economic security depends on safe and secure passage of its oil imports and trade through the Malacca/Singapore Straits and the South China Sea. Yet a recent upsurge in piracy, "creeping" jurisdiction and possible conflict between rival claimants in the Spratly Islands threaten these...

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...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 27, 2000

Surging arms sales exacerbate Third World poverty

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- In recent public statements, world leaders such as the pope, U.S. President Bill Clinton and World Bank President James Wolfensohn have called attention to the urgent need to end world poverty. Almost lost among their proposals to remedy the situation was any mention of the need to curb arms...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 27, 2000

Signs of hope in Kashmir

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON -- Eleven years of killing, over 50,000 dead, and the highest ratio of soldiers to civilians in the world, with a nuclear war between India and Pakistan as the payoff if things get out of hand: The conflict in Kashmir dwarfs every other global confrontation in its potential for harm. But the prospects...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 27, 2000

Common interest warms KMT-CCP ties

By Andrew Perrin

TAIPEI -- The reopening of the so-called three links -- trade, transportation and communication -- between Taiwan and China may still be some way off, but in the meantime it appears Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) has sidestepped the ban and forged its own direct link with China.

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...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 26, 2000

Don't retreat from the sunshine policy

By Ronald Meinardus

SEOUL -- Government transitions are good times for political analysts. Before the new team moves into office, these experts share their knowledge, make evaluations and sometimes even predictions. These days the newspapers are full explanations of what the new U.S. leadership might do and should not do....

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 26, 2000

Real reform is just beginning

By Heizo Takenaka

The central government will be reorganized Jan. 6, 2001 with the number of ministries and agencies to be cut almost in half to 13 from the present 22. The shakeup is based on a program worked out with great difficulty by the Adminis trative Reform Council, an ad hoc panel created under the Hashimoto...

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...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Dec 25, 2000

Emotion trumps logic in whaling debate

By Hiroaki Sato

Over a sushi lunch with Scott Latham, I mention "whaling," and Scott, my trade-consultant friend, doesn't miss a beat: "The Whaling Wall."

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 25, 2000

Flexibility the key to success of alliance

By Brad Glosserman

Foreign policy focuses on change. New leaders, new technologies, new conditions -- all create the need for new policies. Experts are always planning for contingencies -- the crisis to come -- and when they hit it's usually because governments failed to recognize the new realities that created them. ...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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