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May 02, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2000
A challenge to democracies
By Bob Keefe
Democracies pride themselves on their efficient transfer of power from one elected leader to the next. But death or disability can strike a leader and cause immediate crisis.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2000
When the safety net breaks down
In what has regrettably become a matter of routine recently, a senior regional police official has again publicly apologized for the ineffective handling by local police of a major case of alleged criminal activity. The latest instance involves the slowness of the Aichi Prefectural Police to begin investigating...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2000
Mr. Ishihara's insensitivity
No informed Japanese would have been surprised to hear Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara using dead but racist language in his speech at a Ground Self-Defense Force anniversary last Sunday. He has been known for repeatedly indulging in a poor choice of words, for his complacent tendency to confuse arrogance...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2000
Behind the good news, reasons for concern
By Brad Glosserman
The global economy is looking good, reports the International Monetary Fund in the latest issue of its World Economic Outlook. According to the IMF's biannual forecast, released earlier this week, growth will rise 4.2 percent. The pace is picking up: Only six months ago, the Fund projected a 3.5 percent...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2000
Mr. Mori fails to articulate a vision
With a new Cabinet at the helm, the Diet has completed a round of plenary debates following a policy speech by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The first order of business for the Mori Cabinet, despite the extraordinary events preceding its inception, is to present its political vision to the nation. But...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2000
Sharif's fate sets stage for odd political realignments
By Gautaman Bhaskaran
NEW DELHI -- Pakistan's ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is now perhaps both happy and unhappy. Happy that his country's military dictator, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has spared his life. Yet unhappy, because the 25-year imprisonment handed him -- for trying to prevent Musharraf's plane from landing...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2000
Behind the surprise inter-Korean summit
By John Barry Kotch
"Hold on to your hat. Korea is full of surprises," Don Oberdorfer advises us in the conclusion to his recent book, "The Two Koreas." And not since Egyptian President Anwar Sadat flew into Jerusalem more than two decades ago to mend fences with his arch rival, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and...
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2000
General elections loom large
By Minoru Tada
Keizo Obuchi, who looked like a paragon of health as prime minister, suddenly collapsed last week when he suffered a stroke and was replaced by LDP Secretary General Yoshiro Mori. The episode made me think of a saying often quoted in the Japanese political world: "The future is all darkness."
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2000
Where will Microsoft go now?
Where will Microsoft go now?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2000
Tiny Qatar brings freedom of the press to the Arab world
By David Hirst
QATAR -- On a recent visit to Qatar, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak wanted to satisfy his curiosity about something bothering him and most other Arab rulers. It was past midnight when he descended unannounced on the Jazeera TV station. His surprise was hardly less than that of staff still around at...
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2000
A Korean dialogue at last
In a long-awaited development, the governments of North Korea and South Korea announced Monday that they would hold their first-ever presidential summit June 12 to 14 in Pyongyang. This meeting is a victory for the "sunshine" policy of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and could fundamentally change...
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2000
No sympathy for politicians
By Hugh Cortazzi
I have sometimes said to my wife about a prominent politician, "Poor old so and so! He must be exhausted keeping to such a hard schedule. It's a tough life being a peripatetic politician." My wife's invariable response has been, "Don't waste your sympathy on politicians. They didn't have to accept their...
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
U.S. and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations
The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on Wednesday, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
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.
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
North Korea's Kim sets sights on nuclear-armed navy
An unidentified weapons system is fired from the deck of North Korea's latest destroyer, the Choe Hyon, during two days of tests on Monday and Tuesday in this undated photo released Wednesday.
Single, or not? Japanese dating app launches relationship verification system
Tapple, one of Japan's most popular dating apps, has launched the nation's first feature to verify a user's single status via their My Number card.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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

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