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September 12, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Apr 2, 2004

Lessons from the Okamoto case

The Tokyo High Court earlier this week rejected a U.S. request to extradite a medical researcher to face charges of industrial espionage in the United States. The court ruled that Mr. Takashi Okamoto, a former employee of the Japanese government-affiliated Institute of Physical and Chemical Research,...

COMMENTARY

Apr 2, 2004

Musharraf gambles in war on terrorists

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's decision to send thousands of troops to the remote northern tribal regions marks a fundamental shift in government policy. For decades, the regions have been closed to the outside world, ruled by local leaders who have defied the efforts of the central government to expand its...

COMMENTARY

Apr 2, 2004

Bush bears burden of proof

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- The ever nastier Washington fight between former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke and manifold Bush officials has taken on a "he said/she said" quality. It's hard to know who to believe. But having routinely undercut his credibility elsewhere, President George W. Bush should bear the...

EDITORIALS

Apr 1, 2004

Don't forget Afghanistan

Three years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan is once again tottering on the brink of chaos. The facts will be in plain view in Berlin at a two-day conference from Wednesday, when 54 nations assess the problems and progress since the U.S-led invasion of Afghanistan. Progress has been remarkable,...

COMMENTARY

Apr 1, 2004

Lowering risks from WMD

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The decision of the Libyan regime to declare and destroy its weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, is clearly beneficial to world peace and is a most welcome development. But we should beware claims by some Western leaders that this has come about because the Libyan dictator has seen what happened...

EDITORIALS

Mar 31, 2004

Pay transparency for secretaries

The Diet's system of public secretaries -- which allows each legislator to hire three aides at taxpayers' expense -- has proven to be deeply flawed, as shown by a recent spate of pay scandals in which a number of legislators were accused of misusing their secretaries' salaries. Now, belatedly, the ruling...

COMMENTARY

Mar 31, 2004

Madrid attack redefines EU

By David Howell

LONDON -- The bomb outrage and mass slaughter of train commuters in Madrid on March 11 has changed the face of European politics in more ways than one.

EDITORIALS

Mar 30, 2004

A test for Taiwan's democracy

Ten days after Taiwan's presidential election yielded a contested result, there are signs of progress in resolving the political crisis it created. The winner of the vote, President Chen Shui-bian, last weekend promised a recount to defuse mounting tensions. The recount is a vital step in sorting out...

COMMENTARY

Mar 30, 2004

Cheney must prove himself on Asia trip

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES "The Ear" is going to Asia, says the White House. The White House didn't put the announcement exactly this way, of course. But Dick Cheney, the U.S. vice president, is widely known in Washington to have President George W. Bush's ear. When Cheney talks, Bush listens.

COMMENTARY

Mar 30, 2004

Irrational highway demands

By Gregory Clark

The debate over privatizing Japan's four highway and bridge corporations has moved from the absurd to the ridiculous.

EDITORIALS

Mar 29, 2004

Letting foreign workers past the gate

One aspect of globalization is freer employment across national borders, including Japan's borders. Although foreigners are increasingly becoming important members of the nation's labor force, by and large, the job market here remains effectively closed to them. Yet foreign employment looks set for a...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Mar 29, 2004

Fear and loathing in the U.S. workplace

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- A friend wrote to say that a professor both of us know was summarily fired on charges of sexual harassment. Not long afterward it was found that the accusation had no basis, but by then it was too late. Our friend had moved out of the region with his family.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.

The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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