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EDITORIALS

Apr 21, 2005

Security for Afghanistan

Afghanistan's president, Mr. Hamid Karzai, has announced that he wants a formal long-term strategic relationship with the United States. That seems only natural: The U.S. led the invasion of Afghanistan that put Mr. Karzai in power. Others worry that such a relationship could result in a permanent U.S....

EDITORIALS

Apr 20, 2005

Nothing but a money game?

Capping a bruising takeover battle that had continued more than two months, Livedoor Co., an Internet service provider, and Fuji Television Network have reached a compromise agreement. Although the package may contain few surprises, the way in which the two companies fought for control of Nippon Broadcasting...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 20, 2005

Put a lid on rising Sino-Japanese tensions

By Michael O'Hanlon and Mike Mochizuki

WASHINGTON -- Relations between Japan and China, the two great powers of Northeast Asia, have in recent months sunk to their worst levels at least since Tiananmen Square in 1989. This past weekend's anti-Japanese riots in China were unprecedented in the modern era, but they were only the latest in a...

EDITORIALS

Apr 19, 2005

Move cautiously on Constitution

A Lower House panel on constitutional reform last week ended five years of discussions after presenting a final report to the Speaker. An Upper House panel is due to submit a similar report later this month. It is the first time since the Constitution was promulgated in 1946 that the Diet has conducted...

COMMENTARY

Apr 19, 2005

Libya hasn't changed its spots

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- A recent trip to Libya showed that it remains a police state dominated by a personality cult. Col. Moammar Gadhafi's portrait was everywhere, and tourists were warned of severe penalties for criticizing the leadership.

EDITORIALS

Apr 18, 2005

Put surplus funds to better use

Japan's corporate sector is said to be awash in money. Many companies, having improved their balance sheets dramatically in recent years, now hold a large amount of surplus funds. For many of them, the crushing debt burden that was once a heavy drag on business development is said to be a thing of the...

COMMENTARY

Apr 18, 2005

Japan, China wasting time

By Keizo Nabeshima

Recent mass anti-Japanese protests in Chinese cities have plunged Sino-Japanese relations to their lowest since diplomatic ties were normalized in 1972. Stones thrown by demonstrators damaged the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on April 9. Japanese-owned businesses in other cities were likewise attacked,...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 18, 2005

Howard boosts neighborly ties

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- A bridge between East Asia and the South Pacific has been formed. The way is open for economic and security links to be strengthened between the Asian mainland and its Southern Hemisphere neighbors.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Apr 17, 2005

Behold John Paul II, a marvelous actor

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Sixty years ago when friends of a young Pole, Karol Wojtyla, grieved that the talented actor was abandoning the stage for a Catholic seminary, their concerns were in vain. Actually, though, the young man never quit acting. As Pope John Paul II, he became the greatest artistic star in the world....

EDITORIALS

Apr 17, 2005

A sermon is a sometimes thing

Sign of the times: Cookie Monster, of the globally beloved U.S. children's television show "Sesame Street," is going to have to start watching what he eats. According to the American show's producers, the shaggy blue carbohydrate-cruncher will no longer be allowed to gobble chocolate chip cookies by...

EDITORIALS

Apr 16, 2005

Mr. Wen courts India

Ties between China and India continue to strengthen. While some worry about a "new axis" between Beijing and Delhi, it is only natural that two of the world's largest countries -- neighbors, no less -- have strong and cooperative relations. Asia needs them to have a positive, forward-looking partnership....

COMMENTARY

Apr 16, 2005

Is Asia moving forward or backward?

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Settling old scores is the characteristic of small minds; moving forward is the stuff of vision and leadership. Despite the growing trade among China, Japan and South Korea, much political activity appears to focus on the settlement of grudges.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.

How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan

By Megha Wadhwa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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