More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 31, 2000

'Sleepy hollow' to gauge mood of Malaysian voters

By David Chew

SINGAPORE -- The stakes are high for Malaysia's leading party and its archrival when they meet Saturday in a crucial by-election whose outcome will be decided by the Chinese minority holding the balance of power.

COMMENTARY

Mar 31, 2000

Obuchi heading for trouble

By Minoru Tada

The sun may be setting on the administration of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Recent polls indicate that the Obuchi Cabinet's approval ratings have fallen sharply while its disapproval ratings have risen. The phenomenon is generally blamed on the continuing recession, a growing public-debt burden stemming...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 31, 2000

Sharpening Japan-U.S. strategic ties

By Akihisa Nagashima

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen's recent visit to Tokyo demonstrates the immaturity of the U.S.-Japan alliance, particularly from a strategic point of view.

EDITORIALS

Mar 30, 2000

The real need for foreign workers

Japan must soon get ready to accept, even to welcome, a far greater number of legal foreign workers in its midst. The possibility is not remote, in view of plans just announced by the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau to relax visa procedures for non-Japanese workers in a wider range of fields than...

COMMENTARY

Mar 30, 2000

For Taiwan and China, patience is key

By Ralph Cossa

BEIJING -- Now what? Since Taiwan has elected Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party as its next president, despite heavy-handed Chinese efforts to discourage this outcome, what does Beijing do next?

EDITORIALS

Mar 29, 2000

The man in the mirror

To no one's surprise, Mr. Vladimir Putin won Russia's presidential election Sunday. Although the acting president did top the 50 percent level, which allowed him to escape a runoff ballot, the narrowness of his margin was an eye-opener. The much-anticipated landslide never materialized, the Communist...

COMMENTARY

Mar 29, 2000

Cut red tape to boost business

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Consumers everywhere are demanding deregulation. Most competitive businesses also want red tape and unnecessary regulation eliminated. Only the inefficient and uncompetitive, who believe that they are protected by rules restricting competition, are against the deregulation of their businesses....

EDITORIALS

Mar 28, 2000

Subverting campaign-finance reform

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been busy setting up new chapters across the country. If the move was aimed at expanding party activities to put politicians, not bureaucrats, in the driver's seat, or to improve its local programs in tandem with devolution, it would be fine. But the new chapters...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 28, 2000

No stopping the IT revolution

By Eisuke Sakakibara

Most economic experts seem to agree that the information-technology revolution will bring profound changes to the global economy, and to the Japanese economy as well. Some people still believe that the revolution and the development of multimedia communications technology are only a bubble. However,...

EDITORIALS

Mar 27, 2000

Clinton walks the tightrope

For all the aspersions cast at U.S. President Bill Clinton, it cannot be said that he lacks courage. For no other word can describe Mr. Clinton's foray into the treacherous politics of South Asia. The decades-long standoff between India and Pakistan has become yet more threatening since the two governments...

COMMENTARY

Mar 27, 2000

Election reform isn't the cure

By Keizo Nabeshima

The ruling coalition and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan have worked out a bill to correct defects in the existing election system. If approved by the current Diet, the proposed changes to the Public Office Election Law will apply to the next Lower House.

EDITORIALS

Mar 26, 2000

A man of faith, frustrated

Pope John Paul II declared that his visit to Israel and the Middle East was a spiritual journey. The pontiff wanted to fulfill a long cherished dream and walk in the footsteps of Christ, 2,000 years after his birth. The pope did just that, with trips to the site of Christ's birth, baptism and the Sea...

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

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports