More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 17, 2000

Information the key to Japan's revival

By Alex Stewart

What would most strike a foreign visitor returning to Japan after a gap of several years? Most likely it would be the gloom surrounding the future of Japan, and at street level, finding how many people from a distance look Western -- because their hair is dyed brown, blond or every other color you can...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 17, 2000

Cut U.S. military presence

By Keizo Nabeshima

Japan faces intense pressure to settle uncertainties regarding the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps heliport now at the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa before July, when it hosts a Group of Eight summit. Unless the problems are settled by then, U.S. President Bill Clinton is likely to face a firestorm...

EDITORIALS

Jan 16, 2000

Poor little rich kids

Here's a problem many of us might wish we had: being so rich that we have to start worrying about its effect on our children. It seems there are suddenly a lot more people around who fall into this category. So many, in fact, that the U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch has reportedly begun offering psychiatric...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 16, 2000

The U.N. should have its day in court

By Myint Zan

A report in the Jan. 10 issue of The Age newspaper stated that the National Post newspaper of Canada had editorialized that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan should resign. The National Post editorial call was made in the light of the alleged inaction of Annan when he was chief of U.N. peacekeeping forces...

EDITORIALS

Jan 15, 2000

An example for Chile and the world

Ironies abound in the British decision to let former Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet go home for "compassionate" reasons. Compassion, of course, was notably scarce under Mr. Pinochet's iron-fisted rule. It is tempting to argue that the general deserves nothing less than the justice he meted out to...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 15, 2000

World steps up fight in war against AIDS

By Cesar Chelala

In a historic session, the U.N. Security Council met Jan. 3 to address the AIDS epidemic. In that session, U.S. Vice President Al Gore indicated that the United States would add $150 million to next year's budget to help combat AIDS and other infectious diseases in the poor- est -- mainly sub-Saharan...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 15, 2000

The buzz is all about Vladimir Putin, too

By Edward Neilan

Talk at the Balalaika restaurant in Tokyo's Kanda district these evenings, as at the 27 other restaurants specializing in Russian cuisine in the Japanese capital, is focused on Vladimir Putin.

EDITORIALS

Jan 14, 2000

Chilly spring for U.S. and China

China's relations with the United States are going to turn decidedly cool over the next few months. The already partisan atmosphere in Washington will intensify in the runup to the November elections: Human rights and trade issues will move to the top of the U.S. political agenda. Asian nations need...

COMMENTARY

Jan 14, 2000

Awaiting Diet dissolution

By Kenzo Uchida

Despite widespread anxieties about potential Y2K disasters, the world greeted the new millennium without trouble. Volatility in the New York and Tokyo stock markets since the beginning of the year should not cause undue concern about the economic future at home and abroad.

EDITORIALS

Jan 13, 2000

The next Internet revolution

The America Online-Time Warner merger is an eye-opener, and not just because it will create a $350 million corporate behemoth. The real significance of the deal, which must be approved by U.S. regulators, is that it promises to transform media in the United States and will trigger change in the rest...

EDITORIALS

Jan 12, 2000

Sliding toward recovery

Japan's economic prospects are improving. After a decade of stagnation, the consensus forecast is that a fragile recovery will, with careful tending, continue. The emphasis belongs on "fragile," however, not "recovery." While the future holds many unknowns, the government can do its part to minimize...

EDITORIALS

Jan 11, 2000

Declaring war against AIDS

It is reckoned that the AIDS scourge began about 20 years ago. In the two decades since then, it has claimed more than 16 million lives. The World Health Organization estimates that 33.6 million people, 1.2 million of them children, live with the HIV infection that is the disease's precursor. The speed...

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

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports