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COMMENTARY

Dec 21, 2006

Fresh leadership at the United Nations

By Tom Plate

NEW YORK -- The world has no sure idea of what it may be getting with its newly designated United Nations secretary general. Ban Ki Moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, is more or less an enigma except to a small population engaged in international diplomacy.

COMMENTARY

Dec 21, 2006

Kremlin fears for its Far East

By David Wall

LONDON -- I don't suppose you read the piece in the Russian newspapers about customs officials' activities in the Russian Far East, at the Poltvaka customs checkpoint in Oktyabrsky County in southern Primorski krai on the Chinese border? It was a very interesting article about how a truck, which had...

EDITORIALS

Dec 21, 2006

Rabies still poses a threat

The recent death of two men from rabies is a reminder that the disease is still rampant abroad. Both men, in their 60s, were bitten by dogs in the Philippines. The first man, from Kyoto, died on Nov. 17, and the second man, from Yokohama, died on Dec. 7. Sadly, they would have lived had they gotten vaccinations...

COMMENTARY

Dec 21, 2006

Al-Jazeera English: the plot is thickening

By Ramzy Baroud

LONDON -- The launch of Al-Jazeera English, the English arm of Al-Jazeera Satellite Television, on Nov. 15 was a notable addition to the growing global efforts aimed at counterbalancing American-European domination over world media.

EDITORIALS

Dec 20, 2006

A natural partnership in Asia

Last week's visit to Japan by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an important step forward in the long-delayed process of creating a durable and forward-looking relationship between two Asian powers. Japan and India are natural partners, whose relationship is based on shared interests, values and...

EDITORIALS

Dec 19, 2006

Closing the biofuel gap

Japan is lagging behind several other countries in developing liquid biofuels that serve as alternatives for fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. An increase in demand for oil caused by expanding economic activities worldwide as well as tighter government control of natural resources, as in...

COMMENTARY

Dec 19, 2006

Warming to carbon rations

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON -- Here's the plan. Everybody in the country will get the same allowance for how much carbon dioxide they can emit each year, and every time they buy some product that involves carbon dioxide emissions -- filling their car, paying their utility bills, buying an airline ticket -- carbon points...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 19, 2006

ECB tools for assessing price risks work

By Otmar Issing

STRASBOURG, France -- In October 1998, just before the start of the European Monetary Union, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) adopted a stability-oriented monetary policy strategy comprising three elements. The first was a commitment to the primary goal of the ECB -- safeguarding...

EDITORIALS

Dec 18, 2006

Molding children by design

Legislation to revise the Fundamental Law of Education, which the ruling bloc has just pushed through the Diet, will drastically change the direction of the nation's postwar education system. It will lead to more direct control of education by the central government, which could result in stifling creative...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 18, 2006

Pigs, calves and democracy in America

By Peter Singer

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- Amid all the headlines about the Democrats gaining control of the U.S. Congress in the November elections, one big election result was largely ignored. Although it illuminated the flaws of America's political system, it also restored my belief in the compassion of ordinary Americans....

EDITORIALS

Dec 17, 2006

'Defense Ministry' will bear watching

The legislation just enacted to upgrade the Defense Agency to ministry status and revise the Self-Defense Forces Law will significantly change the character of the Self-Defense Forces, which has assumed a low-profile posture under the nation's strictly defensive security policy, reflecting the nation's...

EDITORIALS

Dec 17, 2006

Political theater in town

In June 2001, the first government-sponsored town meeting under the initiative of then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was held to promote direct dialogue between the people and Cabinet ministers. So far, there have been 174 such meetings. But a report by a Cabinet Office investigation panel shows that...

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

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