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COMMENTARY / World

Dec 7, 2006

America's unipolar moment has ended

By Dominique Moisi

WARSAW -- Listen carefully these days to Israelis and South Koreans. What they are hinting at is no less than a tectonic shift in the international system: the shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world.

EDITORIALS

Dec 6, 2006

More help for crime suspects

As Nihon Shiho Shien Senta (Japan Legal Support Center) started its service in October (dial 0570-078374 in Japanese or English), so did a new system of court-appointed lawyers for criminal defendants who cannot afford to hire lawyers. Now not only defendants indicted in serious crimes such as murder...

EDITORIALS

Dec 6, 2006

Pre-empting official corruption

It seems the longer that one stays in power, the more likely he is to become corrupted. Former Gov. Eisaku Sato of Fukushima Prefecture was arrested in October -- shortly after his resignation on suspicion of receiving a bribe from a contractor in a prefectural dam project -- 18 years after he was first...

EDITORIALS

Dec 5, 2006

Upgrading SDF's overseas activities

Bills to upgrade the Defense Agency to a ministry and revise the Self-Defense Forces Law are likely to be enacted in the current Diet session. The revisions could change the character of the SDF, which has operated under a strict "defense only" policy. Inasmuch as they are closely related to the workings...

COMMENTARY

Dec 5, 2006

Citizen musicians giving peace a chance

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- Political and religious leaders could improve their peacemaking ability by paying attention to what some contemporary musicians are achieving. "Inter-religious" orchestras comprising Jewish, Muslim and Catholic musicians point the way toward a diminishing climate of violence while signaling...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 5, 2006

Chaff that sticks to wheat

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- As scandals go in the annals of Australian business, the one over wheat sales to Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime is huge. And the political fallout, both domestic and international, may prove to be even mightier. It leaves many people here and abroad scratching their heads in amazement....

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 4, 2006

Russian elite still see U.S. as bogeyman

By Andrei Piontkovsky

WASHINGTON -- An old saying in politics in Moscow is that relations between the United States and Russia are always better when a Republican rules in the White House. We are statesmen, and the Republicans are statesmen. Because we both believe in power, it is easy for the two of us to understand each...

COMMENTARY

Dec 4, 2006

Rolling back a dictatorship

By Kiroku Hanai

Fifteen years after signing the Paris peace accord that ended its civil war, Cambodia has emerged as a full-fledged member of the international community. It joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1999 and the World Trade Organization in 2004.

EDITORIALS

Dec 4, 2006

Death of a dissident

The mysterious death of Alexander Litvinenko throws a harsh spotlight on the Russian secret services. The controversy has engulfed Russian President Vladimir Putin, forcing him to publicly deny any involvement in the killing. That's probably true: Mr. Putin loses far more than he gains from this incident....

EDITORIALS

Dec 3, 2006

Japan takes a stand on its cuisine

If the government did one thing right recently, it was to send a stern message to the world that whatever a California roll is, it isn't Japanese food. Neither is the "Texas roll," with its strips of beef and spinach leaves, or that leaden travesty, the "Philadelphia roll," stuffed with smoked salmon,...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Dec 3, 2006

Dying traditions open up new choices after death

By Roger Pulvers

Every culture has its own way of dealing with death.

EDITORIALS

Dec 2, 2006

Bringing an end to bullying

The Education Resuscitation Council's call for efforts to stamp out bullying at school and measures to cope with bullying-related problems shows that the government is serious about the problem. But both the government and the public must realize that bullying is so difficult a problem that it will not...

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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