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COMMENTARY

Oct 26, 2006

No good exit strategy from Iraq for U.S.

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON -- Landlubbers usually get maritime analogies wrong. "Changing course" is not cowardice; it's the sensible thing to do if the ship is headed for the rocks. "Cutting" (the anchor cable) "and running" (before the wind) is what you do when the storm is raging, the anchor is dragging, and the ship...

COMMENTARY

Oct 26, 2006

Antidepressant drug raises new hopes

By Cesar Chelala

The news that Dallas Cowboys football player Terrell Owens had attempted to commit suicide because of depression alarmed sports fans worldwide, for whom he is one of the game's biggest stars. However, recent information on the uses of a drug with positive effects on depressed patients raises hopes that...

EDITORIALS

Oct 26, 2006

Checking violence at school

The number of violent incidents at public elementary schools nationwide rose by 128 to 2,018 in fiscal 2005 -- a new record for the third consecutive year, according to the education ministry's report entitled "Research on Problematic Behavior."

COMMENTARY

Oct 26, 2006

Revisionists damaging Japan

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has the reputation of being a tough nationalist. So far, however, he has shown himself to be a pragmatist in foreign-policy issues. His early visits to China and South Korea demonstrated that he wants to improve bilateral relations, which have soured in recent years....

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 26, 2006

Lower corporate taxes can fuel recovery

By Christopher Lingle

BANGKOK -- It is a hopeful sign that professor Masaaki Honma of Osaka University has been set to be appointed chairman of the tax panel that briefs the prime minister. This would be a happy departure from the position of the current chairman of the tax panel, Hiromitsu Ishi, who consistently advocated...

COMMENTARY

Oct 26, 2006

N. Korea: Who's to blame?

By Ralph Cossa

SEOUL -- "It's all Bush's fault!" "No, it's all Clinton's fault!" Has anyone engaged in this increasingly counterproductive debate over who should be blamed for North Korea's nuclear test ever stopped to consider that it might actually be Kim Jong Il's fault? . . . and that North Korean's "Dear Leader"...

EDITORIALS

Oct 25, 2006

Tying up two loose ends

The Liberal Democratic Party's victories in two Lower House by-elections Sunday -- one in the Kanagawa Prefecture No. 16 district and the other in the Osaka Prefecture No. 9 district -- will boost Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's position in the ruling camp. The electoral victories will give him confidence...

EDITORIALS

Oct 25, 2006

50 years shy of a deal

Oct. 19 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, which restored diplomatic ties between Japan and the then Soviet Union (now Russia). Yet the prospect for solving the Northern Territories issue has not improved.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 24, 2006

The rising wealth of nations

By Robert J. Shiller

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- The new Penn World Table, Version 6.2, comparing standards of living across countries, has just been released. The latest figures are for 2004, and, because of data lags, not all countries are included. Yet these numbers are valuable because they are of exceptional quality and...

EDITORIALS

Oct 24, 2006

An altered state of recovery

The Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for October that the current economic expansion, now in its 57th month, has tied Japan's longest "boom" of the postwar period, which occurred during the second half of the 1960s. With the current economic recovery expected to continue, it is certain...

EDITORIALS

Oct 23, 2006

Britons bridle over veil

The phrase "straw poll" has acquired some nuance in Britain this month. It used to mean asking people what they think about an issue -- any issue. Suddenly it seems to mean asking people what they think about Straw -- Jack Straw, that is, the former British foreign secretary -- and in particular his...

COMMENTARY

Oct 23, 2006

Waves build against carrier

By Kiroku Hanai

The mayor of the city of Yokosuka and the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture have expressed willingness to accept the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base, stirring optimism among central government officials that a controversial issue is about to be solved....

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

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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