More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 7, 2006

Boycott against civil conduct

By Eva Hoffman

LONDON -- "It could happen here" is the shorthand phrase frequently used for a variety of alarming hypothetical scenarios. "How could this happen here?" was the question more pertinently asked in Britain recently, as its universities witnessed the unfolding of an all-too-real and perplexing action.

EDITORIALS

Jul 7, 2006

Reaction to reckless action

North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday in defiance of international calls, direct and indirect, that it refrain from such a reckless action. The launches not only provoked the international community but also push Pyongyang into further isolation, which won't make conditions...

EDITORIALS

Jul 6, 2006

Best laid plans of parents

The arrest June 22 of a high-school student on suspicion of arson and murder in connection with a fire at his home that killed his stepmother, half brother and half sister highlights the straits in which many students preparing for entrance exams may find themselves. The incident serves as a warning...

COMMENTARY

Jul 6, 2006

Bush's Iraq dreams are turning to dust

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- It appears to be the season for second thoughts about American intervention in Iraq. Periodic public-relations offensives after endless "turning points" have failed to halt the Bush administration's long-term slide in popular support. The misbegotten war in Iraq does more than discredit...

EDITORIALS

Jul 5, 2006

The Hashimoto legacy

Fortune did not smile on Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto when he sought the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party, and the premiership, for a second time in April 2001. He was badly defeated by Mr. Junichiro Koizumi. But Mr. Hashimoto, prime minister from January 1996 to July 1998, who died over the weekend...

EDITORIALS

Jul 5, 2006

Explanations only deepen suspicion

A South Korean man believed to have been kidnapped by North Korea 28 years ago was allowed to meet his mother and sister last week at Mount Kumgang in North Korea. Mr. Kim Young Nam (also known as Kim Chol Jun) is thought to be the man who married Ms. Megumi Yokota of Niigata, who was kidnapped by North...

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 5, 2006

Western geopolitics suffering from an infantile disorder

By Sergei Karaganov

PRAGUE -- Recent statements from some American leaders and North Atlantic Treaty Organization representatives give the impression that not only Islamic and other radicals, but also quite civilized figures, are losing their grasp of reality and have begun acting irrationally. The world is becoming an...

EDITORIALS

Jul 4, 2006

A new team in Vietnam

Vietnam has overhauled its leadership. The country's National Assembly last week affirmed the individuals selected by the congress of the Vietnam Communist Party. Members of the new team are considerably younger than their predecessors, and their common characteristic is a commitment to economic reform....

COMMENTARY

Jul 3, 2006

Will India-China border talks ever end?

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- For 25 years, India has been seeking to settle by negotiation with China the disputed Indo-Tibetan frontier. Yet, not only have the negotiations yielded no concrete progress on a settlement, but they also have failed so far to remove even the ambiguities plaguing the long line of control....

EDITORIALS

Jul 3, 2006

A new door opens with Ireland

A n announcement at the Foreign Ministry last week that Japan and Ireland have agreed to let their young people work part-time in each other's countries for up to a year was a reminder of how much benefit flows from the little-mentioned but widely utilized "working holiday program."

COMMENTARY

Jul 3, 2006

A public-relations disaster

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Politicians and officials are sometimes their countries' worst enemies. Some politicians and officials behave ineptly and tactlessly in ways that damage the national interests of their country.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 3, 2006

European women caught in leisure trap

By Heleen Mees

PRAGUE -- Black Friday in the United States traditionally is the day after Thanksgiving that signals the start of the holiday season sale. At daybreak, people line up before department stores to get the special "early bird" bargains.

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