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EDITORIALS

May 17, 2005

What price justice?

In the wake of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's visit to Japan last week, we must consider the price of justice. The topics of his talks with Japanese leaders included a request for financial support for an international tribunal to try surviving members of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime. Japan should...

COMMENTARY

May 16, 2005

Relax, breathe, leave the smokers alone

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- One of the most persecuted minorities in America, and increasingly in other countries, is smokers. U.S. cities and states have imposed ever more Draconian restrictions on lighting up a cigarette, and a bipartisan coalition of paternalistic legislators on Capitol Hill now is pushing for...

EDITORIALS

May 16, 2005

Sharper sense of nuclear safety

The latest annual report from Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission is a troubling reminder that accident prevention remains a key priority for the nation's nuclear power industry. The head of the commission acknowledges in the foreword that last August's tragedy in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture -- Japan's deadliest...

COMMENTARY

May 16, 2005

Braking an arms free-for-all

By Keizo Nabeshima

The 2005 review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which opened May 2 at U.N. headquarters in New York, remains in limbo, although the agenda has finally been agreed.

EDITORIALS

May 15, 2005

Standing up to the death industry

Maple trees are famous for the gaudy show they put on each fall as their leaves change color. But they put on a spring show, too, as you may have noticed lately. In their anxiety to propagate, maples have evolved a stunningly efficient method of seed distribution. Winged pairs of seeds are released en...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

May 15, 2005

Cannon fodder won the war

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Writing a book is not unlike planting a garden. You make elaborate plans for each section; you comb encyclopedias and guides for advice; you collect every piece of information about the species that interests you; you say to yourself that, unlike other gardens, yours is going to be consistent,...

EDITORIALS

May 14, 2005

A Holocaust memorial

A monument 17 years in the making officially opened Tuesday in the heart of Berlin. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe -- a city block of blank gray concrete slabs or pillars erected near the German Parliament building -- drew predictably mixed responses. Yet, by all accounts, its American architect,...

COMMENTARY

May 14, 2005

How the U.S. courts a diplomatic fiasco

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- The government of North Korea is difficult to deal with, no matter who you are. Just ask China's leaders. After all, they are Pyongyang's closest ally and yet they probably find dealing with leader Kim Jong Il not a whole lot more fun than their testy cross-strait exchanges with Taiwan's...

COMMENTARY / World

May 14, 2005

Asia's growing role in global economy

By David Burton

WASHINGTON -- The recently concluded spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund focused on several key questions of concern to the international community: the prospects for sustaining global economic growth, reducing vulnerabilities in the international financial system, reducing poverty in...

EDITORIALS

May 13, 2005

Revitalizing the startup spirit

Small businesses play an important role in creating jobs and invigorating markets. Since the mid-1990s, however, the number of small-business startups has declined, according to this year's white paper on small and medium-size enterprises. The question is how to reverse the trend. The report calls for...

COMMENTARY

May 13, 2005

China cracks rights window

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- Last month, China issued a white paper that purported to show progress it had made on the human-rights front in 2004. It was immediately dismissed by human-rights organizations as little more than propaganda. While this may well be true, there are signs of significant progress on human rights....

EDITORIALS

May 12, 2005

The meaning of triumph over evil

Sixty years ago, Nazi Germany was defeated. World leaders gathered in Moscow this week to commemorate that victory over evil. Many will wonder why that celebration was held in Moscow. That such a question could be asked is a stark reminder of the speed with which the past is receding. It is reveals why...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.

How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan

By Megha Wadhwa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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