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EDITORIALS

Jan 31, 2000

Matters of life and death

Medical blunders in the nation's hospitals invariably make headlines -- when they are discovered and acknowledged. The patient's right to informed consent has been severely tested by reports that two patients at a municipal hospital in Osaka Prefecture were recently operated on for a second time without...

COMMENTARY

Jan 31, 2000

Let the great debate begin

By Keizo Nabeshima

The Diet is finally launching debate on constitutional issues, breaking a long-standing political taboo. As the ordinary Diet session opened Jan. 20, both houses created panels to conduct the first parliamentary debate on the pros and cons of constitutional amendments. All political parties will take...

EDITORIALS

Jan 30, 2000

Emperors of the rag trade

"Haute couture" -- high fashion -- has long been good for a laugh. One of the best therapies for gloom in Tokyo is to stroll along the southeastern end of Omotesando, in Aoyama, where the fashion boutiques cluster. The prison-block architecture (rain-streaked cement tastefully accessorized with rust)...

COMMENTARY

Jan 30, 2000

Why Taro can't speak English

By Gregory Clark

It's exam season in Japan, and once again the problem of English language education is being churned over. This time the debate threatens to turn serious, for three reasons.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2000

Can hard industry spike the Net bubble?

By Edward Neilan

Time Warner's one-two megamerger punch, first with America Online then with British music giant EMI Group, followed last week by shares of Yahoo Japan Corp. exceeding 100 million yen, sent many investors and observers searching for a psychological safety blanket.

EDITORIALS

Jan 29, 2000

Mr. Clinton presses resolutely on

U.S. President Bill Clinton delivered his eighth, and perhaps final, State of the Union address this week. The popular perception of the president is that of a lame duck, girding for his last year in office, wounded by the scandals that have tainted his two terms in office and restrained by the distractions...

EDITORIALS

Jan 28, 2000

A warning from cyberspace

Welcome to the digital world. That was not the actual wording of the message hackers left on Japanese government Web pages this week, but it was the meaning for anyone who bothered to read between the lines. This week's incidents were an embarrassment, or at most a nuisance. Next time, the damage could...

COMMENTARY

Jan 28, 2000

Debate kicks off on the Constitution

By Kenzo Uchida

As the ordinary Diet session opened Jan. 20, the tripartite ruling bloc and the opposition forces squared off over a proposal to cut the number of Lower House seats. With a dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election looming, sharp rivalry is brewing between the coalition, made up of the Liberal...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 28, 2000

Karmapa's flight spurs intrigue

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

NEW DELHI -- A few weeks after the daring flight from Tibet to India of the 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, an air of intrigue has descended on the Buddhist front.

EDITORIALS

Jan 27, 2000

Freedom Party gets its chance

Political deadlock has brought Austria's far-right Freedom Party to the brink of power. That has created unease among those who worry that joining the Cabinet will legitimize the party's extreme views -- and those of like-minded political groups elsewhere in Europe. Freedom's views are troublesome, but...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 27, 2000

Bringing an end to South Asia's cycle of violence

By Abul Kalam

South Asia once again is in a cycle of violence. It began with the drama of the seven-day hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. The ordeal came to a shocking end on the eve of the new millennium as India's external affairs minister, who vowed to not give in to the terrorists' demands, swapped three...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 27, 2000

Restructuring, but with a human touch

By George Sioris

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The most popular "buzzwords" in this time of change must surely be "globalization" and "restructuring." Allow me to indulge in one more reference to the latter with some remarks that may be quickly criticized as an example of "old-school, bureaucratic" thinking.

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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