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COMMENTARY / World

May 31, 1999

A de facto treaty revision

By Morihiro Hosokawa

The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, signed in 1951, is understood to be an arrangement whereby the United States, in exchange for the use of military bases in Japan, is committed to the rescue of this nation in the event of external aggression. Japan, with its "war-renouncing" Constitution, follows a policy...

EDITORIALS

May 29, 1999

Wiretapping is a two-edged tool

The threat to public safety posed by rising rates of organized crime requires new tools and techniques in the hands of the police. On that there is scant disagreement, except possibly among lawbreakers and potential lawbreakers themselves. It is not so clear, however, that the answer to growing public...

EDITORIALS

May 28, 1999

An old conflict, a new twist

The dispute over Kashmir has sparked two wars between India and Pakistan and countless smaller incidents. Currently, the countries are engaged in their worst clash over the territory in years. This time, however, there is a big difference: The two are nuclear powers. If the conflict spirals out of control,...

COMMENTARY

May 28, 1999

A step in the right direction

By Keizo Nabeshima

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi agreed with U.S. and South Korean officials in Tokyo Monday on the need to continue trilateral cooperation in their policies toward North Korea. It is highly significant that Obuchi's agreement with U.S. policy coordinator William Perry and South Korean Unification Minister...

EDITORIALS

May 27, 1999

Tiny, but deadly killers

A silent killer has been stalking Malaysia. Since October, over 250 people have been sickened and over 100 have died as a result of a mysterious viral infection. Despite intensive government measures to combat the outbreak, it continues to baffle health investigators. There is uncertainty about the virus'...

EDITORIALS

May 26, 1999

The IMF is called to account

The International Monetary Fund has already received a lot of flak from private experts for giving the wrong advice to troubled Asian economies. Another analysis to that effect, therefore, is nothing new. What is new -- and significant -- is that the Japanese government, in an official report, has now...

EDITORIALS

May 25, 1999

Security not served by vagueness

The controversial bills for implementing the Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines finally cleared the Upper House Monday with some key issues remaining unresolved or vague: at least they seem so to ordinary people. One such issue is the emergency condition that requires Japan to mobilize the Self-Defense...

EDITORIALS

May 24, 1999

The world's second oldest profession

W ith a U.S. congressional committee poised to release a report on alleged Chinese spying at U.S. nuclear facilities, the political furor in Washington over the theft of U.S. military secrets is certain to escalate, and could cause serious political repercussions in the United States and in its foreign...

EDITORIALS

May 23, 1999

Break the corporate extortion habit

The report that as many as 59 leading Japanese companies were victims of extortion by "sokaiya" corporate racketeers, so-called rightist groups, organized gang members and other criminals in 1998 was treated as a major revelation by the mass media. The news came as the result of a survey conducted early...

COMMENTARY / World

May 23, 1999

Save whales with science, not sentiment

By Stephen S. Boynton

The death of Lennie's pet mouse in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" conveys the tragedy and guilt that overpowers us all when good intentions produce the exact opposite of what we hoped to accomplish.

EDITORIALS

May 22, 1999

Red alert for the Loonies

There was gloomy news last week in the sphere of international politics -- so gloomy, in fact, that had it not been for Israel's spirited rejection of its most unhelpful prime minister ever, Benjamin ("Turn-the-clock-back Bibi") Netanyahu, monitors of social progress everywhere would now be inconsolable....

EDITORIALS

May 21, 1999

'New economy' under siege

The U.S. economy's strength has prompted speculation that it is a "new economy," in which information technology boosts productivity and cuts margins, allowing high growth, low unemployment and almost no inflation. Academics are arguing over the validity of the theory, but among its adherents is Mr....

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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