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October 05, 2025

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COMMENTARY / World

Nov 13, 2005

Let business trump quest for dominance

By James A. Dorn

WASHINGTON -- The task for U.S. policymakers is to engage China while treating it as a rising great power that could be a legitimate threat. In particular, America needs to continue a policy of engagement and avoid destructive protectionism. Forging a constructive U.S.-China partnership will be the major...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Nov 12, 2005

Downsized Russian holiday

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Wouldn't you feel confused if your government moved Christmas Day to Dec. 21 and named it the Day of Fraternal Oscillation?

EDITORIALS

Nov 12, 2005

For a more efficient criminal trial

A new criminal-trial system started in Japan on Nov. 1 when the revised Criminal Procedure Law went into effect. The key point of revision is the introduction of a "pretrial clarification procedure," whereby prosecutors and attorneys outline their respective evidence and arguments before trial begins....

EDITORIALS

Nov 11, 2005

High hopes for Mr. Mitarai

Mr. Fujio Mitarai, president of Canon Inc., has been picked to succeed Mr. Hiroshi Okuda as head of Nippon Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation). He will start leading the organization dubbed as the "commanding headquarters" of Japan's business community in May 2006.

COMMENTARY

Nov 11, 2005

Is capitalism key to peace?

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- In a world that seems constantly aflame, one naturally asks: What causes peace? Many people, including U.S. President George W. Bush, hope that spreading democracy will discourage war.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 10, 2005

The reduction of impunity

By Ramesh Thakur

Government is about making and implementing public policy choices. These are neither always easy nor always right. Governments, like individuals, do make mistakes. But in democracies, the task of making decisions on behalf of the people is delegated to elected representatives who then answer to the courts...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 10, 2005

Cultural diversity strengthens nations

By Kazuo Ogoura

During UNESCO's recent biannual conference at its Paris headquarters, the United States remained adamant in its opposition to the conclusion of an international convention on cultural diversity. On the surface it appears that the U.S. position is mainly motivated by trade interests. The U.S. seems to...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 9, 2005

The politics of assigning a nuclear carrier to Japan

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- The easy part of newly assigning a U.S. aircraft carrier to Japan, which was to persuade the Japanese to accept a nuclear-powered vessel, has been accomplished. Now comes the hard part: deciding which one of 10 carriers should be based in the port of Yokosuka.

EDITORIALS

Nov 9, 2005

Step up relief for quake victims

The sufferings of survivors continue one month after the magnitude-7.6 earthquake ravaged northern Pakistan on Oct. 8. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has called the quake "a huge, huge disaster -- perhaps the biggest we have ever seen." But it is never too late for other nations and peoples...

EDITORIALS

Nov 8, 2005

Ending the zero-rate policy

In March 2001, the Bank of Japan set short-term interest rates at near zero, declaring that the nation's economy had entered a period of deflation. That extra-loose monetary policy, which is said to have had few parallels in the world, is likely to change next spring, because an upturn in consumer prices...

EDITORIALS

Nov 7, 2005

Draft revision tosses principles aside

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has long claimed that the present pacifist Constitution was imposed on the Japanese people by the Occupation Forces, has announced a draft revision. Although the text begins promisingly enough with "The Japanese people, based on their own will and determination, establish...

COMMENTARY

Nov 6, 2005

Slow relief adds to the peril

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- In the past year the world has suffered a series of natural disasters that have caused the deaths of some 200,000 people, serious injuries to many more, and enormous damage to property and infrastructure. Relief efforts by governments have often been too little and too late. Nongovernment organizations...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.

Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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