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EDITORIALS

Feb 24, 2004

Malaysia's new look

Malaysia's new prime minister, Mr. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is wasting no time distinguishing himself in office. Typically, however, he is doing it quietly. Without a lot of fanfare, Mr. Badawi has launched a campaign to root out corruption. In foreign policy, he is smoothing over the rough relationships...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 24, 2004

Reserves could hasten Asian integration

By Pradumna B. Rana

Aside from a few indicators such as poverty levels that remain above precrisis levels (though they are coming down), East Asia's rebound from the Asian crisis of 1997-1998 is more or less complete. The capital-account crisis -- which was both a currency and banking crisis -- and Asia's increasing integration...

COMMENTARY

Feb 24, 2004

Abductions can't be buried

By Keizo Nabeshima

During the government-to-government talks in Pyongyang on Feb. 11-13, Japan and North Korea went no further than stating their respective positions on the abduction and nuclear issues. They did agree to continue negotiations.

EDITORIALS

Feb 23, 2004

Real leadership for Europe

A s European governments wrestle with the problems of an enlarged European Union, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are no easy answers. Despite nearly two years of preparation, a constitutional convention ended in stalemate last year. Last week, "the big three" -- Germany, France and Britain...

COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE

Feb 23, 2004

Casting calls begin for vice presidency

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has the Democratic nomination for president nearly wrapped up with his victory in Wisconsin last Tuesday, giving him victories in 15 of the 17 primaries and caucuses contested to date. There will be some mopping up, and then a cakewalk to his hometown of Boston...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Feb 23, 2004

Critical war questions beg for an answer

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- First, my historian friend George Akita sent me a clipping of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's article that appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser (Aug. 7, 2003). Titled "We need rules for waging war," the piece begins with McNamara remembering the night of March 9, 1945, when...

COMMENTARY

Feb 23, 2004

Revise the antimonopoly law

By Kiroku Hanai

Experts agree that Japan must strengthen its Antimonopoly Act, push deregulation to promote economic reform, reactivate its sluggish economy and protect consumer interests.

COMMENTARY

Feb 23, 2004

U.S. harsh line won't help

By Tom Plate

The official U.S. negotiating position for the upcoming North Korean peace talks in Beijing was recently laid out by the top U.S. negotiator, a respected man of peace. But details of the position may actually be a prescription for war. This is alarming.

EDITORIALS

Feb 22, 2004

Water, water everywhere

Water is not what it once was, a synonym for simplicity and transparency. We used to bathe in it unthinkingly, admire it in our scenic views, drink it straight from the well or tap, and generally take it for granted. It soothed us by its very plainness: "Meditation and water are wedded forever," said...

EDITORIALS

Feb 21, 2004

Shinsei Bank's impressive revival

Thursday's listing of Shinsei Bank on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is good news. It is proof of how a failed and nationalized bank can reinvent itself as a going concern through efficient and innovative private management. The downside is that it took trillions of yen in taxpayer money to revive the bank,...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 21, 2004

Stop exploitation of indigenous knowledge

By Alphonse Kambu and W. Bradnee Chambers

KUALA LUMPUR -- Threats to our way of life come in many shapes and forms -- degradation of the Earth's ecosystems, disease, social unrest. Indigenous peoples must face all of these, and now confront additional, equally serious, pressure on their livelihoods.

COMMENTARY

Feb 21, 2004

Once again, the East is rising

By David Howell

LONDON -- The other day a British businessmen, recently having visited Japan, recounted the words of a leading Japanese ship-owner. "Our ships" said this individual with a sigh, "are going fully loaded to Europe and America but these days coming back empty."

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.

With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear

By Jason Coskrey

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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