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COMMENTARY

Sep 22, 2002

Al Gore's amnesia on abuse of liberties

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is apparently on the hunt for votes in the 2004 presidential race. He criticized the Bush administration on just about every ground at a recent dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus. The greatest moment of unintended hilarity came when he said...

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 22, 2002

France losing steam for radical reform

By Jonathan Fenby

PARIS -- Three months ago, the French center-right scored two stunning electoral victories. As a result of miscalculations and voter apathy, the Socialists who had formed the government since 1997 crashed to defeat, and President Jacques Chirac was re-elected with 82 percent of the vote in a runoff ballot...

COMMENTARY

Sep 21, 2002

Underestimating the players

By Ralph Cossa

SEOUL -- The success of Tuesday's Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang shows just how much critics underestimated both Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Both demonstrated a considerable amount of diplomatic skill, and courage, during this historic one-day...

EDITORIALS

Sep 21, 2002

An inventor's rights to rewards

An invention is the product of inspiration, endeavor and innovation on the part of one or more researchers. Breakthrough inventions may enrich human life and enliven economic activity. One such example in Japan is a semiconductor diode that transmits blue light when electricity is passed through it....

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 21, 2002

Myanmar's SPDC must honor its word

By Nyunt Shwe

Visits to Myanmar by United Nations Special Envoy Ismail Razali and Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi ended in hopes that change would take place. Unfortunately, however, Myanmar's generals have shown no sign of turning their words into action, and the country's situation continues to deteriorate. If...

COMMENTARY

Sep 21, 2002

Past returns to haunt Taiwan's Kuomintang

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- The Kuomintang's chickens have come home to roost. The KMT, which was swept off the China mainland in 1949 by Communist forces, ruled Taiwan from then until two years ago, when it was defeated in the presidential elections by Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 21, 2002

Testing times for the U.N.

By Ramesh Thakur

In finally taking the vexed issue of war with Iraq to the United Nations, U.S. President George W. Bush has presented the organization with a double-edged test of credibility. Will it lift its performance and remain relevant to U.S. foreign policy on Washington's terms, or in doing so will it be seen...

EDITORIALS

Sep 20, 2002

Following up the Pyongyang summit

North Korea's acknowledgment of its involvement in the kidnappings of Japanese nationals marks a major milestone in the off-and-on normalization talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang that began in 1991. With the negotiations resuming next month, following Tuesday's summit agreement between Prime Minister...

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2002

Political lull comes to an end

By Kenzo Uchida

This past summer was rather quiescent both politically and economically. About the only big story was former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's resignation from the Diet over allegations that she misused the state-funded pay of her legislative secretaries.

EDITORIALS

Sep 19, 2002

The Pyongyang achievement

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday achieved a breakthrough, although a qualified one, in ending decades-long mutual enmity between Japan and North Korea. In fact, the outcome of the talks between the two leaders at the historic summit in Pyongyang was more...

EDITORIALS

Sep 18, 2002

Playing at democracy

Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat is coming under increasing pressure to adopt democratic reforms. In an important development, the traditionally passive Palestinian Parliament appears to have taken up the call for real change. Mr. Arafat has so far responded with his old tricks: talking a...

COMMENTARY

Sep 18, 2002

Ball now in U.N. and Baghdad's court

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- When it comes to dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, U.S. President George W. Bush's Sept. 12 speech to the United Nations General Assembly has finally put the ball back where it belongs: first in the U.N.'s and then in Baghdad's court . . . and how the former acts will largely determine...

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

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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