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EDITORIALS

Aug 29, 2002

Inching toward normalization talks

Japan and North Korea are moving toward resuming the long-stalled talks to normalize relations. Foreign ministry officials from the two nations met in Pyongyang for two days earlier this week and agreed to continue consultations to explore the possibilities for restarting the negotiations. Also, Prime...

EDITORIALS

Aug 28, 2002

Perils of attacking Iraq

The debate on the pros and cons of a U.S. attack on Iraq is heating up in the United States and elsewhere. Whether Iraq is a member of the "axis of evil" or not, there is no doubt that President George W. Bush sees its continuing development of weapons of mass destruction as a serious threat to U.S....

COMMENTARY

Aug 28, 2002

George W. Bush's two-faced foreign policy

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- Which country poses a serious threat because of its established links with international terrorism, proven program to develop weapons of mass destruction and close ties with other dictatorships in WMD-related matters? To a resident of New Delhi, the answer may be obvious: Pakistan, bristling...

COMMENTARY

Aug 28, 2002

'Sweet and sour' diplomacy

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- "U.S.-North Korean military meet to reduce tensions." "North Korea threatens to withdraw from nuclear agreement with U.S."

EDITORIALS

Aug 27, 2002

Strict political ethics are overdue

The indictment last week of Lower House member Muneo Suzuki on fresh charges of bribery is a reminder that money politics is alive -- if not well -- and that genuine political reform remains a long way off. Public prosecutors are reportedly building new cases against him for possible campaign-fund abuse...

COMMENTARY

Aug 27, 2002

Build alternative to Yasukuni

By Kiroku Hanai

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in April inflamed Beijing, casting a chill on Japan-China relations. The row forced Koizumi to cancel a visit to Beijing he had planned for this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations....

COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA

Aug 26, 2002

Emphasize the beauty for grand objectives

By Jean-pierre Lehmann

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The best book on the modern Japanese political economy is the late Shigeto Tsuru's "Japan's Capitalism: Creative Defeat and Beyond," published by Cambridge University Press in 1993. Tsuru holds to the great original tradition of economics as a sub-branch of moral philosophy,...

COMMENTARY

Aug 26, 2002

Shrinking realm of privacy

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Privacy is now increasingly recognized as an important human right, but its limits are not easy to define. How far, for instance, should the press be prevented from intrusive photography of VIPs? The media generally argue that it is their job to report on the movements and actions of public...

EDITORIALS

Aug 26, 2002

The only superpower and the ICC

With globalism setting the pace for the 21st century, the need to strengthen the rule of law is growing. From this perspective, the creation of the International Criminal Court as the world's first permanent war-crimes tribunal is of historic significance. A treaty establishing the court came into force...

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 26, 2002

China hardly a 'natural' regional leader

By Christopher Lingle and Kurt Wickman

The Chinese economy seems to have performed remarkably well both during the "Asian financial crisis" of 1997-98 and the recent global economic slowdown. One might conclude that the present Chinese economy is robust and in a position to perform well over the course of the world business cycle -- that...

COMMENTARY

Aug 26, 2002

Diplomatic prowess for less

By Keizo Nabeshima

A ministerial meeting of the Initiative for Development in East Asia, held in Tokyo on Aug. 12, acknowledged the significance of maintaining adequate Official Development Assistance as a tool for strengthening regional cooperation and agreed to examine how to make more effective use of ODA. The meeting...

EDITORIALS

Aug 25, 2002

A sea of confusion

'L ord, what fools these mortals be." That was Shakespeare's Puck venting his exasperation. Unfortunately, things haven't improved much in humanity's sandbox in the intervening four centuries.

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

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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