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COMMENTARY

Dec 25, 2000

China's U.S. envoy is no stranger to Bush

By Jim Mann

WASHINGTON -- How many nations can send to America an ambassador who has been a personal friend of the Bush family for nearly a quarter-century?

COMMENTARY

Dec 25, 2000

Judicial reform falls short

By Kiroku Hanai

A government panel on judiciary reform produced an interim report in November that called for specific measures, such as creating law schools and tripling the annual crop of legal experts-to-be (those who pass the state law exam) to 3,000.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 25, 2000

Sanctions target the innocent

By Ramesh Thakur

The use of sanctions as a tool of foreign and international policy increased dramatically in the 20th century. Yet as the crumbling sanctions on Iraq show, their track record in ensuring compliance is pitiful. They inflict pain on ordinary citizens while imposing questionable costs on leaders who are...

EDITORIALS

Dec 24, 2000

The lessons of Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986, the world had its first full-scale nuclear disaster. On that day, the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant in Ukraine exploded, sending a huge cloud of radioactive dust across Europe. Earlier this month, Ukraine's government shut down the last working reactor at the Chernobyl...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 24, 2000

How fast is China's economy growing?

By David Wall

CAMBRIDGE, England -- It is that time of year again when statisticians in Beijing have to decide how fast the Chinese economy grew in the last year. Or rather, not so much how much it grew but how much they are going to claim it grew. More so than anywhere else the figures for growth in gross domestic...

COMMENTARY

Dec 24, 2000

English-education reform gets watered down

By Gregory Clark

Imagine the fuss if Japan's car industry was producing a million defective cars a year. But for some reason no one bothers much if Japan's English-education industry produces roughly that number of defective English speakers each year.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 24, 2000

Arms policy playing into China's hands

By Ted Galen Carpenter

WASHINGTON -- As tensions continue to simmer between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, the Bush administration will come under increasing pressure to provide Taiwan with a firm security guarantee. That could be dangerous and put the United States directly at risk. Instead, the U.S. should increase...

EDITORIALS

Dec 23, 2000

Another round in Kashmir

It is difficult to get excited about talk of peace in Kashmir. India and Pakistan, the two main parties to the conflict in that troubled region, have tried and abandoned a series of initiatives in recent years. Indeed, India refuses to involve Islamabad in any discussions, and this is despite the fact,...

COMMENTARY

Dec 23, 2000

Robert Downey's problem is not criminal

By Doug Bandow

Drugs can exercise a powerful hold over the human person. Witness American actor Robert Downey, Jr.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 23, 2000

Volunteerism: not just a Western idea

By Hisashi Uno

Even before global observance of the International Year of Volunteers begins in January, Japanese are deeply involved in a search for the spirit of international volunteerism. Some insist that it is based on the wisdom of Oriental thought.

COMMENTARY

Dec 23, 2000

Cabinet reshuffle solves little

By Kenzo Uchida

Just a week remains until the curtain comes down on the 20th century. We are, in the true sense of the phrase, at the end of a century. Words like fin de siecle and millennium tend to be tossed about, but this year really can only be described as one of end-of-the-century blues.

EDITORIALS

Dec 22, 2000

Punishing 'a haven of lawlessness'

That is how the United Nations Security Council justified its vote earlier this week to impose new sanctions against the government of Afghanistan. Voting 13-0, with two abstentions, the Security Council has demanded that the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist regime in Kabul, close "terrorist" training...

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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