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EDITORIALS

Dec 14, 2000

Help needed for discontented workers

Despite the continuing bleak employment picture, perhaps partly because of it, many Japanese working men and women say they are unhappy in their jobs. This is not surprising, since changes in the traditional workplace are occurring so rapidly that the old rules and procedures for minimizing employee...

EDITORIALS

Dec 13, 2000

The EU makes nice in Nice

At its make-or-break summit last weekend in Nice, the European Union bent. Faced with the need to reform to accommodate new members and new responsibilities, European heads of state produced the inevitable compromises and fudges. Some choices were made; others, predictably, were put off. Still, the ground...

COMMENTARY

Dec 13, 2000

Look to history for guidance

By David Howell

THE REICHSTAG, Berlin -- Here in this building, 68 years ago, German democracy died, ushering in the darkest period of 20th-century history.

EDITORIALS

Dec 12, 2000

The banks' 'lost decade' continues

Japanese banks' performance for the first half of the current fiscal year delivers a disquieting message: They are still saddled with a large number of problem loans. For years, they have been saying that the worst is over -- and it is true that the danger of a financial meltdown no longer exists. But...

COMMENTARY

Dec 12, 2000

Economic outlook is gloomy

By Yukio Suzuki

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori faces an uncertain future after surviving a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet in the Diet last month. Koichi Kato, a leading dissident in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and fellow rebels had vowed to vote for the opposition-sponsored motion, but they changed their...

COMMENTARY

Dec 10, 2000

Conservation and clean energy

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The global-warming conference in the Netherlands last month ended without agreement. Some scientists are still debating how real global warming is and how serious its effects are likely to be. Others are still inclined to argue that climates evolve naturally with warm and cold periods alternating....

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 10, 2000

U.S. presidential elections should go global

By Kenichi Ohmae

LOS ANGELES -- Americans watching events play out in Florida since Nov. 7 may feel a surreal sense of powerlessness; their president is being chosen by a handful of Palm Beach residents, it seems. In short, Americans have now gotten a taste of the way the rest of the world feels with each presidential...

EDITORIALS

Dec 10, 2000

Blood in the music

What's in a tune? When it comes to national anthems, a very great deal, it seems. In the first place, people like one they can actually sing, and in the second place, they like one that stirs and rouses the emotions, making them feel briefly part of something larger than themselves.

COMMENTARY

Dec 10, 2000

American democracy teeters on the brink

By TED RALL

NEW YORK -- There's plenty of room for reasonable disagreement in this post-election netherworld. The Bushies are right that we need a president-elect and we needed one weeks ago; despite lackadaisical opinion polls and surprising public apathy, the legal maneuvering over recounts can't go on forever....

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 10, 2000

The Japanese language goes international

By Roger Pulvers

This is the ninth of a 10-part series on contemporary Japan.

EDITORIALS

Dec 9, 2000

Mr. Fox gets down to business

Mexico's new president, Mr. Vicente Fox, has wasted no time in getting down to business. During the campaign, he promised sweeping change. The Mexican people believed him, voting him into office in a historic election. In his inaugural address last week, Mr. Fox stuck to his theme of renewal. But the...

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 9, 2000

Refuges are running out for Pinochet

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON -- The freedom to murder your fellow citizens with impunity used to be what made up for the long hours and all the paperwork. Some people simply wouldn't have taken the job of president without it, and Augusto Pinochet was one of them. If somebody had told the former Chilean dictator that he would...

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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