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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Saudi Arabia's oil enigma

Saudi Arabia is sometimes likened to a central bank managing the global oil market, adding or withdrawing supplies to control prices. But that vastly overstates the degree of influence, let alone control, that the kingdom exercises over the market.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2013

Selective rights, illegal wars

One cannot help thinking these days that the legal, political and even moral blind spots that exist in the United States must always somehow involve Muslims.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2013

Currency veteran offers BOJ credibility on reflation

The Bank of Japan may pack a bigger punch under Haruhiko Kuroda, an opponent of deflation who ran the nation's currency policy and then built an international reputation leading the Asian Development Bank.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2010

Study abroad key to Japan's future

The lack of student interest in studying abroad is casting a shadow over the future of this quickly graying nation, according to a noted German business professor.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2010

China's leaders walk a fine line

While China's National People's Congress (NPC) does not function like a legislature in the West, its annual meeting is still an important date on the country's political calendar. At the conclave, the Chinese leadership lays out its policy agenda for the year ahead, and the government work program is...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2009

Eco-points credited with sales boost

People are snatching up hybrid cars, solar panels and energy-efficient TVs, wooed by government incentives designed to battle a recession while conserving energy.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2009

Prophet of world-culture clashes is dead

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A giant died early last week. His name was Samuel Huntington, a Harvard professor whose gigantism was intellectual. His ideas left huge footprints on our intellectual landscape, the way giant storms impact the Earth. Minds were shaken, sometimes stirred, and never left untouched....
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2008

NGOs on the go

Japan's election as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council in mid-October means that Japan will again be able to make positive marks around the world. Though this is the 10th time for Japan to serve, the current problems in the world mean that Japan's interactions with foreign countries...
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2007

DHL calls for change of views

Asked to name the largest German employers in Japan, names most likely to come to mind would be car makers, auto parts manufacturers, or pharmaceutical giants. The second-largest is, in fact, DHL, the world's leading international express and logistics company. In Japan, DHL aims to continue its double-digit...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 6, 2007

Bear with me on this

Hiker beware. For the woods are full of bears. And they will get you if you don't watch out.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 5, 2006

Crown Prince recalls his life at Oxford University

THE THAMES AND I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford, by the Crown Prince of Japan, translated by Hugh Cortazzi. Global Oriental, 150 pp., 2006, £30 (cloth). "Thames and I" by the Crown Prince is a detailed account of the two years he spent at the University of Oxford in Britain. It is marked by penetrating...
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2006

End of an era at the Fed

Mr. Alan Greenspan ended his 18-year tenure as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board this week, stepping down after the Fed raised interest rates to their highest level in nearly five years.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2006

Saving our environment one step at a time

Having ended 2005 with a rant (see below), let me begin 2006 on a more positive note by introducing some valuable environmental education resources.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 31, 2005

Far-fetched redesigns between the lines

NEW YORK -- "Contrapuntal reading," as Edward Said called it, is the ability to read between the lines. The reader must be able to have what is referred to, but not described, play off the main descriptive concern. This ability is particularly important with novels written while empire-building was in...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2005

Lineage of the Asian community concept

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Last fall the embryonic concept of an Asian community appeared to gain some momentum. Now, of course, other topics, mainly the tragedy of the Dec. 26 tsunamis, have monopolized public attention, but the vision of a broader Asian community deserves further discussion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 10, 2004

Manga animates new millennium

Manga took a giant leap into its future on New Year's Day 1963, when space-age cartoon images from Osamu Tezuka's famed comic book "Tetsuwa Atomu (Astro Boy)" came to life in Japan's first original animated TV series. This was the birth of anime, which has now mushroomed into a multi-billion-dollar global...
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2002

Isuzu may take advantage of special tax breaks

Isuzu Motors Ltd. may accelerate its restructuring moves under the industrial revitalization law to take advantage of tax breaks and other favorable treatment, company sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2001

A challenging century ahead

The first year of the 21st century has been plagued by terror, confusion and instability. The Sept. 11 terror blitz in the United States changed long-standing perceptions about the world, civilization and war overnight. Toward the end of the year, the U.S.-led allied forces succeeded in their retaliatory...
CULTURE / Art
Nov 7, 2001

Putting the regions back in the spotlight

There is cultural life thriving outside Kanto and Kansai. As proof of this, if proof were needed, the new Iwate Museum of Art in Morioka City opened to the public last month. Its core collection -- of 20th-century prints, paintings and sculptures by artists born, trained or resident in the region --...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 8, 2001

The Japanese Constitution gets a provocative look

FIVE DECADES OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN JAPANESE SOCIETY, edited by Yoshio Higuchi. University of Tokyo Press, 2001, 368 pp., 8,000 yen. A major stumbling block for Japan on its road to becoming a more influential member of the global community has been a profound absence of voice. Japanese politicians,...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2001

Diplomacy fails to measure up

The administration of President George W. Bush has disclosed major changes in U.S. military and diplomatic strategies. These include the stepped-up deployment of U.S. missile defense systems, the discontinuation of the "two major war" approach and the overhaul of policies toward North Korea.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 31, 2001

Graffiti blasts Beijing demolition

Under the cover of darkness and armed with a can of spray paint, Zhang Dali pedals his bicycle around the quiet Beijing streets with the intention of giving the city a new face -- sometimes two or three.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 20, 2023

As NATO increases Asia outreach, questions hang over the nature of its role

While the U.S. wants further alliance involvement in Asia as American defense planners increasingly focus on China, not all members are on board with that vision.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
Jun 13, 2023

From Japan to the U.S. and back: Thriving as a woman in international finance

Chikako Matsumoto achieved her dream of joining the World Bank, and later returned to her home country and executive roles there.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2023

Can the world’s democracies survive the ‘polycrisis’?

Artificial intelligence, climate change, and Russia's war in Ukraine are causing global angst — each of which demands urgent attention from policymakers and political leaders.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2023

Politics by other means in the Modi vs. BBC row

The subversion of India’s media through public institutions, tax authorities and enforcement agencies is a legacy that started long before the BJP came to power.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2023

In Tokyo, a more natural vision for an unnatural waterfront

Against a history of development and environmental issues, a plan by the Tokyo government conjures up images of lush parks and biodiverse shores. Bringing it to fruition won't be easy.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Dec. 29. Meloni is expected to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden this week.
WORLD
Jul 27, 2023

Meloni to tell Biden privately Italy plans break with China

The Italian prime minister is not planning to go public on her decision to break with China during her short trip to Washington.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?