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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2011

Thailand Inc. versus Thaksin

Thailand is preparing to go to the polls on July 3 in an election that is supposed to mark the restoration of full democracy to the country, one of the liveliest, best-endowed and most promising countries in Asia. But the way the campaign is going, the chances are that Thailand will face another coup...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2011

Ahmadinejad tempts the wrath of Ayatollah

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now made the mistake that all Iranian presidents make: He has challenged the authority of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is doomed to fail.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2011

G-8 differ in reactions to Fukushima

While the Group of Eight wrapped up their two-day summit in Deauville, France, by agreeing on the need to better define international standards for nuclear safety, its member nations differ in their reactions to the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2011

Ripples from an arrest

The arrest of Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on charges of sexual assault in New York City has been the occasion for all sorts of salacious gossip and speculation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2011

Turkey serves as a role model for Arab world

As the Arab Spring enters its fourth month, it faces challenges but also presents opportunities. Despite setbacks in Libya, Yemen and Syria, the democratic wave has already begun to change the Middle East's political landscape.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 22, 2011

Untouchable lays bare a divided nation

With ebooks increasingly dominating the publishing market, it is a pleasure to hold a printed book so gorgeously designed as this one; the cover alone would make it a welcome addition to any Kenji Nakagami collection.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2011

Democracy's dawn in Middle East?

With protests fading in Tunis and seeming to have peaked in Cairo, it is time to ask whether Tunisia and Egypt will complete democratic transitions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2011

Tight-lipped Tepco lays bare exclusivity of press clubs

It was a shocking revelation for a majority of the people in Japan, but maybe not so for major media organizations.
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2011

And if Bashar Assad falls?

It's safe to say that we will never see an alliance between Israel and al-Qaida. Yet Syria's government-controlled media hint that this evil alliance exists as they grasp at any explanation, however implausible, that might discredit the anti-government protests that have shaken the Ba'ath Party's half-century...
COMMENTARY
Apr 15, 2011

U.S. Civil War: What if?

LONDON — It's not much as anniversaries go, but most of us won't be around in 50 years, so we'll have to settle for the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War. The groups who re-enact Civil War battles were therefore out in force on Tuesday, but does it matter to anybody else?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2011

Paint Thailand yellow and red, with a caveat to compromise

BANGKOK — After three consecutive years of deadly street protests, Thailand has arrived at the point where it will need to hold new elections, as the current term of its national assembly expires next December.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2011

France's hard right embraces soft populism

PARIS — The central paradox of French politics was confirmed once again March 27. In a nationwide vote to select local authorities (the so-called Conseiller General), the far-right National Front gained 11 percent of the votes cast, but secured only 0.1 percent of the seats.
Reader Mail
Mar 17, 2011

U.S. official walked into ambush

Regarding the March 11 front-page article "U.S. sacks Maher, apologizes for remarks ": Some facts are clearly being left out of the news reports on this topic. What Kevin Maher, director of Japan Affairs for the U.S. State Department, didn't know when he met with American University students in Washington...
COMMENTARY
Mar 16, 2011

The Libyan revolution's best hope? Egypt

LONDON — The Libyan revolution is losing the battle. Col. Moammar Gadhafi's army does not have much logistical capability, but it can get enough fuel and ammunition east along the coast road to attack Benghazi, Libya's second city, at some point in the next week or so. His army is not well trained...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2011

Al-Qaida watches as Arab dramas unfold

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Arab world has entered the most dramatic period in its modern history. Oppressive regimes are being swept away, as Arab people finally take their fate into their own hands.
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2011

Obsession with fault-finding

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara's resignation over receipt of political donations from a Korean resident underscores a problematic Political Funds Control Law and politicians' obsession with fault-finding to pull others down.
/ Sarah Furuya Coaching
Mar 3, 2011

Democracy's brakes on costly wars are fading

NEW YORK — As the United States takes up the decision to lift its self-imposed debt ceiling, we would do well to remember why America's public debt is as large as it is, and how it matters. With the rise of the tea party, Republicans may rail against raising the debt ceiling, but they are likely to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / U.S. THINK TANK SYMPOSIUM
Feb 26, 2011

Second term in mind, Obama seeks center

The U.S. midterm elections last November saw a seismic shift in American politics with the Democrats losing their majority in the House of Representatives. However, the Republicans in the House appear very much divided just a year before they start choosing their candidate for the 2012 presidential race,...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2011

Bracing for Pakistan's 'Mubarak moment'

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's domestic situation is becoming increasingly precarious. Indeed, serious questions are being raised as to whether the country can survive in its present form.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2011

Oil prices and social unrest

HONG KONG — The resignation of Hosni Mubarak after a 30-year reign as modern-day pharaoh of Egypt has demonstrated the nervous and potentially combustible connection between oil and politics in the Middle East. As soon as Mubarak quit after weeks of demonstrations, oil prices dropped, but quickly rose...
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2011

Israel's post-Mubarak fear

LONDON — In his first public comment on the unfolding drama in Egypt, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, worried aloud last week that the right analogy may be the Iranian revolution of 1979: "Our real fear is of a situation . . . which has already developed in several countries including...
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2011

Kansai biz chiefs call for TPP entry, more investment

KYOTO — Kansai's corporate leaders concluded their annual seminar Thursday by calling on Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government to swiftly join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, and for increased investment in infrastructure projects they say are necessary for the region to compete...
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2011

Major parties put on notice

The results of the "triple vote" in Nagoya last Sunday smack of political theatrics but serve as a warning to the current two main parties — the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party — to correctly respond to people's dissatisfaction.
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2011

Ronald Reagan at 100

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan. While Ronaldus Magnus (as he is known among some admirers) was not made president for life and beyond like North Korea's Kim Il Sung, 23 years after his term in office ended he remains the lodestar for U.S. conservatives and the Republican...
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2011

Lama drama and intrigue

NEW DELHI — The police seizure of large sums of Chinese currency from the Indian monastery of the China-anointed, but now India-based, Karmapa Lama — one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism — has revived old suspicions about his continuing links with China and forced him to deny that...
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2011

Edano to hold weekly press briefings for all reporters

The top government spokesman's news conferences will be open once a week to reporters outside members of the press club for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's office, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2011

Ishihara comes out for more immigration

Despite being known for xenophobic remarks, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara claims he welcomes an increase in foreign residents and says Japan should allow more immigrants to live here.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years