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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2004

Koreans bring Christ to people

A rooftop chapel in Tokyo is on an evangelical mission, spreading the word with fire, brimstone, levity -- and food -- to a flock of 200 homeless people every Sunday morning.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2004

As axis turns, Pyongyang feels the squeeze

SEOUL -- It turns out that the construct of the "axis of evil" was more than an applause line in the 2002 State of the Union speech by U.S. President George W. Bush. What it really has come to convey is the interaction between axis members, which was little appreciated by Bush speechwriters at the time....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2004

Reliance on Komeito reflects LDP decline

Soon after the Nov. 9 general election of the House of Representatives, the Democratic Party of Japan compiled a thick report analyzing the results of all 300 single-seat constituencies.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 11, 2003

Internet levels fundraising field for Howard Dean

WASHINGTON -- You may never have heard of Zephyr Teachout, a 31-year-old teacher from up north, but she is close to being the Gutenberg of the Internet Age for politicians.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 7, 2003

Traditions of fiction that can liberate and stifle

VIRTUAL LOTUS: Modern Fiction of Southeast Asia, edited by Teri Schaffer Yamada. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2002, 332 pp., $29.95 (paper). Though novels are not unknown in Southeast Asia, it is the short-story form that has been chosen here to represent the area. Neither novels nor...
COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2003

Chen plays a dangerous game

HONOLULU -- Is President Chen Shui-bian trying to provoke a crisis with China in the runup to Taiwan's March 2004 presidential elections?
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2003

A victory for hardliners

Hardliners from both ends of the political spectrum are the winners of elections held in Northern Ireland last week. The polarization of politics is a sign of weariness and wariness on the part of voters and is another blow to the tattered Good Friday peace accords.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2003

Old man, take a look at yourself

If you thought that Neil Young was turning into a cranky old coot, his new album, "Greendale," is proof that he already is one. There are many who think he was cranky as far back as 1969, when he shot his baby down by the river. And in one of his two (count 'em!) hit singles, he identifies fully with...
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2003

WTO says no to U.S. tariffs

The World Trade Organization has ruled that U.S. tariffs on imported steel are illegal, setting the stage for a showdown with the international body and U.S. trade partners. The ruling, which was widely anticipated, provides U.S. President George W. Bush with an opportunity to signal his commitment to...
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2003

Election heralds dawn of new political era

The Nov. 9 election of the House of Representatives ushered Japanese politics into a new era in which two parties will dominate: the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 13, 2003

Poor farmers pay price for subsidies

Beyond the negotiations and protesters that highlight agricultural trade talks lies a simple reality: In the end, each nation must feed its own people.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2003
Nov 11, 2003

Scandal-tainted politicos ousted

The results of Sunday's election may have left a bitter taste in the mouths of some of the nation's big names.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2003

China can learn from Japan

China faces mounting pressure to revalue its allegedly undervalued yuan. I am concerned that China could repeat the mistakes that Japan made in exchange-rate policy. China can learn much from Japanese experiences in economic management and currency diplomacy.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2003

Political leaders count campaign mileage

The leaders of Japan's six major political parties traveled a distance of 10,500 km on average during the 12-day campaign for Sunday's House of Representatives election.
COMMENTARY
Nov 9, 2003

Iraq changes U.S. presidential scenarios

HONG KONG -- Seen from East Asia, American politics appear to be undergoing a sea-change. Mainly under the pressure of events in Iraq, President George W. Bush's re-election in 2004 has become much more uncertain, and it has become easier to see some of the Democratic Party's potential candidates becoming...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2003

APEC future rests on political relevancy

SEOUL -- Another APEC summit has come and gone but has anything really changed? The question that needs to be asked is whether the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is still relevant? No one attending the recent APEC summit in Bangkok really wanted to leave -- especially after the magnificence...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2003

Gearing up for a decisive election

Campaigning for the Nov. 9 general election, the first in the 21st century, officially kicked off Tuesday. The focal question is whether power will switch from the three-way coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party to the enlarged and emboldened Democratic Party of Japan. Put it another way, the...
COMMENTARY
Oct 29, 2003

Democracy for whom?

WASHINGTON -- Although the Bush administration won formal U.N. recognition for its rule in Iraq, that diplomatic victory is likely to yield few allied troops for occupation duty. In fact, even Turkey, which agreed to dispatch 10,000 soldiers after Washington's approval of $8.5 billion in loans, is now...
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2003

Manifestos appear out of focus

The central question in the Nov. 9 general election is whether a full-fledged two-party system will come into existence in Japan. Key to the answer is how voters will respond to manifesto-based debates between the two largest parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2003

DPJ adds five pledges to election manifesto

Pledging to take power in the upcoming general election, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Party celebrated their merger Sunday at a national convention in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Sep 29, 2003

Re-elected Koizumi expected to deliver

On Sept. 22, the third Koizumi Cabinet was established. On the same day, the Liberal Democratic Party witnessed the birth of a new party leadership. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, re-elected to head the LDP for the second term with a handsome majority, is now well positioned to face a general election...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2003

Problems with Mr. Grasso's pay

In business, as in politics, there is a simple rule for evaluating decisions: How will it look when it is in the headlines? By that standard, the uproar surrounding revelations that Mr. Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was awarded compensation of $139.5 million tells...
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2003

Fresh hopes for Koizumi's goals

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won a decisive majority on the first ballot in Saturday's presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party, beating his three rivals by a wide margin. He owes his first-round victory largely to the backing he received from many members of anti-Koizumi factions. A...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Nonaka to help disabled following Diet retirement

Hiromu Nonaka, a Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight who has announced he is retiring from politics, said Tuesday in Tokyo he will devote his free time to helping the disadvantaged.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2003

'Hansonism' alive and well

SYDNEY -- In Asia, her name smelled of White Australia. In Australia, she stirred up prejudice and division. More by accident than design, she got elected to Parliament. Today she languishes in prison.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2003

U.S. can still turn it around

Two years have passed since hateful acts of terrorism shook America to its core and moved it toward a force-oriented and unilateralist world policy. This writer detests and condemns the cruel oppression by the Saddam Hussein regime against its people in Iraq and against its neighbors over the years....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2003

Winds of pragmatism blow in Beijing

LONDON -- Like many religions, communism does not admit that it -- or those that represent it at the head of governments -- can make mistakes. Historical inevitability means that the party must be correct. To acknowledge anything else would be to undermine the basic certainties upon which Marxism rests....
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2003

Time to reconfirm postwar values

It seems that the Showa Era (1926-89) -- a turbulent period best remembered for the Pacific War -- is fading fast into the past. Reinforcing that impression is the fact that a bill designating April 29 as "Showa Day," a national holiday dedicated to the memories of the Showa Era, passed the Lower House...

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