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LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 17, 2002

Favorites that come widely recommended

The information in this column usually covers the gamut of sake nomenclature, types and brewing methods, as well as culture, history and the occasional oddities. But beyond the single recommendation in each column, rarely does it address the question, "So, uh, what are the good sake? What should I be...
COMMENTARY
Nov 18, 2001

War's stakes lost on critics

LONDON -- The murmurings against the bombing of Afghanistan are growing louder. Opponents argue that the bombing is cruel, unjustified and pointless. Its only effect, they say, is to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis caused by famine and the huge exodus of refugees. The raids should at the very least...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 20, 2000

Real democracy, anyone?

Have we learned our lesson in democracy? God forbid anyone should ever weasel out of voting again with the claim that their ballot doesn't count, that it doesn't make a difference. There is almost no way the margin in the U.S. vote could have been narrower, and with the divisions elsewhere in the country,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 2000

Confusion rocks the alliance

The deadlock over the results of the U.S. presidential election is likely to undermine the administration that will be inaugurated next January. It remains to be seen if the United States, the world's only superpower, will continue to lead world affairs in the 21st century as it did in the last one....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2000

China refuses to let history be

The recent visit to Japan by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has certainly created a favorable impression among the Japanese -- a contrast with Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit two years ago -- but it has had no significant politi cal impact on public opinion in this country.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2000

South Korea grapples with rapprochement

SEOUL -- Some days ago I received an e-mail from a friend I hadn't heard from for a while, who teaches North Korean affairs at one of the major universities in Seoul. "I am worried," he wrote. "This is not a good time for South Korean scholars dealing with North Korea to express their views freely."...
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2000

Laissez faire destroys itself

The market economy is akin to nature. Government intervention in the market is comparable to the destruction of the natural environment and should be avoided. Nature untouched by the human hand is great. The fury of the elements dwarfs human power. Essentially, that is the opinion of free-market advocates,...
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Swing vote confounded polls

The June 25 Lower House election saw a rise in the number of voters who made up their mind about which candidate and party to back just before the day of the vote, according to surveys conducted by Kyodo News before and after the poll.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2000

Bangkok sticks with its old-style politics

BANGKOK -- If Thai politics has changed since demonstrators ousted a pro-military government in 1992 and set the stage for democratic reforms, you would hardly know it from watching the campaign for this month's Bangkok gubernatorial election.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Mori downplays election predictions favoring LDP

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday played down favorable election predictions for his Liberal Democratic Party in the latest newspaper opinion polls.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2000

Americans hold positive view of Japan

An important new poll on U.S. attitudes toward Japan's wartime past will please neither those who feel that Japan has not done enough to atone nor those who believe that Japan has done all it needs to do. Using a sample of 1,000 registered voters in California, the survey by Pacific Research & Strategies...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 1999

Australia out for justice in East Timor

SYDNEY -- Still the broken skulls are being unearthed. And still the United Nations talks on. Soon, Australia fears, the evidence of atrocities in East Timor will be scattered and, worse, forgotten.
COMMENTARY
May 20, 1999

Ever optimistic Mr. Blair

LONDON -- There seem to be two unstoppable trends on the current British scene -- the unending rise in the London stock market and the still rising popularity of Tony Blair, the prime minister.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1998

Hun Sen rival ready to visit Tokyo in fall

Staff writer
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2023

As Taiwan gears up for 2024 presidential poll, who are the top candidates?

The result will have profound global ramifications as Beijing continues to step up military activity and diplomatic pressure on the island.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2023

As snap election rumors grow in Japan, here's how one could play out

Political pundits have been contemplating multiple scenarios, ranging from a summertime ballot to an election during parliament's session in the fall.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court isn’t done with abortion. Not by a long shot.

The recent showdown over the abortion pill mifepristone offers a glimpse of the legal fights likely to land at the court in the coming years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2023

Taking on Erdogan, Turkish opposition leader banks on everyman appeal

Kemal Kilicdaroglu is aiming to attract voters tired of the president’s bombastic rhetoric and tough-guy persona, campaigning not just as an anti-Erdogan but as his polar opposite.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2023

Approval rate for Kishida's Cabinet rises above 30% in latest poll

The approval rate climbed 3.6 percentage points from the previous month to 33.5%, up for the third straight month, according to the poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2023

Kishida Cabinet's approval rate rises to 29.9% in latest poll

The disapproval rate also fell 1.3 points to 40.9%, but it still surpassed the approval rate for the seventh month in a row.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 21, 2023

Why pharmaceuticals are a key issue in the ongoing U.S.-China conflict

Beijing has control over the chokepoints — active pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials — of pharmaceutical supply chains.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2023

One-size-fits-all COVID-19 booster plan needs a rethink

Public health officials should recognize that additional COVID-19 booster shots should now be a more nuanced decision.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2023

How much heat can the human body stand?

The hottest June ever and a record-breaking start to July should be a wake-up call. We weren’t built for this.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2023

Unpacking the limits to Japan’s military awakening

Japan must find ways to frustrate China's furtive efforts to alter the regional status quo while avoiding the risk of open combat.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2023

Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 survival strategy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has a tough road ahead, but he is politically savvy and has been adept at making the moves necessary to remain in office so far.
The nuclear-powered USS Annapolis submarine makes a port call at South Korea's Jeju Island on Monday. It was the second such visit by a U.S. submarine to the country in the span of about a week.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2023

Nuclear Consultative Group strengthens Northeast Asian deterrence

The logic for trilateral coordination between the U.S., Japan and South Korea is compelling. The NCG is an important first step toward that goal.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2023

My Number woes put digital minister Taro Kono under pressure

Another misstep could deal a further blow to the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and jeopardize the political standing of Kono.
Former U.S. President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrives to speak at an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 15.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2023

Indictment could push Trump closer to 2024 Republican nomination

The former U.S. president has made the indictments a central plank of his campaign platform, portraying himself as the target of a biased justice system.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear