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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2009

Is Russia really so weak?

MOSCOW — Western leaders and observers persistently repeat, like a mantra, that Russia is "weak." This judgment is based on a flawed comparison between Russia and the Soviet Union — though one that is also popular in Russia itself.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2009

Pollution fears don't dent coal's popularity

Asia's rebound from the global economic slump is cheering the world with its promise of more growth, jobs and trade. But the revival is bad news for the environment because it is largely driven by a production and transport system addicted to fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. This helps explain...
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2009

Undeclared income haunts Hatoyama

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama faced a new scandal Monday when it was revealed he failed to declare income from stock sales, giving the opposition ammunition heading into a three-day Lower House Budget Committee session.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2009

Personifying 'evil' makes war so much easier

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Equating war with individual evil has become ubiquitous — if not universal — in contemporary international politics.
LIFE
Nov 1, 2009

Symposium hears of new 'pan-Asian' trend

"It's been years since Japan, in the eyes of outside observers, entered the phase of "Japan Nothing." This followed an era of "Japan Bashing" during its 1980s economic heyday and then "Japan Passing" in the post-bubble '90s.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2009

Japan-U.S. ties need revamp: Hatoyama

In light of next year marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday it's time the overall defense alliance is reviewed.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Hiroshima beckons Obama

KYOTO — For the past 64 years the name "Hiroshima" has conjured a nightmare vision for all humanity: the unthinkable specter of instantaneous atomic annihilation. Only by personally visiting Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the two cities that have experienced atomic bombing, can one begin to grasp the threat...
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2009

Paranoids feast on China's 'peaceful rising'

LOS ANGELES — Paranoid people tend to live longer, goes the old joke. And so it is in this spirit only — not out of a desire to engage in Cold War China-bashing — that we raise concerns about China. So here's the paranoid's question: Just what is China really up to?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 25, 2009

Of simmering frogs and economists leaping to terminal conclusions

They say that if a frog is dropped into boiling water it will jump out, but if it is placed in water that is then heated slowly it will steadily acclimate and boil to death — having missed its chance to escape.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2009

Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia

SINGAPORE — In Malaysia's current political climate, it is no longer possible to distinguish Islamic radicals from Islamic moderates. Despite official boasting about the country's diverse population and commitment to pluralism, Islam and the government have essentially merged.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2009

A question of accountability

Any report on alleged war crimes is going to be controversial. An investigation that focuses on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians will be even more sensitive. Thus the uproar surrounding the Goldstone report, an investigation into the behavior of the Israeli Army and Hamas militants during...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2009

China too reliant on exports, fixed-asset investments: expert

China can probably achieve its goal of 8 percent growth this year, but it won't be sustainable in the long term if the economy's overreliance on exports and fixed-asset investments doesn't end, a prominent Chinese economist recently said at a seminar in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2009

Tenth place and falling

Japan ranks 10th in the world on the Human Development Index (HDI), an annual report from the U.N. Development Program that uses three main factors, health, knowledge and standard of living. Tenth would be a laudable position except that Japan's ranking is buoyed by one single factor, the longevity of...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 18, 2009

Obama exclusive: Soda-pop war looms in Americans' best interests

A couple of days ago I decided to bite the bullet and get in touch with U.S. President Barack Obama. It wasn't him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that gave me the audacity of hope to speak with him. It was an article in the Oct. 8 edition of the International Herald Tribune.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2009

'Disruptive' Kamei roils markets

In more than three weeks since becoming financial services minister, Shizuka Kamei has sent bank stocks plunging, accused the Bank of Japan of sleeping on the job and blamed the nation's biggest business lobby for increasing the murder and suicide rates.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2009

Mentor in upcoming Ultraman movie to boast the smooth lines of Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi, one of the most popular politicians in recent decades, has kept a low profile since stepping down as prime minister in September 2006 and retiring from politics after the Aug. 30 election.
Reader Mail
Oct 11, 2009

Hatoyama inspires hope in young

Regarding Jochen Legewie's Oct. 5 column "New Japan in sight as mind-sets, economy approach crossroads": Basically I welcome these comments, and I expect Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to behave as a leader on international affairs, not only on domestic matters. A person who studied science at a foreign...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 11, 2009

Behind the sinister science of sleep

PAPRIKA, by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Alma Books, 2009, 350pp., £9.99 (paperback) Comparisons to Haruki Murakami and J.G. Ballard on the cover of this book do Tsutsui little service. His novels do not have the steely gaze and cool prose of Ballard's "Crash," nor the magical-realist tint of Murakami's "The Wind-Up...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2009

Trilateral meet to test Hatoyama slogans

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama hit the ground running in the first days of his administration, traveling to New York and announcing to the U.N. General Assembly that Japan hopes to become a "bridge" between its Asian neighbors.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 9, 2009

LDP exec mulls novel notion: fielding opinions

Ryotaro Tanose, new chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's General Council, says good policies can only come from heated discussions among lawmakers, adding he will work to promote precisely such an environment.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2009

Japan hit over child porn

The head of UNICEF on Tuesday condemned Japan's laws on child pornography, saying the country is falling behind global standards and is guilty of spreading illegal material abroad.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2009

Fujii: Don't seek to devalue currencies

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said Tuesday he told Group of Seven officials that governments worldwide shouldn't pursue policies that seek to devalue their currencies.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 5, 2009

New Japan in sight as mind-sets, economy approach crossroads

There is little doubt that the Democratic Party of Japan's Lower House victory and the election of Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister are the most significant political events Japan has experienced in the past 20 years. After decades of behind-closed-doors policymaking and stagnant growth under the conservative...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2009

Irish voters weigh the Lisbon Treaty again

MAYNOOTH, Ireland — On Oct. 2, Irish voters go to the polls for a second time to decide whether to adopt the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The mood in EU capitals is one of nervousness as polling day looms, with the future of the EU in the hands of Ireland's unpredictable voters. On two of the last...
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2009

Funding drama yet to play out

When an extraordinary session of the Diet opens in October, the issue of money in politics will be reignited. The Liberal Democratic Party, now in opposition, will surely assail Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa over dubious political donations....
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 24, 2009

Can LDP recoup the glory days?

Is former Prime Minister Taro Aso solely to blame for the crushing defeat of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Aug. 30 general election at the hands of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)?

Longform

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Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years