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COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2008

War rages against 'elites' of tolerance

AMSTERDAM — When "tolerance" becomes a term of abuse in a place like the Netherlands, you know that something has gone seriously wrong. The Dutch always took pride in being the most tolerant people on Earth.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2008

Noda wins 'madonna' turf war as LDP shunts Sato to Tokyo

A political dispute between two "madonna" lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party both contesting a ticket to run for Gifu's No. 1 district finally came to an end Friday after the party announced that Yukari Sato will run for Tokyo, rather than Gifu, in the next Lower House election.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2008

Japan losing place on world stage, business leaders warn

KYOTO — Kansai's annual gathering of business leaders closed Friday in Kyoto, wrapping up two days of warnings that Japan is losing its place on the world stage due to the country's political situation and because its people have become too inward-looking.
BUSINESS / CHINA SYMPOSIUM
Feb 7, 2008

Will Beijing's military spending lead to 'security dilemma'?

Uncertainties over China's intentions behind its rapidly rising defense spending — or how it will use the new capabilities — are seen as a source of potential instability in Asia. Participants at the Jan. 23 symposium discussed whether this will cause a "security dilemma" in the region and how China's...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2008

Handling the Taiwan issue

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Opinion polls indicate that one-third of Americans believe that China will "soon dominate the world," while nearly half view China's emergence as a "threat to world peace." In turn, many Chinese fear that the U.S. will not accept their "peaceful rise." Americans and Chinese must...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2008

Dealing with the risks to global growth

WASHINGTON — Everyone wants economic stability, and many are reluctant to abandon today what gave them stability yesterday. But trying to obtain stability from rigidity is illusory. The stability of the international financial system today depends on the willingness of countries with rigid exchange...
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2008

Geopolitical risks on the rise

DAVOS, Switzerland — At the recent World Economic Forum meeting of top political, business, intellectual and civil-society leaders, the discussions centered on a range of major international challenges — from new threats to the growing strain on water and other resources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2008

No sure bets on next BOJ chief

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's voice became slightly tense as he answered questions from reporters at a news conference last month about the upcoming appointments of his successor and two new deputy governors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2008

Women key to fixing demographic crunch

KYOTO — Japan, the world's most rapidly graying nation, can learn from Europe how to cope with an aging society, especially in such areas as increasing the participation of women, according to experts and journalists at a recent conference.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2008

Japan-China relations: Building a creative partnership requires creative approaches

"When Fukuda comes, Fuku ('fortune' in Japanese and Chinese) has arrived!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 31, 2008

Tilting the balance back to darkness

In the minds of casual observers, Japan is simple. Between lovers of tradition and those enraptured by Japan's quirky window into an urban future, it's either the former land of austere, honorable warriors or the current one of air-headed, emotionally overwrought manga characters.
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2008

Fukuda knows what comes first

Brad Glosserman asserts in his Jan. 23 article, "False choices for Tokyo," that "the unblinking focus on domestic politics" under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's administration is severely hampering the U.S.-Japan alliance. If this seems true to Glosserman, the reason is probably that once again an...
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2008

Beyond the political profit principle

As a son of a local lawmaker, I was very interested in the Jan. 25 article "Dynasty politics: Birthright, not dynamism." Behind the seshuugiin (hereditary lawmakers), Japan's centuries of feudalism, especially the Edo Period, appear to have led to thinking in terms of shi-nou-kou-shou (warriors,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2008

New approach for the DPJ

When the Lower House of the Diet passed the antiterror special measures law on Jan. 11, it became clear that the Democratic Party of Japan is not in control of the political situation. After briefly setting the agenda in the aftermath of the July 29 Upper House election by opposing the refueling mission...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 29, 2008

Fukuda girds to stick it out till after Hokkaido summit

Akihiro Ota, head of Komeito, was all smiles when he came out of a two-hour, one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, not necessarily because of the good wine that was served but rather because the prime minister reportedly assured him that there would be no general elections anytime soon....
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2008

Thais refuse to be intimidated

Thailand's generals must be wondering what they have to do to cow their countrymen. After they overthrew the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and forced voters to ratify a constitution that institutionalizes the military's influence over Thai politics, national elections still gave a majority...
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2008

China isn't blazing a path for anybody

LOS ANGELES — All political systems are peculiar, each in its own way. This is true of democracy, however defined, as well as of communist systems, more easily defined.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Jan 26, 2008

Pair mutually strive to broaden their horizon, perspective

Alexander Bright and Akiko Yamada first met at Cambridge University in 1999, when Bright was a graduate student majoring in materials science and Yamada, then a high school teacher, was taking a year off to study education in England.
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2008

Kuomintang won't flaunt election win

HONG KONG — The electoral defeat of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan was expected, but the magnitude of the loss took everyone by surprise, including the DPP itself and the opposition party, the Kuomintang.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 23, 2008

Cars and fuel set to get more political

In 2007, climate change finally became a reality in the wider public's consciousness.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2008

Serbia to choose EU orbit or isolation

MAYNOOTH, Ireland — On Saturday, Serbs go to the polls for the first round of a presidential election that may decide the country's future for decades to come.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2008

Obituary: Makoto Saito

Makoto Saito, a leading expert on the history of U.S. politics and foreign policy, died Thursday of chronic bronchitis in a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 86.
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2008

Reality check in the Middle East

American President George W. Bush has just completed his first extended Mideast trip of his presidency. The visit was remarkable on two counts. First, there is the fact that Mr. Bush has not been to the region before despite its centrality to U.S. foreign policy in general and his administration's policies...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2008

China's top-heavy showcase

NEW YORK — It will be China's year in 2008. The Olympic Games — no doubt perfectly organized, without a protester, homeless person, religious dissenter or any other kind of spoilsport in sight — will probably bolster China's global prestige.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jan 9, 2008

Japan Economy News

Japan Economy News is a blog that delivers just what it promises: almost daily news and analysis on Japan-related economic issues, from marketing to real estate to finance and politics. Founder, editor and writer Ken Worsley is a senior partner at a marketing and strategic consulting firm in Tokyo and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 8, 2008

What are your New Year's resolutions?

COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2008

Embodiment of Pakistan's paradoxes

LOS ANGELES — A gift given to me years ago from Benazir Bhutto, an elegantly decorated wood jewelry box slathered in glossy lacquer, still adorns a sideboard in our home.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 6, 2008

Politicians, dogs and bowels mix it up in our annual media awards

Media Personality of the Year: Hideo Higashikokubaru.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2008

Greater challenge for political parties

Japan saw a great shift in the political landscape in 2007 when the ruling coalition suffered a crushing defeat in the July 29 Upper House election. Throughout the new year, the government and political parties will continue to move under the shadow of this change. It may mean more confrontation or compromise...

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