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November 13, 2025
 

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JAPAN
Sep 26, 2008

Koizumi to exit political stage

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of the most popular and influential politicians in the nation, expressed his intention Thursday to retire from politics once his current term in the Lower House ends.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2008

It's deja vu, all over again

Here we go again. Less than a year after Shinzo Abe stunned supporters with a sudden resignation from office, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has decided to do the same. Fukuda blamed a divided Diet, plummeting approval ratings, and a desire to avoid a political vacuum for his decision to step down....
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2008

Too many Israelis want to cling to a paradox

LONDON — "I am proud to be a citizen of a country where the prime minister can be investigated like an ordinary citizen," said Ehud Olmert on July 30, announcing that he would resign as prime minister in September to defend himself against corruption allegations. He should be even prouder: Three of...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 24, 2008

Silver-spoon politicians who rule

A growing number of politicians in Japan have "inherited" their parliamentary seats from their fathers. Unless this "hereditary" system is reversed, Japanese politics in all likelihood will continue on a path of decline.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2008

More tension in Thailand

Thailand is once again at the boiling point. Thousands of Thais protesting against their government are fueling fears of yet another military coup. Hopefully, the Thai military is smart enough to avoid making that mistake again. But the tensions are a reminder of the need for reconciliation in Thai politics....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

State of Korean democracy

Recent National Assembly elections laid bare both the strengths and weaknesses of South Korean democracy. South Korea proved once again to be one of most dynamic democracies in the world, but unless both lawmakers and citizens confront shortcomings in the election rules and political parties, South Korea's...
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2008

Why this foreigner supports Obama

WATERLOO, Canada — Barack Obama's speech on race and politics on March 18 came from and spoke to the heart. It was brutally, searingly honest. Nothing he said or could have said will appease the detractors and the naysayers. But their sniping and carping will diminish them and betray their smallness...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2008

China-Japan-U.S. relations: the big chance for East Asia

JAKARTA — I believe regional and global economic integration and increasing openness, mobility and democratization are shaping East Asian developments the most — not nationalisms or Sino-Japanese tensions, or the uncertainties of China's rise, or growing conventional armaments, however important....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2007

Gored by a political truth

HONG KONG — He still has the same patrician manner — friends would say aloof, others might say pompous. He still carries a mountainous chip on his shoulder, believing that he was robbed of the U.S. presidency seven years ago.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2007

The stakes in Seoul

South Korea elects a new president next week. Mr. Lee Myung Bak, the conservative former mayor of Seoul, is the front-runner and barring a twist, will prevail in the ballot. His victory will move South Korean politics back to the center, but radical shifts in policy are not likely. It could open the...
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2007

Mr. Fukuda's good intentions

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda made his first policy speech in the Diet Monday. Although Mr. Fukuda's speech lacked freshness and bold proposals, it shows that he correctly grasps what worries people have about today's politics. But the question is whether he will come up with concrete policy measures and...
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2007

LDP bets on dour political blue blood to lead its recovery

Yasuo Fukuda is hardly the most dynamic politician in Japan. Saggy-jowled and owlish in his trademark glasses, the 71-year-old son of a former prime minister prefers gray suits, classical music and moderate, pro-U.S. policies.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Sep 3, 2007

Merkel to Japan: Leading G8 not only about environment

Last week's visit to Japan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a sobering lesson in G8 politics. Germany currently holds the G8 presidency but will pass the baton to Japan in January.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 1, 2007

Yoshibumi Wakamiya on Japan's shift to the right

BETWEEN THE CONSTITUTION AND KIMIGAYO (Migite ni Kimigayo, Hidarite ni Kenpo) by Yoshibumi Wakamiya, Asahi Shimbun-sha Shuppankyoku, 2007, 156+184 pp., 1,890 yen (cloth) For anyone living in Japan and fascinated by Japanese politics, it is a good thing to step back occasionally from the surprises and...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2007

Abe should be looking forward, not back

HONOLULU -- What was he thinking? That is the question most Japan-watchers grappled with following Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's fumbled questions about the imperial Japanese government's role in recruiting "comfort women" during World War II. His responses came close to undoing the progress he...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 25, 2007

Will strategic retreat soon signal Australia's tardy advancement?

Apolitical wrangle, with Prime Minister John Howard as the prime wrangler, has begun in the rodeo ring of Australian politics -- and it certainly looks as if someone is going to take a spill.
COMMENTARY
Feb 8, 2007

Tony Blair's inglorious end

LONDON -- It is becoming impossible not to feel sorry for Tony Blair, Britain's departing prime minister.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 6, 2006

Keidanren lauds Abe's first 40 days in office

Forty days have passed since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office Sept. 26, and the administration, judging by the actions of the first new prime minister in 5 1/2 years, appears to be off to a very good start.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2006

May the least undesirable candidate win

WARSAW -- The late British Prime Minister Harold Wilson used to quip that "a week is a long time in politics." In the 30 or so weeks between now and the next French presidential election, any prediction made today could be reversed, and reversed again, before the vote.
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 3, 2006

An 'outsider' speaks out

Later this month, when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi concludes what may have been Japan's most flamboyant premiership ever, pundits aplenty are sure to lavish his five-year term with glowing praise.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2006

Cuba contemplates life after Fidel

Even though Cuban President Fidel Castro appears to be recovering from intestinal surgery, his illness has forced the Cuban people to face the fact of his mortality. While the strongman's younger brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, has assumed power in his absence, there is little likelihood of a...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2005

INEPT LEADERSHIP CONTINUES

HONG KONG -- A controversial plan to extend democracy in Hong Kong died Dec. 21 when the legislature failed to pass it by a big enough majority. Hopes of true democracy in the special region of China have thus been put into deep freeze, with recriminations reverberating from Hong Kong to Beijing and...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

Media reports on China, South Korea hit

turns toward South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao looks away after a group photo at the East Asia Summit on Dec. 14.
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2005

Keys to the LDP's viability

The Liberal Democratic Party has ruled Japan since it was established in 1955 -- except for 11 months in 1993 and 1994. Last month it celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2005

On the precipice in Iraq

WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2005

Get ready for a newly confident Japan

SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's landslide election victory, which saw his ruling coalition gain control of more than two-thirds of the Lower House, could open a new era for Japan as the country faces the future with greater confidence and seeks to redefine its role in East Asia.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2005

LDP again at the crossroads

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi views the forthcoming general election, set for Sept. 11, as a national referendum on his top-priority plan to privatize the postal system. "I would like to ask the people whether they are for or against postal privatization," he told a nationally televised press conference,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2005

Metropolitan assembly campaigning under way

Campaigning for the July 3 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election officially got under way Friday, with 220 candidates vying for 127 seats.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2005

Britain's apolitical election

LONDON -- So powerful has been Prime Minister Tony Blair's dominance of British politics that Thursday's General Election has resolved into one question: Are you for or against his leadership?
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Tokyo ranked world’s richest city by GDP, with Osaka-Kobe also rated highly
Tokyo has a gross domestic product of $2.55 trillion, just ahead of New York’s $2.49 trillion and Greater Los Angeles’ $1.62 trillion, according to CEOWorld’s global wealth index.
Tokyo looks to keep ‘monster parents’ at bay with new protocols
New guidelines are addressing struggles by teachers to deal with the burden of parents who make irrational complaints that go beyond what is considered socially acceptable, often referred to as "monster parents," which is overwhelming their workload.
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.
Japan lawmakers eye firm response to Chinese envoy's threat to behead PM
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Friday.
Tatsuya Nakadai: A masterful leading man and postwar icon
Tatsuya Nakadai had the look of a leading man in his youth, but his large and searching eyes suggested the pain and loneliness of an old soul.
As Japan’s female leader rises, can she cross sumo’s sacred line?
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
Florist Nicolai Bergmann flourishes outside the box
Florist Nicolai Bergmann shops for fresh flowers at the Ota flower market in Tokyo on Friday.
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Yukana Inoue

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