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COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 2003

Britain's institutions fall on hard times

LONDON -- The world I grew up in was dominated by the Tory Party, which had governed for as long as any child could remember, by its icon the royal family, which smiled serenely from every magazine, and by the Church of England, which hosted every major national occasion and ritually adjured us to respect...
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2003

Is media scrabbling for scoops or scraps?

Since late July, when a special law allowing the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq was enacted, the Japanese media has engaged in a fierce battle to report when, where and how many personnel will be sent to the war-ravaged country.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 2, 2003

The Machiavellian good

MACHIAVELLI'S CHILDREN: Leaders and Their Legacies in Italy and Japan, by Richard J. Samuels. New York: Cornell University Press, 2003, 456 pp., $39.95 (cloth). This is an intriguing comparison between Japan and Italy, two nations that seem so different, but in fact share a great deal. Both nations came...
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2003

LDP still spells state largess to rural voters

HONJO, Akita Pref. -- Gigantic pillars soar toward the sky in a mountainous area 7 km north of the city of Honjo in southern Akita Prefecture, symbolizing the power of Kanezo Muraoka.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2003

Koizumi to quit if coalition loses its majority on Nov. 9

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday he will leave his post and step down as president of the Liberal Democratic Party if the three-party ruling coalition fails to retain a majority in the Nov. 9 House of Representatives general election.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2003

Malaysia's strongman steps down

Today, Mr. Mahathir bin Mohamad steps down as prime minister of Malaysia. It has been a remarkable 22 years in office, and his departure marks the end of an era for Malaysia and for Southeast Asia. Mr. Mahathir has been the rarest of species: a visionary and a savvy political realist. He frog-marched...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2003

APEC's inevitable discussion of security

BANGKOK -- The recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bang kok could, in an oversimplified manner, be summarized as an event in which economic issues were overshadowed by a strong security agenda. Moreover, the whole exercise was partly sidelined by the spectacular arrangements on the Thai...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2003

Dirty nails, bad breath, dandruff a sure way to lose election: DPJ

The Democratic Party of Japan, trailing in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 9 general election of the House of Representatives, is telling its candidates to court female voters.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2003

Malaysian mood resurgent as Mahathir bids farewell

SINGAPORE -- After more than 20 years at the helm of Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will step down Friday to make way for his chosen successor, Abdulla Badawi, who will become the country's fifth prime minister. All indicators point to a smooth and successful political transition, only the...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Campaign rhetoric faces tougher scrutiny

Few voters in Japan -- or lawmakers for that matter -- ever took a serious look at political party election pledges, knowing they were simply vague policy slogans with little substance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Tanaka joins Kato on Diet comeback trail

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, launched their campaigns Tuesday for the Nov. 9 House of Representatives election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2003

Death of Kim's aide seen as unlikely to have any effect on Japan relations

Japanese officials and lawmakers said Monday they see no impact on relations with North Korea because of the death of a close aide to Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Il who had been a key player in negotiations with Seoul and Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2003

Nakasone to quit after being sidelined by LDP

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone announced he will retire from politics after the Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday not to include him in a party proportional representation list for the upcoming general election.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2003

Nakasone reportedly ready to bow out

It appeared almost certain Sunday night that former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone will not run in the upcoming general election and will retire from politics, according to sources close to his support group.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2003

The reality of pension reform

With a general election around the corner, major political parties in Japan are playing up pension reform as a top campaign promise. That is only to be expected as the average age of the Japanese population rises at an accelerated pace. The question is what should and can be done to build a sustainable...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 27, 2003

Road to stable exchange rates pocked with self-contradictions

By TERUHIKO MANO
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2003

N. Korea: down but not out

BRUSSELS -- In the middle of Pyongyang, a new building attracts attention and customers. The Tong Il market is thronged with thousands of North Koreans haggling and buying from an extensive array of products. Fresh meat and dried fish, Spanish oranges and North African dates, suits, skirts, shoes and...
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2003

Iran makes a nuclear deal

A droit diplomacy by Britain, France and Germany may have averted another nuclear crisis. A diplomatic full press appears to have convinced Iran that suspending its uranium-enrichment program and coming into full compliance with its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency are in the country's...
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2003

Japan Highway chief sacked

Land minister Nobuteru Ishihara officially sacked Japan Highway Public Corp. President Haruho Fujii on Friday, calling him an obstacle to the government's plan to privatize the debt-strapped entity by 2005.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2003

Single-seat constituencies offer refuge for LDP elders who refuse to retire

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, 84, is battling hard to defy attempts by the Liberal Democratic Party leadership to block his planned run in the upcoming general election.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2003

Nakasone getting little sympathy at home

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wants former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone to quit politics because he's too old -- and people in the 85-year-old's hometown agree.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2003

Taiwan power rivals must win or perish

TAIPEI -- With five months to go before Taiwan's presidential election, the campaign is heating up between the incumbent, President Chen Shui-bian, leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, and the opposition Kuomintang's (KMT) Lien Chan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2003

It's a man's, man's world . . . unfortunately

Last week I looked at two plays depicting the lives of women. This week, the focus is two excellent contemporary comedy dramas about modern Japanese history -- and that means it's big-shot male politicians, bureaucrats and gangsters who hold center stage.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2003

ASEAN further devalued itself at summit

HONG KONG -- It is almost impossible to see the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' ninth summit in Bali earlier this month as having regenerated the regional body, even though that was the objective asserted by the participants.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2003

Scandal-hit Suzuki pulls out of election

Scandal-tainted lawmaker Muneo Suzuki said Saturday that he will not run in the upcoming general election due to health reasons.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 19, 2003

The gangsters that just keep coming back

THE YAKUZA MOVIE BOOK: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films, by Mark Schilling. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2003, 336 pp., $19.95 (paper). When Mark Schilling was interviewing veteran filmmaker Seijun Suzuki for this book, the director suddenly asked the author: "Why are you interested in yakuza movies?"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2003

A timeline of protest in Japanese history

Japanese labor is today characterized by "enterprise unions," company-by-company groupings that account for almost all of the country's labor organizations. Lacking the militancy of their forebears, these unions are credited by some with enabling Japan's postwar economic boom but blamed by others for...
COMMENTARY
Oct 19, 2003

More trouble for Pakistan's democracy

ISLAMABAD -- The first anniversary this month of the restoration of Pakistan's democracy following the three years of military rule has brought little joy over the future prospects of the South Asian nuclear-armed state.

Longform

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