Search - international-reports

 
 
COMMENTARY
Sep 5, 2007

What's wrong with talking to save lives?

LOS ANGELES — How much might a human life be worth these days?
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 11, 2007

Dice-K fever triggers tourist boom in Beantown

One spring evening at Fenway Park, Koji Sakae rose to his feet in a wave of Red Sox euphoria, joining a packed stadium in a standing ovation for his hero, Daisuke Matsuzaka.
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2007

The death of Iraq's Christian community

WASHINGTON — Although Islam long has been in the ascendancy in Iraq, the so-called Assyrians, who speak a neo-Aramaic language, predate the rise of Islam. Today, however, the Iraqi Christian community faces possible extermination.
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2007

New warning on oil

Brace for another energy crisis. A new authoritative assessment forecasts sharply higher demand that will raise prices and increase reliance on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and unstable regions for oil supplies. While some experts dismiss the analysis as alarmist, we need...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 18, 2007

Putting 'rarity' into context

Stepping outside this morning, I heard a skylark singing above the open field adjacent to where I live. It's a rare event for me, but perhaps you hear skylarks all the time. Then again, perhaps you have never heard that silvery cascade of notes pouring endlessly from high in the sky.
BASKETBALL
Jun 2, 2007

Planells prepared for life in Okinawa with Golden Kings

The NBA Finals is about to begin in a few days. The Spurs' Tim "The Big Fundamental" Duncan will be shooting for his fourth championship ring. His legacy is already set. He is one of the greatest big men to ever play the game.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 23, 2007

Can 'organic' feed us all?

Having experienced firsthand the waste, power abuse and nepotism that malign the United Nations from within, I am not usually a fan of its conferences.
SUMO
Apr 17, 2007

Springtime sumo: giving it back to the people

Sumo in late March and throughout April each year is about pressing the flesh -- literally.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2007

Challenging Russia's energy dominance

WASHINGTON -- When Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas monopoly, cut off supplies to Ukraine and Georgia in January 2006, the move was widely seen as a clear warning of the Kremlin's willingness to use its energy resources to exert political influence over Europe.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2007

It's official: Whale hunt over for year

The government Wednesday confirmed earlier reports by saying this year's whale hunt has ended early and the fleet off the coast of Antarctica was heading home, after weeks of struggling to recover from a deadly fire on board the mother ship.
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2007

China's courtship of Africa

Chinese President Hu Jintao is near the end of an eight-nation tour of Africa, which has renewed anxieties associated with "China's rise." Yes, the trip is proof of Beijing's expanding interests and its global reach. And yes, China's readiness to ignore misbehavior by its African friends and trade partners...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2006

Faint signs of hope

After a 13-month lapse, a fresh round of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear-arms programs is likely to start Monday in Beijing. It may face hitches before picking up from the Sept. 19, 2005, joint statement -- in which Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for security...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2006

Islamic extremism threatens Bangladesh

MADRAS, India -- Bangladesh is the latest South Asian flash point where democracy stands threatened. Bloody street battles between two rival political parties -- led by two women who hate each other -- and other violence have swept the small country northwest of India in recent weeks. The military is...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2006

Climate change to test our adaptability

NEW YORK -- If there was any remaining doubt about the urgent need to combat climate change, two reports issued last week should make the world sit up and take notice.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2006

Threat to confidentiality

As part of international efforts to stop money laundering by criminal organizations and money transfers by terrorist groups, the government is preparing a new bill that it hopes to submit to a regular Diet session next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2006

Pioneer for women seeks home for peace dolls

One of the nation's first female lawmakers is working on what she says will be her last project: a museum for dolls sent to Japan from over 50 countries in support of world peace.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2006

Pursue cautious defense policy

This year's government white paper on defense touches on North Korea's missile tests, closer security cooperation between Japan and the United States, and proposals to upgrade the Defense Agency to ministry status and expand the Self-Defense Forces' overseas activities, among other things.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2006

Funding scandal shakes ivory tower

It came as a shock last year when former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo Suk's claims that he had created stem cells by cloning human embryos turned out to be fraudulent. A recent case at Waseda University in Tokyo is no less surprising, although it mainly concerns the irregular use of...
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

India rapped for test-firing a long-range missile

Japan notified India on Monday it was disappointed over the test-firing of a long-range missile the day before while calling on the nuclear power to support global efforts to deal with North Korea.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2006

JBF chief slams launches as brinkmanship, 'intolerable'

Japan Business Federation Chairman Fujio Mitarai expressed strong regret Wednesday about the launch North Korean missiles that came down in the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Isle tensions flare up again

Tensions between Tokyo and Seoul flared again Monday when South Korea began maritime research in waters around islets under its control that are also claimed by Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2006

Nukaga calls mission to Iraq a success

Japan's 2 1/2-year military deployment in Iraq was a success that will serve as a lesson for future missions as the country moves to assume a bigger role in regional and global security, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said in an interview Wednesday.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami