Hugh Cortazzi - The Japan Times

November 22, 2024

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Hugh Cortazzi

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Hugh Cortazzi

Hugh Cortazzi was posted to British Commonwealth Air Forces in Japan in 1946, and he joined the British Foreign (later diplomatic) service in 1949. After retiring, he worked in the city of London and was an adviser to a number of Japanese companies. He was chairman of the council of the Japan Society from 1985-1995. Since 1983 he has researched and written a number of books about Japanese culture and history and has edited and compiled a series of books on personalities active in Anglo-Japanese relations.

COMMENTARY

Apr 19, 2005

Libya hasn't changed its spots

LONDON -- A recent trip to Libya showed that it remains a police state dominated by a personality cult. Col. Moammar Gadhafi's portrait was everywhere, and tourists were warned of severe penalties for criticizing the leadership.

COMMENTARY

Apr 6, 2005

Security quest curtailing vital freedoms

LONDON -- Since 9/11, the United States and other democratic countries have given priority to security, often at the expense of freedom, justice and human rights. Governments reckon that if they fail to take all possible steps to defend their citizens they will be rightly accused of dereliction of duty....

COMMENTARY

Mar 21, 2005

Getting education on track

LONDON -- British and Japanese governments face major challenges in funding and organizing education, which is key to a nation's cultural and economic well-being.

COMMENTARY

Feb 22, 2005

Curtain raised on a new act

LONDON -- The whirlwind tour of Europe and the Middle East by Condoleeza Rice, the new U.S. secretary of state, has contributed to a better atmosphere in relations between Europe and America.

COMMENTARY

Feb 6, 2005

Boundary that won't stretch

LONDON -- Recent ceremonies at Auschwitz to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation by Russian forces of Nazi Germany's main death camp have rightly made us think about man's inhumanity to man and ponder how such horrific acts could have taken place. The Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jewish race...

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Jan 16, 2005

Bridge between Japan and Britain

Until World War II, Japanese language and culture were studied at few institutions outside Japan, and only a small number of scholars specialized in Japanese studies. Among the independent organizations devoted to promoting an understanding of Japan, its history and culture, two traced their origins...

COMMENTARY

Jan 4, 2005

Britain governed by nannies

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is often accused of being a "control freak," meaning someone who places the emphasis on presentation rather than content, but the accusation that he and his colleagues have become obsessed with "political correctness" is closer to the mark.

COMMENTARY

Dec 27, 2004

Democracy by cookie cutter

LONDON -- U.S. President George W. Bush claims his policy is to promote democracy because democratic countries do not wage aggressive wars.

COMMENTARY

Dec 20, 2004

Weigh antiterror measures

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home Secretary David Blunkett (who resigned last week) have been doing their utmost to alert the British people to the terrorist threat. This is seen by some as a cynical attempt to divert criticism of government support for the Americans in Iraq and to...

COMMENTARY

Dec 6, 2004

Japan's response to threats

LONDON -- The appearance of a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in Japanese coastal waters Nov. 10 underlined a potential threat to Japanese security.

COMMENTARY

Nov 22, 2004

Liberals should stand proud

LONDON -- U.S. President George W. Bush's favorite accusation in the election campaign is reported to have been that Sen. John Kerry was a "liberal." The president seems to have used the label as a term of abuse meaning a "leftwing" radical and a supporter of the appeasement of terrorists.

COMMENTARY

Nov 10, 2004

Dealing with the nuclear-threat hydra

LONDON -- The U.S. government has named Iran and North Korea as rogue states. Iran is accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and breaching the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). North Korea may already have a few nuclear devices and has announced its withdrawal from the NPT. The two states...

COMMENTARY

Oct 26, 2004

British pension crisis looms

LONDON -- An important report on the pension crisis facing Britain was published Oct. 12. The report by the Pensions Commission, chaired by Adair Turner, a former director of the Confederation of British Industry, warned that, because of increased longevity and a shortfall in pension funds, British pensioners...

COMMENTARY

Oct 18, 2004

Balancing work with other ways of life

LONDON -- Alan Milburn, the British secretary of state for health, resigned last year to "spend more time with his family." This excuse has often been used to cover some misdemeanor or a falling out with colleagues, but in this case it seems to have been genuine.

COMMENTARY

Oct 3, 2004

Bleak hopes for democracy

LONDON -- The U.N. secretary general recently reaffirmed that the war in Iraq was illegal in the absence of a second U.N. resolution. Last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted at the Labour Party Conference that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction and that the intelligence alleging the...

COMMENTARY

Sep 27, 2004

Reforming the United Nations

LONDON -- The Japanese government is understandably frustrated by the delay in reaching agreement on enlargement of the Security Council. Japan makes the largest contribution to the running of the United Nations, but still has to take its turn as an elected member of the Security Council.

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2004

Curb spread of WMD in U.S.

LONDON -- The failure of Congress to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault rifles and other dangerous weapons may seem to politicians a simple price to pay to win the support of the National Rifle Association in the forthcoming presidential election.

COMMENTARY

Sep 12, 2004

New EU gears could grind

LONDON -- Jose Durao Barroso, the next president of the European Commission, faces many difficult challenges. He will need all the support he can get from the governments of the enlarged community of 25 states.

COMMENTARY

Sep 1, 2004

Animal rightists or terrorists?

LONDON -- The threat of attacks by Islamic extremists is not the only terrorist threat to our society. Animal-rights extremists have been threatening firms that carry out experiments on animals. Animal rightists do not regard as justification for the research the fact that most initial tests are conducted...

COMMENTARY

Aug 25, 2004

World faces another humanitarian crisis

LONDON -- While politicians and diplomats discuss what to do, many people of Sudan's Darfur region have been forced from their homes, terrorized, tortured and murdered by members of the armed Janjaweed Arab militia, who frequently rape the women they capture. The militia has apparently been aided and...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.

A boom for business tourism in Japan?

By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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