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November 22, 2024
 

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Ralph Cossa
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2002
Confessions from North Korea
SEOUL/PUSAN -- They say that a little bit of confession is good for the soul, but North Korea's sudden burst of religion is creating a moral dilemma for Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul. First, Pyongyang decides to come clean on the kidnapping of Japanese citizens, admitting to Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi...
COMMENTARY
Sep 21, 2002
Underestimating the players
SEOUL -- The success of Tuesday's Japan-North Korea summit in Pyongyang shows just how much critics underestimated both Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Both demonstrated a considerable amount of diplomatic skill, and courage, during this historic one-day...
COMMENTARY
Sep 18, 2002
Ball now in U.N. and Baghdad's court
HONOLULU -- When it comes to dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, U.S. President George W. Bush's Sept. 12 speech to the United Nations General Assembly has finally put the ball back where it belongs: first in the U.N.'s and then in Baghdad's court . . . and how the former acts will largely determine...
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2002
Koizumi gambles for results
I'm not sure whether to be cautiously optimistic or pessimistic about Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to North Korea next Tuesday, but either way, "caution" is the watchword.
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2002
'Sweet and sour' diplomacy
HONOLULU -- "U.S.-North Korean military meet to reduce tensions." "North Korea threatens to withdraw from nuclear agreement with U.S."
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2002
Surprise ups Taiwan's risks
HONOLULU -- "No surprises." This was one of the pledges Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian made to Washington, both at the time of his inauguration and again after his Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, made a better-than-expected showing in the December 2001 parliamentary elections and formed a virtual...
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2002
Asian multilateralism takes on new energy
HONOLULU -- Multilateral dialogue seems to be taking on new energy in Asia. Not since 1993 -- when foreign ministers attending the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference held a separate breakfast session to discuss security issues and decided to establish the ASEAN Regional Forum, or ARF, and the Asia Pacific...
COMMENTARY
Jul 17, 2002
Washington sends Pyongyang a message
HONOLULU -- Will the United States and North Korea ever sit down and talk? In all probability, yes. But the odds remain strong that the dialogue, when and if it happens, will largely remain a dialogue of the deaf.
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2002
South Korea and Japan emerge victorious in World Cup
Listening to the South Korea fans cheering "Dae-han-min-guk" (Republic of Korea) after their World Cup match against Germany on June 25 and watching fireworks light up the Seoul skyline, it was hard to realize that the South Korean team had lost its semifinal match.
COMMENTARY
Jun 19, 2002
Key South Asia concern being ignored
HONOLULU -- Senior American envoys like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage deserve praise for their seemingly successful efforts to move India and Pakistan back from the brink of war once again. As history has brutally demonstrated, even a conventional armed...
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2002
Closer cooperation benefits all
HONOLULU -- The scheduled appearance of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Jiang Zemin alongside South Korean President Kim Dae Jung at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 World Cup in Seoul later this month symbolizes much more than mere cooperation on the field of athletic...
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2002
A recipe for reconciliation
TAIPEI -- British writer George Bernard Shaw once said that Americans and Brits were two peoples separated by the same language. This is an even more apt description when describing the Chinese and Taiwanese. A week of visits to Taiwan and China leaves me once again to marvel at how poorly two peoples...
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2002
Pyongyang prod that works
HONOLULU -- "Our firm stance toward North Korea is working!" So goes the conventional wisdom in Washington these days, as supporters of President George W. Bush's "hardline" policy claim credit for Pyongyang's recent decision to resume its dialogue with Seoul.
COMMENTARY
Mar 12, 2002
Asia changed little by 9-11
HONOLULU -- While the way Americans look at the world may have fundamentally changed since Sept. 11, the basic Asian issues confronting U.S. decision-makers remain largely unchanged. A look at regional concerns shows more similarities than differences to those that existed before Sept. 11.
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2002
Revisiting the 'axis of evil'
HONOLULU -- Those of us who comment on U.S. foreign policy are deeply indebted to U.S. President George W. Bush for his State of the Union reference to North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an "axis of evil." Never before have three simple (if not simplistic) words spawned so many editorials, fed so many talking...
COMMENTARY
Feb 16, 2002
U.S.-Korea policy: now what?
HONOLULU -- Has U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to include North Korea in his "axis of evil" foreclosed the possibility of serious dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang? Not necessarily. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell maintains that Washington's earlier "any time, any place, without...
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2002
U.S. should help Philippines
HONOLULU -- Here they go again! Pundits who six months ago could not find Manila (much less Mindanao) on a map are now busily proclaiming the Philippines to be "the next Afghanistan" -- except, of course, those who are busy proclaiming it "the next Vietnam."
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2002
Bush gets it right in East Asia
HONOLULU -- As we mark the Bush administration's first anniversary, U.S.-East Asia relations, after an early rough start, appear on an upswing. The one exception is on the Korean Peninsula, where Pyongyang's refusal to take "yes" for an answer has resulted in a decline in U.S.-North Korean relations...
COMMENTARY
Jan 10, 2002
Nuclear deployment danger
HONOLULU -- The handshake between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Nepal last Saturday caused an international sigh of relief as the two nuclear powers took a tentative step back from the brink of war. Tensions will remain high on the Indian subcontinent,...
COMMENTARY
Dec 27, 2001
The ABM Treaty's last days
HONOLULU -- It looks like the Antiballistic Missile Treaty is destined to end, not with a bang, but with a whimper. Earlier doomsday predictions notwithstanding, Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the treaty (the required six-months' notice was given Dec. 13) is not expected to usher in a new Cold...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.

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