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November 22, 2024
 

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Keizo Nabeshima
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2003
U.S.-Japan global alliance
Last week's summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush ushered in a new era for the Japan-U.S. security alliance: The bilateral system is beginning to change into a global alliance.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003
Strengthen Japan's deterrent
The ruling coalition and the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, have agreed to amend a package of government-sponsored war contingency bills, marking a turning point in Japan's security policy.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003
Unity needed on nuclear issue
North Korea's statement that it already has nuclear weapons is most likely an exercise in diplomatic brinkmanship aimed at drawing the United States into direct dialogue. But if the statement is true, the security environment surrounding Japan and Northeast Asia will undergo fundamental change.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2003
Peacemaker for Sri Lanka
Japan plans to play a leading role in rebuilding strife-torn Sri Lanka. Peace talks are under way to end more than 20 years of ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese (Buddhist) majority and the Tamil (Hindu) minority. An international conference on Sri Lankan reconstruction and development is scheduled...
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2003
Diplomatic tests await Tokyo
Japanese diplomacy will face a real test over the question: How will the country participate in Iraq's postwar reconstruction?
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2003
Smashing the payoff triangle
The history of the Liberal Democratic Party includes a long list of money scandals. The recent arrest of Lower House lawmaker Takanori Sakai, charged with violating the Political Funds Control Law, is the latest reminder.
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2003
Japan's nation-building role
Amid escalating tension over the Iraqi situation, the international community, including Japan, has again pledged contributions toward reconstructing war-torn Afghanistan. The pledges came at the Tokyo Conference on Consolidation of Peace on Feb. 22, attended by officials from 34 countries, including...
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2003
Build stronger ties with Seoul
The North Korean crisis has entered a new stage now that the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, has referred the issue of Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons development to the U.N. Security Council. The isolated Stalinist state, which created a similar crisis a decade ago, has resumed its program...
COMMENTARY
Feb 12, 2003
Koizumi shirking top duty
Over the past year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appears to have all but lost his enthusiasm for military contingency legislation. Protecting the lives and property of the Japanese people from armed attack is the most important duty of the prime minister as the supreme commander of the Self-Defense...
COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2003
Court sends LDP a message
Two recent moves by judiciary and law-enforcement authorities are a grave warning against the Liberal Democratic Party's pork-barrel politics. One is the Supreme Court rejection of an appeal by former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura against a Tokyo High Court ruling that found him guilty of taking...
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2003
Dealing with multiple crises
The world faces a double threat posed by Iraqi and North Korean weapons of mass destruction and missiles, a peril no less serious than the terrorist scare following the 9/11 attacks. According to the Chinese zodiac, this is the year of the sheep, a nonviolent animal, but past years of the sheep have...
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2002
Missiles challenge diplomac
Defense chief Shigeru Ishiba's rash remarks regarding a joint Japan-U.S. missile defense project deviate from Tokyo's official defense policy and could give the impression that Japan is advancing the bilateral initiative beyond research to the development stage.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2002
Highways amid the shambles
In its final report submitted Dec. 6, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's advisory commission for privatizing four road-related public corporations called for a halt to runaway highway construction. The report warns against the "triangle of collusion" among "road tribe" legislators, related bureaucrats...
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2002
Japan must do its part in war
The Japanese government, acting under a special antiterrorism law, decided Nov. 19 to extend Japan's logistic support for U.S. forces for six months through next May. The decision calls for dispatching a transport ship and an escort destroyer to deliver heavy machinery from Thailand to Qatar for airfield...
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2002
Pyongyang's deadly gamble
North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs pose a serious security threat not only to Japan but also to all of East Asia, injecting a new element of instability into the international situation following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2002
Economy linked to security
The fight against terrorism emerged as the top issue at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, whose original aim was to promote sustainable economic growth. This reflected awareness among participants at the summit -- held Oct. 26-27 in Los Cabos, Mexico -- that terrorism affects...
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2002
Keeping faith with the U.S.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to be held in Mexico later this month. Koizumi sets great store on Japan-U.S. friendship. In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in September,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 7, 2002
Seize the chance for peace
At their historic Pyongyang summit Sept. 17, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il opened a new chapter in the history of Northeast Asia by agreeing to resume bilateral talks on diplomatic normalization this month. The agreement was announced in the Pyongyang declaration...
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2002
Strengthen Sino-Japanese ties
Japan and China will soon observe the 30th anniversary of their normalization of relations, which took place Sept. 29, 1972. The bilateral relationship was placed on a solid foundation with the conclusion of a treaty of peace and friendship in 1978. Economic relations have since dramatically expanded....
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2002
Brave trip to settle the past
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's one-day visit to North Korea on Sept. 17 is likely to have a profound effect on the security situation in Northeast Asia. The two nations started normalization talks in 1991, but thus far no substantial progress has been made because of the alleged abduction of Japanese...
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.
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.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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