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December 26, 2024
 

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David Wall
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2007
Shaking up Russia's Far East
LONDON -- If you Google "Vladimir Nikolaev," mayor of Vladivostok, 2007," you will come up with an interesting story about how he was recently arrested. You will also find stories about how he resisted arrest, but finished up in handcuffs.
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2007
China is sidelined and upset
LONDON -- Just before the beginning of this year's meeting of the National People's Congress, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao sent a message to NPC members about to arrive in Beijing: Chi- na is still a socialist country led by a communist party and will remain so for at least another hundred years....
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2007
Russia set to break the ice
TORONTO -- You probably missed it. With the new year focus on America's continued efforts to deal with U.S. President George W. Bush's three "evils" -- Iraq, Iran and North Korea -- you probably were not aware of the potential long-term international consequences of a speech by a Russian minister in...
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2006
Kremlin fears for its Far East
LONDON -- I don't suppose you read the piece in the Russian newspapers about customs officials' activities in the Russian Far East, at the Poltvaka customs checkpoint in Oktyabrsky County in southern Primorski krai on the Chinese border? It was a very interesting article about how a truck, which had...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2006
Odd choice of enemies, allies
LONDON -- You have to admire his timing. Just before Russian President Vladimir Putin left for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) annual meeting in Hanoi this month, he sent out a strong warning to the world leaders he expected to meet there.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2006
The world's biggest mystery
LONDON -- In a recent opinion poll in Russia carried out by the Yury Levada Analytical Center, 58 percent of the respondents said they believe that "non-Russian nationalities are to blame for many of Russia's misfortunes"; 52 percent said they thought the government should restrict immigration.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2006
It pays to join China's CCP
LONDON -- The Chinese government recently announced that membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has grown to a record 71 million; apparently there are also 17 million applicants waiting to join. Last year 2,540,000 people were admitted. Since 1990 party membership has grown by almost one-fifth....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2006
Too little, too late for Russia
LONDON -- In his recent State of the Union speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "most important [matter] for our country is the demographic problem." He said Russia's population is declining by 700,000 a year -- this from a base of 143 million. Russian demographic experts suggest that the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2006
Look deeply into Putin's eyes
LONDON — As the leaders of the G7 countries meet in St. Petersburg this week I hope they will have another look into the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is five years since U.S. President George W. Bush looked into those eyes and claimed to be able to see Putin's soul, which he found to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2006
A friend of African dictators?
LONDON -- Who would have thought that the Chinese Communist Party would become sensitive to world opinion? Strange as it may seem, Western criticism of China's growing involvement in Africa has triggered outpourings of justificatory articles in CCP-controlled media as well as trips this year by Chinese...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2006
Japan needs better PR, less whale meat
LONDON -- Every year on my annual visit to Tokyo I spend at least one evening drinking sake in a small bar in Shibuya. And every year after I have finished eating one of the dishes the mama-san has put in front of me, while I am talking, there will be a big cheer and a lot of laughter. Yet again I have...
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2006
Putin fantasizes like a czar
LONDON — In his recent State of the Nation speech, President Vladimir Putin said that "Russia's modern foreign policy is based on the principles of pragmatism, predictability and the supremacy of international law."
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2006
Evidence portrays Russia as failed state
LONDON -- Have you read Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2006 State of the Nation message yet? The one he gave last week? You should.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2006
An 'OPEC' with nuclear weapons?
LONDON -- When I was in Moscow a few months ago I got into an argument with a retired high-level NATO official.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2006
Chinese reoccupying Russia
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- 2006 is the Year of Russia in China; 2007 will be the Year of China in Russia -- if the current friendly relationship of the leaders of the two countries lasts that long. Friendly relations are not something that the peoples of the two countries support that much.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2006
A yen to help a dictatorship
LONDON -- So Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are now working to help support the dictatorship of the people in China -- as managed on their behalf by the Chinese Communist Party. So are most of the world's multinational companies -- as well as you (and me).
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2006
The Russians are coming
LONDON -- Analysts and journalists have been trying hard to find something interesting to say about the first East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Kuala Lumpur in mid-December. The most frequent comment is that China was prevented from hijacking the summit, but they have mostly got it wrong.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2005
Invest in Russia now? Forget about it
MOSCOW -- I recently attended a conference in Moscow aimed at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Russia. It was a high-level conference, organized by Interfax and Chatham House and attended by ministers, senior bureaucrats and leading businessmen, both Russian and foreign.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2005
Cry for about-face in China
BEIJING -- These are interesting times in China. The political climate is changing; it has been for some time, but now the direction of change is becoming clear.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2005
A sign of Japan's decline
LONDON -- He didn't clap his hands, he did not wear a frock coat and he did not sign the visitors' book as "prime minister." So what?
Human error caused JAL jet collision at Haneda Airport: safety board
The wreckage of a Japan Airlines plane after a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 5, three days after the crash.
North Korean hacker group behind DMM Bitcoin’s cryptocurrency leak
A North Korean hacker group is believed to have planted a virus on the computer of an employee at Ginco — a company that was entrusted with the deposit and withdrawal of DMM Bitcoin’s virtual currency — through a fake job recruitment message sent via LinkedIn.
Residents of Shizuoka live longest healthy lives in Japan, ranking shows
The nationwide average for men's healthy life expectancy decreased 0.11 year from the previous survey, three years earlier, to 72.57 years, while that for women rose 0.07 year to 75.45 years.
High levels of PFAS found in water from 44 private suppliers across Japan
The Self-Defense Forces facilities are believed to have become sources of PFAS contamination because they used firefighting foam containing the toxic chemicals in the past.
Health ministry urges caution as flu cases rise nationwide
From Dec. 9 to Dec. 15, there were 94,259 flu cases reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide, according to the health ministry.
High levels of PFAS found in water from 44 private suppliers across Japan
The Self-Defense Forces facilities are believed to have become sources of PFAS contamination because they used firefighting foam containing the toxic chemicals in the past.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Trump's Pentagon policy pick pushed for Japan to spend 3% of GDP on defense
Elbridge Colby (center) speaks at the Threat and the Strategy panel during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in September 2019.
A brief history of ‘osechi ryōri,' Japan's edible tradition for the new year
Japan's traditional New Year cuisine has a long history, though modern developments have led to slight changes in the way things work.
Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law
The Japanese antitrust watchdog said that Google forced smartphone makers to preinstall its search app on their devices, sources say.

Podcast

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

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?
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