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November 22, 2024
 

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Robyn Lim
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2004
China's proliferation serves to rouse Japan
China's support for North Korea has backfired. What would China prefer to see -- a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, or Japan's alliance with the United States strengthened by its participation in missile defense? In Beijing, neither option has much appeal. But in relation to Japan, China has been hoisted...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2004
'Quagmire' label doesn't apply to Iraq
Those who predict "quagmire" in Iraq see a parallel with the Vietnam War. That is misleading. America is going to stay the course in Iraq.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2004
Japan misses the big picture
Japan needs to see its strategic security through a wider lens than the resource concerns of its powerful economic ministries. Japan's decision to fund the development of Iranian oil "against Washington's objections" ignores this principle.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2003
China's policy has backfired
What would China prefer to see -- a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, or Japan's alliance with the United States strengthened by its participation in missile defense? In Beijing, neither option has much appeal.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2003
For Japan, being America's ally is no longer so easy
The number of North Korean Nodong missiles capable of targeting Japan is now thought to be some 175 to 200, rather than 100 as previously believed. Moreover, at the China-U.S.-North Korea talks in Beijing last week, North Korea taunted the United States by saying that it had developed nuclear weapons....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2003
Why does Japan choose to remain naked to the threat of North Korean missiles?
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, fearing that he is next on U.S. President George W. Bush's list for "regime change," is openly threatening Japan with his Nodong missiles. Yet Japan chooses to remain naked to this threat. Why doesn't it ask for PAC-3 (Patriot) missiles to be deployed by U.S. forces in...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2003
U.S.-ROK alliance in crisis
America's alliance with South Korea is in crisis. Strangely, few in Japan seem to have noticed, let alone grasp, what it portends for their country. Japan is now on the spot in a way that was not the case during the Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2003
International system teeters on the cusp of tectonic change
As war looms in Iraq, the international system is on the cusp of tectonic change. Both the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are in crisis. So is the U.S. alliance with South Korea. What might all this mean for Japan?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2001
Target Iraq: easier perhaps, but riskier
With Osama bin Laden's Arab legions being hunted down in the mountains of Afghanistan, the endgame is approaching in the first stage of America's war on terrorism. Should Iraq be next?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2001
Should the U.S. help China to get rich?
How long will the United States continue to believe that it should help China to get rich by keeping American markets open? That's the key question now that the 24 servicemen and -women from the downed U.S. surveillance aircraft have been allowed to return home. Never before has America allowed a potentially...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2001
U.S. needs allies, not deputy sheriffs
Comments by new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell have stirred some controversy in Australia. During his confirmation hearings, Powell said that the United States would let Australia take the lead in Indonesia, "as they have done so well in that troubled country." Critics saw this as evidence that...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2000
Australia aims to be a more credible ally
The United States should welcome the more outward-looking defense posture embodied in the Australian white paper released on Dec. 6. Although the country's armed forces will remain configured mostly for the defense of Australia, enhanced capabilities can also be used to contribute to allied coalitions...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2000
China continues to bully ARF
At this week's meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok, China will seek support for its opposition to U.S. plans to develop a theater missile defense. That is consistent with China's use of ARF as a forum for undermining support for the U.S. alliance structure in East Asia. China demands a free...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2000
Australia pays for security on the cheap
Last week, the Australian government released a discussion paper on defense. As in other mature democracies, it's not easy to sustain support for defense spending when no threat is imminent. But Australia's U.N.-authorized intervention in East Timor last year showed the risks of seeking defense on the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2000
An alignment with India? Think again
According to recent reports, some Japanese officials are attracted by the idea of an alignment with India against China. India, they say, occupies an important position astride Japan's sea routes to the Persian Gulf. They note that India is the world's largest democracy, so Japan can work with it on...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2000
China probes U.S.' other Asian alliances
China's deepening alignment with Russia, and the sales of advanced weapons that accompany it, risk fueling China's ambition of strategic dominance in East Asia. After the "recovery" of Taiwan, or so the scenario goes, China will concentrate on making the South China Sea a Chinese lake. In its path, however,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2000
Japan cannot escape nuclear weapons
Special to The Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 1999
U.S. alliances under strain
The U.N.-authorized humanitarian intervention in East Timor might provide the model for ad hoc coalitions among democracies in East Asia -- based on the U.S. alliance structure, supported by Washington, but not requiring U.S. combat forces. Australia is leading the International Force for East Timor....
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.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

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mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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