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July 17, 2024
 

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Ronald Meinardus
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2001
No wonder Seoul's politicos get no respect
SEOUL -- Some days ago I received a telephone call from the Office of the Chief Spokesman of the National Assembly. A friendly public-relations officer invited me to write an article for the National Assembly Review with personal observations regarding the challenges for parliamentary politics in South...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2000
Don't retreat from the sunshine policy
SEOUL -- Government transitions are good times for political analysts. Before the new team moves into office, these experts share their knowledge, make evaluations and sometimes even predictions. These days the newspapers are full explanations of what the new U.S. leadership might do and should not do....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2000
Korean democracy suffers growing pains
SEOUL -- You don't have to consult opinion polls to understand that in general terms South Koreans are not happy with their government. It is enough to occasionally read editorials or to engage in political discussions with Korean friends, colleagues and neighbors. Then you detect a very basic disenchantment...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2000
Awards lift expectations of Kim Dae Jung
SEOUL -- South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is more popular abroad than he is within his own country. This is the impression I have gathered after discussing South Korean politics with many people both in South Korea and beyond the shores of the peninsula.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2000
Behind the rush to Pyongyang
SEOUL -- Some journalists profess to know more than they ought to. While President Bill Clinton insists a decision regarding a possible visit to North Korea has not been taken, some media have already published details of the president's itinerary. According to one report, Clinton's two-day visit to...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2000
An unambiguous democrat
At the moment of his greatest personal triumph, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung once again demonstrated his magnanimity. "I return all my honor to the people and the citizens of the world, who love democracy and human rights," the president was quoted as saying after he was awarded the Nobel Peace...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2000
South Korea grapples with rapprochement
SEOUL -- Some days ago I received an e-mail from a friend I hadn't heard from for a while, who teaches North Korean affairs at one of the major universities in Seoul. "I am worried," he wrote. "This is not a good time for South Korean scholars dealing with North Korea to express their views freely."...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2000
A real German lesson for the two Koreas
SEOUL -- In one of numerous books dealing with unification matters, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung refers to his meetings with leading German politicians in the early part of the 1990s. According to Kim's account, the German politicians told him, "You are fortunate because you can analyze all the...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2000
No German blueprint for the two Koreas
SEOUL -- The relationship between local autonomy and unification is becoming an increasingly hot topic in South Korea, as more and more local authorities aspire to an active role in the process of rapprochement with the North. It is clear that this nation is passing through a historic moment. Hardly...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2000
People-to-people ties will reunite Korea
Probably the most clear-cut dissimilarity between Germany when it was divided and the present state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula is the status of cross-border people-to-people contacts and relations. In the long years of Germany's division, a multitude of communication channels existed between...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

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Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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