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July 17, 2024
 

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John Barry Kotch
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2001
Does self-defense justify Afghan war?
SEOUL -- Even as the scope of combat operations in Afghanistan widens and their scale intensifies, the legal basis for waging war under international law grows ever more tenuous. According to U.S. President George W. Bush, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were an act of...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2001
Kim's final destination remains a mystery
SEOUL -- For Korean watchers, the overriding question regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's visit to Moscow is whether it has brought him any closer to Seoul. Beyond receiving accolades for a summit in Moscow last weekend, the exact purpose behind the trip or, more precisely, Kim's final destination,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2001
Korean summit fails to meet expectations
SEOUL -- Under normal circumstances, the meaning of a great event should become clearer in retrospect than in prospect. Yet on the first anniversary of last year's Korean summit, confusion rather than clarity reigns. In a sense, a year is too short a time to know if real change has occurred, setting...
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2001
Salvaging South Korea's Sunshine Policy
SEOUL -- If the two Koreas agree on anything, it is that the reconciliation process is theirs alone to decide. So what were the EU president and the Swedish prime minister doing in Pyongyang and Seoul recently?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2001
Will Pyongyang split U.S., South Korea?
SEOUL -- The recent shakeup in Seoul's foreign policy and security team in the aftermath of the Washington summit represents a double effort to patch up relations with the United States, while persuading North Korea to come back to the bargaining table. Both tasks require supreme diplomatic skill.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2001
U.S.-ROK ties show new signs of strain
SEOUL -- It is difficult not to compare the Seoul summit between South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and its sequel in Washington between Kim and U.S. President George W. Bush, given both countries' long history and deep involvement in Korean affairs. The stark...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2001
Putin, history and the Korean Peninsula
SEOUL -- The inter-Korean railroad project across the DMZ makes a great deal of sense for the two Koreas, but it also makes sense for outside powers, above all for Russia. With space to spare on the trans-Siberian route on the return trip east, Moscow is looking south for passengers. It is offering huge...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2001
Europe puts out feelers toward N. Korea
A mixture of adventure, altruism and a desire not to be left behind economically is responsible for the European plunge into Korean political affairs that began this year. First Italy and then, in rapid succession, Belgium, Britain and Germany have dispatched missions to Pyongyang. Only France held back,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2000
The right man for the Korean problem
SEOUL -- Now that U.S. President Bill Clinton has decided not to go to Pyongyang before his term expires, Colin Powell, U.S. secretary of state-designate in the new Bush administration, inherits the Korean problem. With it comes a golden opportunity to do something that has eluded statesmen for 50 years:...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2000
Kim, de Gaulle: visionary but vulnerable
SEOUL -- South Korean President Kim Dae Jung returns from Norway and Sweden this week with his Nobel Prize in hand, having secured his place on the world stage. But at home, he faces a nation deeply divided over his "sunshine policy," deeply troubled over its economic prospects and enveloped in a social...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2000
Two Koreas grapple with a long history
U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright's recent remark that "my glasses aren't rose-colored" when it comes to North Korea has touched a deep chord in South Korea. The pace and productiveness of North-South exchanges has noticeably slowed since the summer, and off-again, on-again North-South meetings...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2000
ASEM fails to live up to hype
The third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held in Seoul last weekend was long on ceremony and performance, but short on substance. While impeccably hosted by South Korea and held in a glittering new conference center in southern Seoul, the conference lacked "soul." For all the talk of Partnership for Shared...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2000
Koreas need peace, not a peace treaty
SEOUL-- This week's defense minister-level meeting on Cheju Island is welcome news as the two Koreas take another historic step forward in their rapidly developing rapprochement. But the road ahead will be long and convoluted. According to one well-placed South Korean official, "we are in the realm of...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2000
The two Koreas and the great powers
The multifaceted character of the Korean problem and the uneven progress made by its protagonists were once again on display last week.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2000
A step forward in Asian cooperation
SEOUL -- Asia is gradually moving toward a security framework dramatically different from that in Europe, consisting of processes rather than institutions between and among nation-states -- many of which have outstanding political, ideological or territorial conflicts. And in Asia, unlike the case in...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2000
Russia gets back into the Korean fray
At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union re-established itself as a major player on the Korean Peninsula largely as a result of U.S. initiatives in dividing the country, for administrative convenience, between two zones of military occupation. In doing so, the Americans displayed great ignorance...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2000
Two Kims now face a win-win situation
SEOUL -- Both North Korea's Kim Jong Il, the younger host, and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, his older guest, have come off last week's world-dazzling summit with a bounce. But can they keep the momentum going?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2000
Korean summit expectations vs. reality
SEOUL -- When the two leaders of the two Koreas meet for the first time in Pyongyang in less than two weeks, the possibility of creating conditions for genuine reconciliation will also come into play for the first time.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2000
Kim unscathed in parliamentary vote
SEOUL -- South Korea's 16th general election for the National Assembly held two weeks ago was hardly a mandate for President Kim Dae Jung's ruling Millennium Democratic Party. Although it forced Kim to reach out to the opposition Grand National Party, it has not impaired his ability and authority to...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2000
Behind the surprise inter-Korean summit
"Hold on to your hat. Korea is full of surprises," Don Oberdorfer advises us in the conclusion to his recent book, "The Two Koreas." And not since Egyptian President Anwar Sadat flew into Jerusalem more than two decades ago to mend fences with his arch rival, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and...
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

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
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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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
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