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November 22, 2024
 

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David Howell
COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2006
Energy grief ahead for EU
LONDON -- If all the energy experts, the analysts and the consultants are right -- and often they are not -- the people of Western Europe, and especially Britain, are in for an uncomfortable time over the next few years.
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2006
Tough advice from a friend
LONDON -- Embattled U.S. President George W. Bush has asked for new ideas to help him on Iraq and on how to disentangle from the Middle East morass. He will of course get plenty, but he needs to be very careful over what he chooses.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2006
Curbing the Iranian empire
LONDON -- The preemptive strike doctrine -- that is, hitting the other party quickly when it looks as though it is going to hit you -- is as old as mankind itself. History is strewed with accounts of daring raids to catch the threatening enemy unprepared, from the wars of Greek mythology to modern times....
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2006
Change the tune on climate
LONDON -- There can be no doubt that the film "An Inconvenient Truth," compiled by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, has struck a chord worldwide. Checking potential climate chaos and saving the planet from destruction are causes that have gripped the minds of people, especially young people, everywhere....
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2006
The right kind of nationalism
LONDON -- The appointment of Shinzo Abe as Japan's new prime minister has aroused considerable Western interest, and not a little enthusiasm. People in the West like to see a clear-thinking younger leader emerge. And they like what they hear from Abe about Japan becoming fully qualified as a normal nation...
COMMENTARY
Sep 29, 2006
The struggle to follow Blair
LONDON -- The struggle for the succession to the premiership, when Tony Blair finally goes, is assuming all the qualities of a Shakespearean play.
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2006
Bush creating a more dangerous world
LONDON -- Directly after the horror of 9/11 there was a moment when America held the good will of almost the entire world in the palm of its hand.
COMMENTARY
Aug 24, 2006
New lessons in the Mideast
LONDON -- It was not meant to be like this. The plan, and the promise by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was that the operation would be over swiftly, the Hezbollah forces with their missiles would be surrounded, rooted out and crushed, the kidnapped Israeli soldiers would be returned, and southern...
COMMENTARY
Aug 4, 2006
Disaster in the Middle East
LONDON -- This time Israel has surely gone too far.
COMMENTARY
Jul 20, 2006
Good people, poor leaders
NEW YORK -- So bad has been recent publicity for the United States and its foreign policies that the visitor arriving in the U.S. nowadays has come to expect a grim reception and a nation of inward-turning people who care nothing for the world beyond America's shores.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2006
Britain soars without euro
LONDON -- Britain now receives more inward investment than any other country in the world. So says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based in Paris.
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2006
End of the oil age in sight?
LONDON -- First there was wood. Then it was replaced by coal. Then coal was replaced by oil. Is it now the turn of oil -- which currently accounts for some two-thirds of the world's primary energy -- to be pushed aside by other energy sources and devices?
COMMENTARY
Jun 8, 2006
Big lessons from a small town
LONDON -- Al Gore has been visiting Hay-on Wye. Who is Al Gore and where is Hay-on-Wye?
COMMENTARY
Jun 1, 2006
Will tottering governments hold back Europe's future?
LONDON -- Like a vampire rising from the grave, the issue of a new constitution for the European Union, which many people had assumed was dead and buried, has returned to haunt the corridors of power and government in the capitals of Europe.
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2006
It's crying time for Labour
LONDON -- In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has clearly announced the time when he will depart from office. In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the time of his departure wide open. Therein lies the difference, and the core, of the deep problems currently besetting...
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2006
Oasis of stability in Britain
LONDON -- The British are currently in one of those moods of self-congratulation and self-esteem that seizes them from time to time.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2006
Tattered NPT needs repairs
LONDON -- What has become of the globally agreed regime designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)? The answer these days is that while it has served the world well for many years it is now in tatters.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2006
Protectionism has returned to Europe
LONDON -- The big idea was that Europe would do away with economic nationalism, sweep away frontiers and stand as a shining example to the rest of the world of free trade and open markets. That was the dream. The reality is turning out rather differently.
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2006
Flawed system aided dictator's atrocities
LONDON -- The death of former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic brings back bitter memories. Here was a man shaped in the mold of a 20th century European dictator, obsessed by dreams of racial superiority, unconcerned about the methods his subordinates might use to fulfill his will, oblivious to the...
COMMENTARY
Mar 2, 2006
Solving the energy puzzle
LONDON -- Energy security and politics do not mix well. Energy security requires huge long-term investment, freedom from political interference and social tranquillity. Politicians live in the short term, love to interfere and tend to deliver nasty surprises that economic forecasters usually fail to...
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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