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November 22, 2024
 

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David Howell
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2003
Make way for the New Way
LONDON -- Politicians and gurus from around the world have been gathering in London recently for a grand conference on resuscitating the Third Way -- the hopeful idea that the future can be guided along a path lying somewhere between socialism and free-market capitalism.
COMMENTARY
Jul 6, 2003
Iraqi case far from hopeless with time, creative thinking
LONDON -- Iraq is not Afghanistan. It is necessary to repeat this obvious point because the impression has been growing that occupied Iraq, like occupied Afghanistan, is a murderous and lawless stew of rival factions and impoverished tribes and factions, where democracy and stable government are impossible...
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2003
Britons fear euro's underside
LONDON -- Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl often used to say the euro would only work properly if and when Europe had a full political union -- in other words if there was a single government for Europe with a large central budget. He was, of course, completely right, and this explains why the British...
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2003
Peace will prove very difficult to find on Mideast 'road map'
LONDON -- One of the stronger arguments for regime change in Iraq was that it would pave the way for a settlement, at last, in the unending dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, and that this in turn would remove one of the main motivations for global terrorism.
COMMENTARY
May 25, 2003
Clouds over Blair's parade
LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is riding high these days. His popularity ratings have never been better, and he is about to receive U.S. government honors unparalleled by any non-American since British statesman Winston Churchill. World leaders flock to see him, and he moves among the people...
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2003
A bigger Europe may not be any better
LONDON -- A few days ago in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, EU leaders approved a major expansion of the European Union that will embrace 10 new members and 73 million more European citizens.
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2003
Past guides U.S. postwar policy
LONDON -- The United Nations will only play a marginal role in postwar Iraq. The "transitional" administration will remain firmly in American hands, with some British, Australian and other coalition-member support, until there is an Iraqi government ready to take over the new Iraq. A hopeful estimate...
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2003
Pessimism about war looks overdone
LONDON -- As the military operation in Iraq rolls forward, those who still have doubts about the project -- and there are many -- have started to focus on all the catastrophes that could lie ahead, however speedy the campaign.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2003
Unrolling the map of a rejiggered EU
LONDON -- One early and significant casualty of the war with Iraq is the unity of Europe. The European continent is split clean down the middle. On one side sit France, Germany and Belgium. On the other side sit almost all the other nations of Europe, east and west.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2003
Blair gives lesson in courage
LONDON -- For anyone with a sense of history, it is impossible not to admire the tireless conviction and the lonely valor of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
COMMENTARY
Feb 13, 2003
The 'vision thing' still matters
LONDON -- In the ideal Middle East "dream scenario," U.N. weapons inspectors, gently prompted by American and British intelligence information, stumble on stores of chemical and biological weapons hidden in Iraq.
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2003
Love beneath the headlines
LONDON -- France is in everybody's bad books. In Washington, France has been dismissed -- along with Germany -- as "Old Europe," paralyzed by traditional views and unable to come to terms with the security imperatives of the global age. In London, anti-French feeling has been building up in official...
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2002
Resist the potions of the past
LONDON -- "Capitulation bottom" is the ugly and inelegant phrase used by financial analysts in London to indicate the low point in the cycle of investor optimism and pessimism -- the point where investors give up in despair, sell their shrunken shareholdings, if they can find a buyer, and start putting...
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2002
Britain braces for dilemma
LONDON -- At the speed of an express train, a formidable new dilemma is hurtling toward the British government: how to respond to the prospect of a written constitution that the leaders of the European Union are determined to have. Drafts are already being circulated and will be finalized in the next...
COMMENTARY
Nov 25, 2002
Get serious about Zimbabwe
LONDON -- The miserable Zimbabwe saga now seems to be moving to a moment of catharsis. Opposition leader Morgan Tsangvirai has sent a desperate appeal to the United Nations, almost like the last cry of a free country about to be obliterated, warning of imminent descent into civil strife that will threaten...
COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2002
Dark days for Britain's Tories
LONDON -- The once-mighty Conservative Party, which dominated the British political scene for most of the 20th century, has now fallen on very bad times.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2002
Keep the EU elites in check
LONDON -- Presidents and constitutions are the subjects that excite enthusiasts for European integration at the moment, while ordinary citizens of Europe look on a little uneasily. The enthusiasts are making no secret of their earnest desire to "take Europe forward," as they put it, by creating the post...
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2002
Small Mideast release valve
BAHRAIN -- Here in this little island kingdom just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, all the complexities and contradictions of the Middle East and the Arab world seem to come together.
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2002
Iraq, yes -- but why now?
LONDON -- Everyone seems agreed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a very nasty piece of work, a brutal tyrant with homicidal tendencies who cannot be trusted one inch.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2002
EU immigration issue heats up
LONDON -- The enlargement of the European Union, with the addition of up to 10 more states and dozens of new local cultures and minorities, is approaching.
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.

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