More Commentary Articles - The Japan Times

November 29, 2024

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY

Nov 15, 2004

Risks could Americanize Chinese behavior

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- It's a dangerous world out there and, as China is finding out, it's getting more dangerous by the day. Beijing was shocked last month when terrorists believed to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on a dam project in a tribal area of...

COMMENTARY

Nov 15, 2004

Loyal vote for pork politics

By Keizo Nabeshima

On Nov. 5, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Muneo Suzuki, a former Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party, to two years in prison for bribery, misreporting donations and perjury. Suzuki, who once served as state minister in charge of development in Hokkaido, was a key member of the LDP's...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 14, 2004

'Dirty bomb' threat rising

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- The day terrorists start blackmailing democratic governments with homemade "dirty bombs" is closer than people think. World leaders must act now to prevent such a demonstrable nuclear catastrophe.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 14, 2004

Strategy maximizes Iraqi civilian deaths

By Andrew Mack

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The stunning revelations that postinvasion Iraqi deaths are three to 10 times higher than any previous estimates will be a major embarrassment for the Bush administration.

COMMENTARY

Nov 14, 2004

Asia won't go back to being an also-ran

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- I am often asked why our think tank is located in Hawaii. Apart from the sun, sand, sea and surf, there is a very good reason: The world looks very different from Honolulu. We're parked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo is a lot closer than Washington, D.C. When we look out over the...

COMMENTARY

Nov 11, 2004

China pushes for new order

By Glyn Ford

LONDON -- A new Chinese diplomacy is emerging from Beijing. Traditionally reactive to global events, China now sees itself forced to take on a proactive role in world affairs. The revolutionary phase of Chinese foreign policy is dead; now pragmatism has taken center-stage.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 11, 2004

'Uniter' needs bipartisan foreign policy

By John Barry Kotch

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- The ballot counting goes on in New Mexico, the battleground state closest to Northeast Asia and U.S. Democrats' last stand, but to what avail? With the presidential election already decided, only the political arithmetic remains.

COMMENTARY

Nov 10, 2004

Dealing with the nuclear-threat hydra

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The U.S. government has named Iran and North Korea as rogue states. Iran is accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and breaching the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). North Korea may already have a few nuclear devices and has announced its withdrawal from the NPT. The two states...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 9, 2004

Neocon lessons for Democrats

By Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- As Democrats comb the 2004 election results for lessons, one should be obvious: we need bolder, newer ideas, particularly in this post-9/11 world in the realm of foreign policy. Just as neocons have provided much of the spark and intellectual energy behind modern-day Republicanism, Democrats...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 8, 2004

China leads but don't count India out

By Christopher Lingle

GUATEMALA CITY -- During his visit to India in 2002, the local media fawned over Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji. To a considerable degree the deference shown to him was justified on strategic grounds, given that it came during a time of great instability in South Asia. Yet his proclamations concerning economic...

COMMENTARY

Nov 8, 2004

Conservatives sold their souls

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- After Nov. 2 the Republican Party seems to have it all: continued possession of the U.S. presidency and expanded control of Congress. Ironically, however, President George W. Bush's victory has killed America's conservative movement. The Republican Party and conservative movement have lost...

COMMENTARY

Nov 7, 2004

Silence the loose cannons

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- The U.S. presidential election is finally over! Now the hard part begins. I'm not talking about getting North Korea back to the negotiating table; that will come soon enough. Now that Pyongyang knows it has no choice but to deal with the Bush administration, it will find a way to resume the...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat

By Greg Dvorak

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports