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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Feb 27, 2011

All hail the wonders of Japanese cuisine — if not what Japanese eat

By Roger Pulvers

Ask almost any Japanese living overseas what they miss most and they are more likely to say the food than their relatives. Ask virtually any tourist what excites them most about Japan and you are apt to be told "Japanese food."

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Feb 27, 2011

Indefensible costs of military one-upmanship

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK — I was recently surprised to learn that Singapore has 72,500 troops on active duty and plans to double the number of "combat-ready aircraft" to more than 200. It also plans to have 10 more submarines to add to the four it has today. Or so the Wall Street Journal reported ("Asia's New Arms...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 27, 2011

Beijing in Washington's footsteps

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG — The so-called financial leaders of the Group of 20 nations propped up this month's agreement in Paris against a fluffy set of economic indicators that may lead to their taking concerted action to head off a future potential global economic crisis. But it would be unwise to hold your breath...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 26, 2011

The battle for Bahrain

By Barak Barfi

MANAMA — The fervor for change that inspired revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt is now rocking Bahrain. But the uprising in Manama differs from the mass protests that turned out longtime rulers in North Africa. Indeed, sectarian fault lines, together with the security forces' complete fealty to the monarchy,...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 26, 2011

Conscripted prisoners of the Russian Army

By Aleh Tsyvinski, Sergei Guriev and Matthew A. Winkler

MOSCOW — Some of the most interesting artifacts of the Soviet Union in Russia are the holidays that continue to be celebrated, almost two decades after the fall of communism. On Feb. 23, Russians celebrated the "Day of the Defender of the Fatherland," a rough equivalent of Father's Day but with a militaristic...

COMMENTARY

Feb 25, 2011

Deciphering Russian aims

By Kazuo Ogoura

The Russian prime minister's surprise visit to the Northern Territories and subsequent Russian hard position on the territorial issue have triggered a series of reactions in Japan, which in turn have hardened the Russian position and thereby spoiled Japan-Russia relations.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 24, 2011

Egypt's economic future

By Mark J. Roe

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For Egypt, the question of the day is whether the country will build an open, democratic political system or relapse into some form — new or old — of autocracy. But an equally important question — above all for Egyptians, but also for other developing countries (and for development...

COMMENTARY

Feb 23, 2011

Economy is key to security

By Michael Richardson

SINGAPORE — Gemba Koichiro, the minister tasked with devising ways to revive Japan's sagging international influence, recently drew a link between the economic power of a nation and the readiness of other countries to challenge its security interests.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 23, 2011

Civil society must push nuke ban

By Daisaku Ikeda

Last year, important international conferences were held to tackle such pressing global challenges as climate change and nuclear disarmament. While these conferences saw the emergence of constructive new consensus, it is not enough simply to sound the alarm: The time has come for action and solidarity....

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 22, 2011

Expanding the scope of the export sector

By Sandile Hlatshwayo and Michael Spence

NEW YORK — Since the end of World War II, the global economy's trade and financial openness has increased, thanks to institutions like the International Monetary Fund and successive rounds of liberalization, starting with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 22, 2011

Red Devils and moneyed 'untouchables' of soccer

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG — The front cover of the report by the respected audit and consulting concern Deloitte is dramatic and eye-catching: It consists of just a picture of a fedora hat reminiscent of the 1930s and, above it, a stark headline, "The Untouchables."

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 21, 2011

Interfaith tolerance challenges Indonesian Islam, democracy

By Iqra Anugrah

BEPPU, Oita Prefecture — During the heat of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, which successfully toppled the respective autocratic regimes of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, some incidents in Indonesia appear to have dimmed the prospect of democracy on this side of the Islamic world....

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.

Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

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