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COMMENTARY / World

Mar 7, 2010

Don't just cut public spending — rethink it

By Eamonn Butler

LONDON, INTERNATIONAL POLICY NETWORK — The strikes in Greece against the government's austerity package must worry the leaders of any country running big budget deficits — which is most countries, including Japan. After all, the package was not particularly austere: minor trimming of Greece's notoriously...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 7, 2010

Myth of Palestine's economic development

By Sam Bahour

AL-BIREH, West Bank — A serious misconception is being propagated by the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. Media, international organizations, foreign governments and Palestinians at large are being coaxed into believing that the flurry of economic activity in the West Bank is economic development...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 7, 2010

Emotionalized debate blurs valuable functions of Futenma

By Dan Melton

CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa Pref. — In recent months, the issue of the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma has gotten a great deal of attention in the news — so much so that it has almost overshadowed the significance of this year being the 50th anniversary of the revision of the U.S.-Japan...

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Mar 7, 2010

For humanity's sake, let's tie whaling in with animal welfare as a whole

By Roger Pulvers

Back in the early '90s, my wife, children and I lived in the picturesque and historical Sydney suburb of Mosman . . . well, historical by white-settler Australian standards.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 5, 2010

Japan's slow-motion crisis

By Kenneth Rogoff

If you listen to American, European or even Chinese leaders, Japan is the economic future no one wants. In selling massive stimulus packages and bank bailouts, Western leaders told their people, "We must do this or we will end up like Japan, mired in recession and deflation for a decade or more."

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 4, 2010

Pragmatic Asia can bolster global stability

By Simon Chesterman and Kishore Mahbubani

DAVOS, Switzerland — Is there an "Asian way" for resolving global challenges? The conventional answer is no. But elements of an Asian way are gradually emerging. Given Asia's growing influence, the world should pay attention — and may have much to gain.

COMMENTARY

Mar 3, 2010

Zero tolerance for bullying

By Hugh Cortazzi

The British media have given prominence recently to allegations that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is a bully who intimidates those who work for him. It has also been alleged that some of his staff have briefed against Cabinet ministers with whom Brown disagrees. The government has dismissed these charges...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2010

Iran's 'mullahnomics' is failing

By Kenan Mortan

ISTANBUL — As the standoff between Iran's government and opposition continues, one factor that may determine the outcome, but which is rarely discussed, is the rickety state of the Iranian economy. Will its sclerotic performance ultimately turn out to be what tips the balance?

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2010

Europe's contested regions

By Ronald D. Asmus

BRUSSELS — What is the most important source of disagreement today between Russia and the West? It is not the issues most often in the news, Iran and Afghanistan. It is Europe's contested neighborhood — the future of those countries between the eastern border of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2010

Tweets of freedom are ringing across China

By Emily Parker

NEW YORK — Google has been widely celebrated for its loud refusal to continue censoring its search results in China. It is still unclear whether Google will continue to operate in China, but in any event we are not about to see much change in China's Internet policy. More likely, all this "foreign...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2010

Grasping for a way to save the Greek sinner

By Hans-Werner Sinn

MUNICH — The euro's current weakness has one culprit: Greece. At 14 percent of GDP, Greece's latest current-account deficit was the largest of the euro-zone countries after Cyprus. Its debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 113 percent by the end of 2009. As this year's deficit is projected to be more than 12...

COMMENTARY

Mar 2, 2010

U.S. 'torture memo' lawyers got off too easily

By Cesar Chelala and Ronald Meinardus

NEW YORK — The recent statement by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) that the two lawyers who wrote the so-called torture memos merely exercised "poor judgment" is a disservice to justice. This is a topic that should be properly addressed by a serious inquiry...

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

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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