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March 16, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009
Nuremberg set a valid precedent for trials of war-crime suspects in Iraq's destruction
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK — The Nuremberg Principles, a set of guidelines established after World War II to try Nazi Party members, were developed to determine what constitutes a war crime. The principles can also be applied today when considering the conditions that led to the Iraq war and, in the process, to the...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009
Whither G7, G8 or G20?
By Kazuo Ogoura
Current worldwide economic and financial difficulties have triggered a debate over the need to strengthen the Group of 20, a forum of 20 major "economic" powers, including newly emerging countries such as China, India or Brazil, as well as some additional Western European countries.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 25, 2009
Paying Aso back with praise
By Richie Hawtin
Ranking officials at the Foreign Ministry appear more preoccupied with presenting Prime Minister Taro Aso as dexterous at diplomacy than promoting the national interest. One official has confided that it is now their turn to return the favor given to them when Aso was foreign minister.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2009
Iran rules the hierarchy of Israeli emotions
By Dominique Moisi
PARIS — "It is reasonable to believe in miracles," David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, once said. Today's Israelis do not seem to believe in miracles. Instead, more than ever before, they are obsessed by nightmares, foremost among them, the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
COMMENTARY
May 24, 2009
An offer Pyongyang can't refuse
By Hisahiko Okazaki
Past U.S.-North Korea negotiations on nuclear issues can be roughly classified into two types.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 24, 2009
Was Japan's first Western screen star shameful to his homeland?
By Roger Pulvers
The Japanese have a term for certain types of movies made outside the country featuring Japanese actors who play Japanese characters. It is kokujoku eiga. Eiga means "movies," and kokujoku, derived from the words for "country" and "insult," means "disgrace" or "denigration." In other words, kokujoku...
COMMENTARY
May 23, 2009
U.S. fighting the wrong war
By Brahma Chellaney
The deeper Pakistan has dug itself into a jihadist dungeon over the past decade and more, the more the United States has gotten involved in that country, including in propping up its tottering economy through generous bilateral and international aid, macro-managing Pakistani politics and pampering the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2009
California crisis imperils Obama's agenda
By G. Pascal Zachary
BERKELEY, Calif. — While the new Obama administration is commanding global attention, America's future may be written — as so many times before — in and by its largest state. Once the lodestar for American optimism and achievement, California now illustrates the difficulties confronting the United...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2009
Life of coalition extended
By Bidyut Chakrabarty
DELHI, OPINION ASIA — The outcome of the just-concluded 2009 national poll in India reflect continuity because the verdict was clearly in favor of an incumbent coalition government that presages political stability. Equally, the results are indicative of change because voters rejected regional parties,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2009
What do the North Koreans really want?
By Victor Cha
WASHINGTON — The latest statements out of North Korea appear to be telegraphing Pyongyang's next set of provocative moves. It has threatened further ballistic missile tests, another nuclear test, and steps to acquire its own civilian nuclear capabilities unless the United Nations "apologizes" for its...
COMMENTARY
May 21, 2009
The way forward in Afghanistan
By Hugh Cortazzi
So far, 157 British troops have died in Afghanistan and many more have been injured. These are significant and worrying losses. How long will British public opinion accept these losses when it is not clear whether the war in Afghanistan can be won?
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2009
Can India's Congress deliver?
By Kevin Rafferty
LONDON — Yet again, India's voters confounded the pundits and comfortably returned the Congress party alliance to power. Now the question is whether leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and their colleagues can return the compliment and get to grips with the immense problems and the enormous...
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum
Japanese dentist Yusuke Kamimura poses for a photograph in front of a private collection dedicated to MLB player Shohei Ohtani, inside his dental clinic in Koshigaya, north of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2025.
Bonsai thefts sweep Japan as miniature trees grow more popular
According to the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative, there were about 30 cases of bonsai theft last year.
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state
The Great Wall of China near Beijing. Two Japanese tourists were detained in China for taking photos showing exposed buttocks at the World Heritage site.
Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
Japan to get tough on businesses not taking heatstroke countermeasures
A construction site in Tokyo in July 2018. Businesses failing to take measures to prevent severe heatstroke among employees will be subjected to criminal punishment from June.
In a sea of Dodger Blue, Japanese superfan ready to cheer on the Cubs
Takuya “Moby” Okamoto after Game 5 of the 2016 World Series, which the Cubs went on to win in seven games to snap a 108-year drought
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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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