More Commentary Articles - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 5, 2007

Will the dollar lose its crown to the euro?

By William L. Silber

NEW YORK — Much of America's dominance in world finance comes from the dollar's status as international money. America's commitment to free capital markets, the rule of law, and price stability confer credibility on the dollar as a store of value. But American spending habits have undermined the dollar's...

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 4, 2007

Human dignity and the death penalty

By Antonio Cassese

FLORENCE, Italy — China's decision to execute the head of its drug regulatory agency has rekindled international debate about capital punishment. It is an age-old question, one that harks back to Plato, who in his "Laws" saw the need to punish by death those who commit egregious crimes.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Jul 1, 2007

Food for thought — and a writ to go

By Roger Pulvers

Dear Reader: Today I bring you news of the most chilling and awful purport. Don't worry, it doesn't affect you — at least I hope it doesn't. It is yours truly who is getting the short end of the chopstick on this one. I tell you, I feel as if I've been reborn with a greasy spoon in my mouth — but...

COMMENTARY

Jun 30, 2007

Hong Kong media thrive under China

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES — Not every place in the world takes its news media seriously, to say the least. Some governments view it as a nuisance, if not a menace; others as an arm of public instruction, if not propaganda. But this is not the view taken here in what (since the 1997 handover from Britain) is officially...

COMMENTARY

Jun 30, 2007

Britain's future tied to Europe

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON — The recent European summit in Brussels reached a compromise on a treaty that would replace the proposed European constitution rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands.

COMMENTARY

Jun 29, 2007

Chief executive who serves two masters

By Tom Plate and Jonathan Cable

This is the first in a series of columns on the political and economic status of Hong Kong. On Sunday, the former British crown colony will mark its 10th anniversary as a special province of China.

COMMENTARY

Jun 29, 2007

Hope for six-party talks lives

By Ralph Cossa

SEOUL — It's not exactly clear what Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill told (or promised) North Korean officials during his surprise visit to Pyongyang last week — or if the mere continuation of the long sought after one-on-one direct dialogue was sufficient — but the DPRK has finally...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 28, 2007

China, Russia in the new world disorder

By Dominique Moisi

WARSAW — Can Kosovo achieve independence from Serbia without the tacit consent of Russia, and can there be a humanitarian and political solution to the tragedy in Darfur without the active good will of China? The two crises have nothing in common, but their resolution will depend in large part on whether...

COMMENTARY

Jun 28, 2007

Put yourself in China's shoes

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON — The United States is off the hook: last year China overtook the U.S. to become the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. "The tall tree attracts the wind," and from now on China will be the main target of the criticism that used to be directed at the U.S. for refusing to accept binding...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 28, 2007

Just who is Gordon Brown?

By Ian Davidson

BRUSSELS — At long last, Gordon Brown is taking over from Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister, thus attaining his lifelong ambition, as if by right. That is his first problem. He has not been elected by anyone — not by the Labour Party, and not by Britain's voters; he has merely come into an inheritance...

COMMENTARY

Jun 27, 2007

Battle for the European Union's identity

By David Howell

LONDON -- The latest battle of Brussels is over and news of the outcome is circulating through the capitals of the European Union. But unlike the ferocious battles of past centuries on European soil, this appears to be an engagement that everyone has won.

COMMENTARY

Jun 26, 2007

China aims for bigger share of South Asia's water lifeline

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI — Sharpening Asian competition over energy resources, driven in part by high growth rates in gross domestic product and in part by mercantilist attempts to lock up supplies, has obscured another danger: Water shortages in much of Asia are beginning to threaten rapid economic modernization,...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.

Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports