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COMMENTARY / World

Nov 17, 2005

Strategic changes for Japan-U.S. alliance

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- Much of the American and Japanese news coverage of the new security agreement between Washington and Tokyo has focused on its political aspects but overlooked the far-reaching strategic changes it has projected for the revitalized alliance.

COMMENTARY

Nov 16, 2005

No wonder anti-free traders are angry

By Gregory Clark

If you want to understand why anti-free-trade demonstrators in Argentina were so angry nearly two weeks ago, visit a small metal-working factory in a humdrum Japanese village near where I spend weekends. Outside it looks nondescript. But inside it is a technological wonder -- CAD/CAM-operated machine...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 15, 2005

Aussies preparing for worst

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- Tough new antiterrorist laws will soon give troops shoot-to-kill authority when patrolling Australian streets in anticipation of a terrorist attack. But the change will come only after the Australian public has agonized over a claimed loss of civil liberties.

COMMENTARY

Nov 14, 2005

Beijing appears more apt to seek flu help

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- China's appeal to the World Health Organization for help to determine whether three cases of "pneumonia caused by unknown factors" in Hunan province could have been the result of the H5N1 virus indicates that Beijing is taking the threat of bird flu seriously.

COMMENTARY

Nov 14, 2005

Enhanced order of security

By Keizo Nabeshima

Japan and the United States on Oct. 29 issued an interim report agreeing to expand military cooperation in connection with the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The agreement is intended to adapt the bilateral alliance to better deal with changes in the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region....

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Nov 13, 2005

Nobel laureate set to be garlanded in cliche

By Roger Pulvers

Awarding this year's Nobel Prize in literature to British playwright Harold Pinter is giving the recipient an opportunity to mount a stage of enormous proportions, and his acceptance speech in Stockholm next month may be the most provocative, fiery and influential address ever given on this august occasion....

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 13, 2005

Let business trump quest for dominance

By James A. Dorn

WASHINGTON -- The task for U.S. policymakers is to engage China while treating it as a rising great power that could be a legitimate threat. In particular, America needs to continue a policy of engagement and avoid destructive protectionism. Forging a constructive U.S.-China partnership will be the major...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Nov 12, 2005

Downsized Russian holiday

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Wouldn't you feel confused if your government moved Christmas Day to Dec. 21 and named it the Day of Fraternal Oscillation?

COMMENTARY

Nov 11, 2005

Is capitalism key to peace?

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- In a world that seems constantly aflame, one naturally asks: What causes peace? Many people, including U.S. President George W. Bush, hope that spreading democracy will discourage war.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 10, 2005

The reduction of impunity

By Ramesh Thakur

Government is about making and implementing public policy choices. These are neither always easy nor always right. Governments, like individuals, do make mistakes. But in democracies, the task of making decisions on behalf of the people is delegated to elected representatives who then answer to the courts...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 10, 2005

Cultural diversity strengthens nations

By Kazuo Ogoura

During UNESCO's recent biannual conference at its Paris headquarters, the United States remained adamant in its opposition to the conclusion of an international convention on cultural diversity. On the surface it appears that the U.S. position is mainly motivated by trade interests. The U.S. seems to...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 9, 2005

The politics of assigning a nuclear carrier to Japan

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- The easy part of newly assigning a U.S. aircraft carrier to Japan, which was to persuade the Japanese to accept a nuclear-powered vessel, has been accomplished. Now comes the hard part: deciding which one of 10 carriers should be based in the port of Yokosuka.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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