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March 10, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2011
A call for philosophical thinking
By Hirotaka Yamauchi
HIROSHIMA — It has been long since hope for the future was lost, and a vague sense of anxiety is now prevailing among us. Yet this feeling of uneasiness should be the beginning of our thinking philosophically. We should rather take it as an unexpected blessing.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2011
The cultural contradictions of Europe's multiculturalism
By Paulina Neuding
STOCKHOLM — State-sponsored multiculturalism has failed. That proclamation by British Prime Minister David Cameron, following hard on the heels of similar renunciations of multiculturalism by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, suggests that a page is being turned...
COMMENTARY
Mar 2, 2011
Dawn of Arab democracy?
By Hugh Cortazzi
LONDON — The revolution in Tunisia was set off by the self-immolation of a poor vendor persecuted by an autocratic and corrupt regime. The consequent toppling of the Tunisian dictator inspired revolts in Egypt, Bahrain and Libya and led to unrest in the Yemen, Algeria and Jordan. It also spurred the...
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2011
'Horizontal mobility' staves off revolt in India
By Gautaman Bhaskaran
CHENNAI, India — Now that President Hosni Mubarak has finally relinquished power in Egypt and the military has taken control, the question in India is whether such a people's revolt can possibly happen there.
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2011
Wrong choice in Kosovo
By Gregory Clark
A recent Council of Europe report says that during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict, militia leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) tortured and killed hundreds of Serbs and political rivals in secret Albanian hideouts, removed their organs for sale and dumped their bodies in local rivers....
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 28, 2011
Judicial allergy to appeals
More than 1,800 criminal cases reached Japan's Supreme Court on appeal in fiscal 2009. But 98.01 percent of them were thrown out without a hearing. The situation is not much different with civil cases. This trend has chipped away at the very foundation of the nation's three-tier judiciary system, in...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2011
India-Pakistan matrix challenges nuclear security efforts in region
By Harsh V. Pant
LONDON — According to the most recent estimates by U.S. intelligence, Pakistan has doubled its nuclear stockpile over the past few years. The nation's arsenal now totals more than 100 deployed weapons.
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2011
Is it the destiny of Muslims and Jews to fight?
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK — Negative stereotypes and prejudices have been a constant source of friction and misunderstanding between Muslims and Jews. Can a level of understanding be reached between them that would make peaceful relations possible? I believe so. An almost forgotten episode during World War II could...
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,...
As Trump hails taking back of Panama Canal, Hong Kong Inc. walks tightrope
Balboa Port, operated by Panama Ports Company, at the Panama Canal. Conglomerate CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed to sell its ports network, including assets along the Panama Canal, to a U.S. consortium led by BlackRock.
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Japan must fix 'misunderstanding' it is manipulating yen, says ex-BOJ chief Kuroda
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Japan must fix "any misunderstanding" held by U.S. President Donald Trump that its central bank was intentionally weakening the yen with monetary policy.
Some 44% of Japanese lawmakers back selective dual surname system
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda addresses a rally calling for the introduction of a system allowing married couples to choose whether to use the same or different family names on Feb. 26 at parliament.
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.

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

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