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March 19, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2008
Quake warms Japan-China ties
By Frank Ching
The Sichuan earthquake disaster has highlighted many changes in China, such as its willingness to accept outside aid in contrast to the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, when Beijing insisted on self-reliance and refused all offers of assistance.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2008
Why Israel is engaging Syria
By Ramzy Baroud
On May 15, U.S. President George W. Bush gave a speech before the Israeli parliament, decrying "radicals and terrorists." His archaic references to the "promised land" and "chosen people" certainly appealed to the equally outdated and exclusivist views of many, although not all Israeli Knesset members,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2008
Reaping harvests of dire hunger worldwide
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
NEW YORK — Lack of food is rarely the reason people go hungry. Even now, there is enough food in the world, with a bumper harvest this year, but more people cannot afford to buy the food they need. Addressing this growing crisis is the aim of the three-day Global Conference on Food Security in Rome...
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2008
Energy-cost issue boils over
By David Howell
Is the green party over? Is the ferocious rise in energy costs worldwide, driven by the soaring price of oil, undermining all the enthusiasm for saving the planet in the longer term via cutting carbon emissions and penalizing all forms of fossil-fuel consumption?
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2008
Cluster bomb ban is a good start
By Gwynne Dyer
The British armed forces clung to their cluster bombs like a baby to its rattle, and some suspected that they were trying to sabotage the treaty on behalf of their American friends. But Prime Minister Gordon Brown overruled them, in the end, and Britain was among the hundred countries that agreed to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2008
Lectures from steak-lovers hard to stomach
By Chris Patten
London — I feel a little sorry for U.S. President George W. Bush. Whatever his other many failings, he has a pretty good record on aid to poor countries, particularly in health care. True to form, he recently announced a big increase in U.S. food aid good for the hungry poor and good for American farmers....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2008
Shaking Japan to the very core
By Michael Richardson
Singapore — As aftershocks from China's devastating earthquake continue to cause havoc, atomic safety experts from around the world are preparing to meet in Japan this month to scrutinize seismic standards at nuclear plants. Because they contain lethal sources of radiation, the plants are designed...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2008
The EU's Kyoto shell game
By Valdis Dombrovskis
With each passing year, the impending crisis of global warming looms closer and closer. Time is running out for preventive action to be taken. The European Union's "20-20-20" mantra aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent relative to their level in 1990 and to increase the share of renewable...
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2008
Macho move would make Burma's plight even worse
By Ramesh Thakur
Their paranoia and mistrust of the outside world are such that Burma's generals have been criminally tardy in permitting emergency humanitarian supplies and personnel to come into the country. More than 100,000 may have been killed and over 2 million displaced and made homeless by the cyclone.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2008
Racist youths are on a rampage in Russia
By Susanne Scholl
In Russia, if you have dark hair and a slightly swarthy complexion, you are likely to be in danger. Sadly, Russia's leaders have tolerated, if not encouraged, fear of foreigners and assaults on those whose appearance differs from the average Russian.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2008
'Civilized' talk contends with politics, culture
By Tzvetan Todorov
PARIS — What does it mean to be "civilized"? Obviously, being highly educated, wearing a tie, eating with a fork or cutting one's nails weekly is not enough.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 1, 2008
Is aging Japan really ready for all the non-Japanese carers it needs?
By Roger Pulvers
One of the cliches most bandied about in the Japanese business world is yareba dekiru. An English equivalent might be the title of Jamaican reggae star Jimmy Cliff's great 1972 hit, "You Can Get It If You Really Want."
Tokyo pub hit with first-ever closure order for illegal street tables
One pub in Tokyo's Shimbashi district received more than 60 warnings from law enforcement for setting up tables on the street, blocking the way for traffic.
Japan to extend financial aid to more people moving out of Tokyo
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) speaks to officials of Miyada in Nagano Prefecture on Saturday during his visit to the village.
Tokyo gears up for April launch of law against harassment by customers
Tokyo will soon require all companies in the city to make efforts to stop harassment by customers, such as by creating a manual on how to handle suspected cases.
Mount Fuji hikers to be charged ¥4,000 on all trails
Tourists gather at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida Trail for hikers climbing Mount Fuji, ahead of its reopening for the season in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in June 2024.
Geely billionaire goes on a cost-cutting spree to catch rivals
Cars at the Geely Auto production base in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province on Feb. 16
At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights
Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.
In Tokyo, Dodgers get taste of the Shohei Ohtani experience
Shohei Ohtani greets manager Dave Roberts before the team's game against the Tigers at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
Private clubs quietly open in Tokyo for free-spending Chinese businesspeople
Sources say a hui suo — a private club, which in Japan caters mainly to Chinese businesspeople — will soon open on the upper floors of the Moutai Building in the Ginza district of Tokyo.
Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art
Artist Adrian Steckeweh 3-D prints otherworldly clothes and accessories for himself, in a way augmenting his reality with tangible objects.

Podcast

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

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin

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