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COMMENTARY / World

Jan 31, 2008

Say no to nukes in the Arctic

By Daisaku Ikeda

"The Arctic is the barometer of the globe's environmental health. You can take the pulse of the world in the Arctic. Inuit, the people who live farther north than anyone else, are the canary in the global coal mine.''

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2008

New approach for the DPJ

By Tobias Harris

When the Lower House of the Diet passed the antiterror special measures law on Jan. 11, it became clear that the Democratic Party of Japan is not in control of the political situation. After briefly setting the agenda in the aftermath of the July 29 Upper House election by opposing the refueling mission...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2008

Bring open resource to textbooks, teaching

By Richard Baraniuk and Jimmy Wales

PRAGUE — As the founders of two of the world's largest open-source media platforms — Wikipedia and Connexions — we have both been accused of being dreamers. Independently, we became infected with the idea of creating a Web platform that would enable anyone to contribute their knowledge to free...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2008

Asia's high stake in Persian Gulf stability

By Michael Richardson

SINGAPORE — Could a radio operator, whose identity is unknown, cause a war between the United States, the world's most powerful nation, and energy-rich but radical Iran? Perhaps not. But it now appears that someone — maybe a prankster — almost triggered a shootout between the two sides earlier...

COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE

Jan 29, 2008

Fukuda girds to stick it out till after Hokkaido summit

Akihiro Ota, head of Komeito, was all smiles when he came out of a two-hour, one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, not necessarily because of the good wine that was served but rather because the prime minister reportedly assured him that there would be no general elections anytime soon....

COMMENTARY

Jan 28, 2008

Haves and have-nots in golf

By Kiroku Hanai

Two recent scandals reflect the Japanese weakness for golf. In one, former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya allegedly provided favors to a Japanese trading company involved in defense contracts, after taking more than 100 one-day golf trips at the invitation of the company. In November, Moriya was...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Jan 28, 2008

Watching the world's biggest roadshow

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK — I was recently amused to read the following observation quoted in an intellectual history of modern Japan: "The system in which people vie to get elected head of state through indulgence in garrulity and by flaunting gestures like those of low-class actors is a singularly bizarre custom...

COMMENTARY

Jan 27, 2008

China isn't blazing a path for anybody

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES — All political systems are peculiar, each in its own way. This is true of democracy, however defined, as well as of communist systems, more easily defined.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 27, 2008

French reform a la Sarkozy

By Charles Wyplosz

GENEVA — Eight months into his presidency, is Nicolas Sarkozy delivering the "rupture" from 30 years of French immobility that he promised? Dubbed the "hyper-president" by bewildered media, he has launched a vast number of reforms, many of which were once considered political suicide.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Jan 27, 2008

In memory of one for whom Japan was a muse

By Roger Pulvers

A month ago I lost a very close friend. This would not be the proper place to write about it, except for the fact that despite her not being Japanese, her profound understanding of Japan and her love for the country were the lifeblood of her artistic career.

COMMENTARY

Jan 26, 2008

Democracy is not a panacea

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON — U.S. President George W. Bush has at times seemed to regard "democracy" as a panacea for all the problems of government throughout the world. It's far from clear, though, what exactly he means by "democracy." If a government is duly chosen by a majority of voters in a fair election, should...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 26, 2008

Hope for pacifying the strait

By Hisahiko Okazaki

The following passage, which was not given wide press coverage, was included in a report that Chinese President Hu Jintao made to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last fall:

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment

Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment

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