More Commentary Articles - The Japan Times

January 25, 2025

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COMMENTARY

May 20, 2005

The right leader for Britain

By David Howell

LONDON -- British politics is now in a fluid state. The May 5 general election, which should have settled things, at least for four or five years, has unsettled everything in a very puzzling way.

COMMENTARY / World

May 20, 2005

Battling the windmills while Iraq burns

By Ramzy Baroud

DOHA, Qatar -- Cast aside the nonsensical rhetoric about U.S. President George W. Bush's ostensibly successful efforts to bolster democratic tendencies "sweeping" the Middle East, and you'll discover that the facts are not so rosy, with Iraq remaining the most horrific reminder.

COMMENTARY

May 19, 2005

Soviet concessions at Yalta

By Gregory Clark

U.S. President George W. Bush rained heavily on Russian President Vladimir Putin's 60th anniversary war-end parade when he said the United States had renounced the Yalta agreement that conceded to Moscow postwar control over Eastern Europe. Putin had every right to be annoyed.

COMMENTARY / World

May 18, 2005

Push North Korea toward real reform

By Jack Pritchard and Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- As Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill returns to Northeast Asia for talks with U.S. allies on North Korea's nuclear program, the future of negotiations to resolve this terrifying matter has never been bleaker.

COMMENTARY

May 16, 2005

Relax, breathe, leave the smokers alone

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- One of the most persecuted minorities in America, and increasingly in other countries, is smokers. U.S. cities and states have imposed ever more Draconian restrictions on lighting up a cigarette, and a bipartisan coalition of paternalistic legislators on Capitol Hill now is pushing for...

COMMENTARY

May 16, 2005

Braking an arms free-for-all

By Keizo Nabeshima

The 2005 review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which opened May 2 at U.N. headquarters in New York, remains in limbo, although the agenda has finally been agreed.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

May 15, 2005

Cannon fodder won the war

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- Writing a book is not unlike planting a garden. You make elaborate plans for each section; you comb encyclopedias and guides for advice; you collect every piece of information about the species that interests you; you say to yourself that, unlike other gardens, yours is going to be consistent,...

COMMENTARY

May 14, 2005

How the U.S. courts a diplomatic fiasco

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- The government of North Korea is difficult to deal with, no matter who you are. Just ask China's leaders. After all, they are Pyongyang's closest ally and yet they probably find dealing with leader Kim Jong Il not a whole lot more fun than their testy cross-strait exchanges with Taiwan's...

COMMENTARY / World

May 14, 2005

Asia's growing role in global economy

By David Burton

WASHINGTON -- The recently concluded spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund focused on several key questions of concern to the international community: the prospects for sustaining global economic growth, reducing vulnerabilities in the international financial system, reducing poverty in...

COMMENTARY

May 13, 2005

China cracks rights window

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- Last month, China issued a white paper that purported to show progress it had made on the human-rights front in 2004. It was immediately dismissed by human-rights organizations as little more than propaganda. While this may well be true, there are signs of significant progress on human rights....

COMMENTARY / World

May 12, 2005

Tony Blair's Pyrrhic victory

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG -- The people of Britain have just re-elected Tony Blair and his Labour Party to a record third successive election victory. But in what should have been his moment of greatest triumph, Blair faces the ultimate question -- when will he give up the job of prime minister?

COMMENTARY / World

May 11, 2005

Japan's new foreign policy

By David Wall

LONDON -- As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has traveled about and made his speeches in recent months, it is possible to trace his perception of a new foreign policy for Japan.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.

Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go

By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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