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COMMENTARY

Jun 1, 2005

French lessons for the European Union

By David Howell

LONDON -- So the French have voted down the proposed EU Constitution decisively. What now? Will the European Union fall apart? Certainly not. Does it mean that the attempt to impose a single "top-down" constitution on all 25 member states is dead? Probably -- especially if the Netherlands also votes...

COMMENTARY

May 31, 2005

Pyongyang eyes nuclear test

By Keizo Nabeshima

The issue of North Korea's nuclear-weapons development could reach a critical stage in June, one year after the suspension of six-party talks. U.S. intelligence says Pyongyang might conduct a nuclear test that month.

COMMENTARY

May 31, 2005

Bashing China won't cut the U.S. deficit

By Frank Ching

The end of the 30-year-old Multi-Fiber Arrangement's textile quota system on Jan. 1 has resulted in a surge of Chinese exports and increased American pressure on China to revalue its currency amid accusations that Beijing is responsible for America's trade deficit by "manipulating" its currency.

COMMENTARY

May 30, 2005

Western lies blackened Beijing's image

By Gregory Clark

China's successful moves to improve ties with India have done more than sabotage Tokyo's hopes for an anti-China alliance with New Delhi. They have also put an end to the myth that China's alleged aggressions against India since the 1960s would prevent any rapprochement between the two countries.

COMMENTARY / World

May 30, 2005

A tale of two constitutions

By Glyn Ford

BRUSSELS -- On Sunday the world watched as the French electorate voted on whether to approve the new European constitution, and it will watch once again Wednesday when Holland holds a similar referendum. Both results will help determine the future direction and role of the European Union in the world....

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

May 30, 2005

China wasn't always so critical of Japan

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- Yet another round of Chinese and Korean protests against Japan for allegedly downplaying its past deeds in historical reconstruction came and went (or almost). This time, though, I was reminded of one thing I should have remembered from four decades ago: China used to turn a completely different...

COMMENTARY

May 30, 2005

Japan's paradox of wealth

By Takamitsu Sawa

On his first visit to Japan in 1995, French sociologist Jean Baudrillard came up with a paradoxical hypothesis that Japan was affluent because Japanese were poor. Acknowledging that he was not an expert on Japanese affairs, Baudrillard made the suggestion in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun after...

COMMENTARY / World

May 29, 2005

Peer review of human rights

By Ramesh Thakur

The spread of human rights norms and conventions, and the extension and diffusion of international humanitarian law, were among the truly great achievements of the last century. The United Nations was at the center of that effort.

COMMENTARY

May 28, 2005

The serious side of Britain

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The takeover of the Manchester United soccer (ManU) club by American businessman Malcolm Glazer dominated the news in Britain for some days this month. By May 16, Glazer had managed to purchase more than 75 percent of the shares by paying £3 (£1 equals approximately 200 yen) per share, a...

COMMENTARY / World

May 28, 2005

Jakarta and Beijing cozy up

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- During Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to Jakarta and Bandung for the Golden Jubilee Commemoration of the 1955 Bandung Conference, Indonesian organizers underscored China's place at the conference and Hu stayed an extra day to sign a Strategic Partnership Agreement between Indonesia...

COMMENTARY / World

May 28, 2005

Leaders, not geography, decide destiny

By Michael Penn

During their recent visits to Washington some prominent Japanese lawmakers were promoting an uncomfortable message: China is a long-term threat to Japanese security, and a future conflict between Japan and China is virtually inevitable.

COMMENTARY / World

May 25, 2005

Too soon to let computers replace university libraries

By Michael R. Czinkota

at Houston has announced that it is removing almost all the books from its undergraduate library to provide space for a digital learning center, where students can use computers to access a wide variety of information. University officials are proud to be leading a trend. It is good to see academia catching...

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

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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