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January 24, 2025

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COMMENTARY / World

Jul 31, 2004

Fistful of troubles for Chirac

By Jonathan Fenby

PARIS — Ever since French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry into the European Common Market and took his country out of the integrated military structure of the NATO alliance, France has had a reputation as a country that knows how to say "no" — a reputation greatly bolstered by...

COMMENTARY

Jul 30, 2004

Drawing the line with China

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- India and China have held regular border-related negotiations since 1981 in the longest such process between two nations since the end of World War II. Yet, after 23 years of negotiations, the two Asian giants have not achieved the bare minimum -- a mutually defined line of control separating...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Jul 29, 2004

The Morlocks are coming!

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- The most common word used by foreigners to describe Soviet Russia was "gray." Be it the cityscape, clothes or official culture, everything looked evenly unpleasant, unexciting, drab. Nowadays, the maddening communist evenness is gone, but Russia has become home to something equally disturbing...

COMMENTARY

Jul 27, 2004

DPJ's fortunes are rising

By Keizo Nabeshima

In the July 11 Upper House election, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made dramatic gains, winning more seats than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (50-49). The DPJ also surpassed the LDP in the proportional representation bloc of November's general election. With the two parties dominating...

COMMENTARY

Jul 27, 2004

Rumor, fear and innuendo fuel tensions

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Anyone who knows anything about China knows that it's not just its current government but its people, too, who are ultraprotective and ultra-sensitive about the Taiwan issue.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 26, 2004

Providing the social tools to cut poverty

By Steen Jorgensen

Today we live in a world of sharp contrasts. There has been great progress in human and economic development as well as great opportunities for reducing poverty in the globalizing economy. Information flows more freely than ever before. Yet deep-seated imbalances threaten socio-political sustainability....

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Jul 26, 2004

Separate but equal acts of reconciliation

By Hiroaki Sato

NEW YORK -- In "My Life" (Knopf, 2004), former U.S. President Bill Clinton writes: "Elizabeth Eckford, who at 15 was deeply seared emotionally by vicious harassment as she walked alone through an angry mob, was reconciled with Hazel Massery, one of the girls who had taunted her 40 years earlier."

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 26, 2004

Flawed homeland security

By Ronald A. Morse

LAS VEGAS -- The dispute between Washington and Tokyo over the fate of Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins, whom the United States accuses of defecting to North Korea some 40 years ago, is more than a case of American legalism vs. Japanese ad hoc policy and humanitarian instincts. The issue goes much deeper into...

COMMENTARY

Jul 26, 2004

Beijing entering Hong Kong cul-de-sac

By Harvey Stockwin

HONG KONG -- On July 1, Hong Kong, figuratively speaking, stuck to its democratic guns. It was just as well since China, naturally, has stuck to its antidemocratic guns.

COMMENTARY

Jul 26, 2004

Lifting women's job status

By Kiroku Hanai

Women's status in male-dominated Japan remains alarmingly low, according to a recent international survey. A U.N. Development Program survey showed that Japan ranked 38th among countries of the world in the gender empowerment index, which measures women's participation in political and economic decision-making....

COMMENTARY

Jul 25, 2004

Gender imbalance exacting social costs

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- A quarter of a century ago, China decided to focus on economic development rather than Maoist class struggle. As part of that drive, it adopted a policy of limiting population growth with couples allowed to have only one child in the cities. Chinese officials say that as a result, 300 million...

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 24, 2004

Labor threatens golden FTA

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- Ah, such dilemmas in power politics. At last, after years of both sides giving concessions, Australia has gotten America to agree to a free trade agreement. And what does the Australian Labor Party do? Threaten to kill it before birth.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

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