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January 21, 2025

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COMMENTARY

Feb 3, 2003

Is the press fulfilling its role?

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- "In a democracy as stagnant as Japan's, you might expect the national newspapers to stir things up. But much of the Japanese press is adverse to change with reporters from some of the top newspapers sharing the clubby life of politicians and bureaucrats."

COMMENTARY

Feb 3, 2003

Pendulum swings on China vs. Japan

By Tom Plate

DAVOS, Switzerland -- How wildly the pendulum swings whenever "the experts" start talking about Japan vs. China. One can do no wrong, and the other can do no right.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 3, 2003

Bush shifts Pyongyang to the back burner

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- In a subtle but unmistakable signal, U.S. President George W. Bush has shoved the American confrontation with North Korea well down the list of Washington's priorities.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2003

Asian bridges via Okinawa

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- Earlier this month a closed-door workshop and open public symposium focused on bridging the divisions within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and those between Japan and Okinawa as well as on strengthening the ASEAN-Japan partnership through governance, human security and community-building....

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2003

German vs. Korean 'anti-Americanism'

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- I can think of several common points between Germany and Korea, and even more between South Korea and West Germany. But a closer than superficial look will reveal more differences than similarities -- also pertaining to the respective relations with and attitudes toward the United States.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2003

Koizumi's revenge has cost Japan dearl

By David Wall

Special to The Japan Times CAMBRIDGE, England -- A lot has been written about Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's third visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Much of it had a high emotional content. Now that the initial furor has died down we can step back and give it a bit more thought.

COMMENTARY

Feb 1, 2003

Changing Pyongyang's ways

By Gregory Clark

The response to my Jan. 10 article "Pyongyang is the real victim," which blames the United States for its mishandling of the North Korean nuclear problem, tells me two things: First, Japan Times articles are followed abroad much more widely than I realized; second, many believe firmly in the incorrigibly...

COMMENTARY

Jan 31, 2003

War drums making al-Qaeda restless

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- Across the Mideast, the fact of life remains that violence breeds more violence. Thus the warning by Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah that al-Qaeda terrorists may stage retaliatory attacks if the United States leads a war against Iraq cannot be ignored. Speaking on the sidelines...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 31, 2003

Lifetime of missed chances

By Aidan Foster-Carter

LONDON -- On Jan. 22, two of the world's leading powers celebrated the 40th anniversary of a remarkable reconciliation. At the historic Palace of Versailles, France's President Jacques Chirac and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder toasted a treaty signed in 1963 by their visionary predecessors, Charles...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2003

Forget about military draft

By Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, motivated partly by a looming war in Iraq, a debate has again begun about whether the United States should adopt military conscription to replace its all-volunteer force. While the motivation behind this debate is understandable, it would be a very bad idea -- the equivalent...

COMMENTARY

Jan 30, 2003

Making waves over foreign policy 'realism'

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- One of the advantages of living in Hawaii is that you get to spend weekends at the beach. I spend mine with the Grizzled Old Vet, a longtime observer of East Asia who has spent a lifetime straddling academia and the minefields that litter the Beltway. Between waves, the Gov (as I will call...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2003

Iraqi crisis highlights strains in trans-Atlantic relations

By Jonathan Fenby

LONDON -- Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has usually sided with the United States in global conflicts. Except for a few national exceptions, such as France's criticism of the Vietnam War, trans-Atlantic solidarity has been the order of the day from the Cuban missile crisis through the...

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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