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January 16, 2025

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COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2000

Economic doomsayers are off the mark

By Yasukichi Yasuba

The government's projection for Japanese economic growth is 0.6 percent for fiscal 1999 and 1 percent for fiscal 2000. Both are based on unrealistic assumptions about the present and future state of the economy. The projection appears to have been verified by the negative GDP growth recorded in the last...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2000

No more Indian idealism

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- U.S. President Bill Clinton's weeklong tour of South Asia has caused an outbreak of Clinton-mania in the region, generating bloated expectations. In the Indian cities on his itinerary, streets have been cleaned, signposts washed or repainted, and tree branches cut back. The Great White Messiah...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2000

Beijing all bark and no bite? Think again

By Brad Glosserman

Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are palpable after China did its best to intimidate Taiwanese voters in the runup to last weekend's election. First, the Cabinet released a white paper that drew an unmistakable line -- thickened with a new condition -- regarding the limits of acceptable Taiwanese behavior...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2000

How the IMF got its man

By Philippe Ries

Now that the curtain has finally fallen on the lengthy drama of former IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus' succession, the time has come to distribute grades to the players on stage.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 23, 2000

Breaking down the doors of Japan's discriminatory press clubs

By Eric Johnston

In May 1993, David Butts, then Tokyo bureau chief of Bloomberg Business News, was fed up. After years of unsuccessful efforts to penetrate Japan's press clubs through polite negotiation, the tall Texan chose a more direct approach. On the day annual company reports were released, Butts, with other foreign...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 22, 2000

Clinton's opportunities in South Asia

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- U.S. President Bill Clinton will travel to Pakistan on March 25, on the last leg of his South Asian journey, which began last Sunday. But the few hours he plans to spend in Islamabad may represent more than just a passing phase in Washington's new diplomacy in South Asia.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 22, 2000

China faces democracy bug

By Gwynne Dyer

LONDON -- Taiwan's transition to democracy is complete. On Saturday, after half a century of rule by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), the offshore island's 15 million voters elected a president from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Chen Shui-bian. "I feel very, very badly about this,"...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 20, 2000

Beijing resorts to rattling its saber again

By Larry M. Wortzel

In Washington, politicians and pundits alike are debating how to understand and react to the white paper released on Feb. 21 by Beijing. And even in China, there seems to be some discussion on how to interpret the verbal missile lobbed at the United States, Taiwan and Japan.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 20, 2000

Time to chase 'two hares'

By Mamoru Ishida

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, citing a popular proverb, says his administration will not "run after two hares": It will first achieve economic recovery and then tackle fiscal reform. The official scenario is that the economy will pick up soon. The question is what will happen next. Without fiscal props,...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 20, 2000

A role for Japan in South Asian peace

By Abul Kalam

South Asia has witnessed an upsurge of violence since the military takeover in Pakistan and the hijacking of an Indian airliner last year. There may or may not be any causal link between the two incidents, but the peace process in the region has been the biggest casualty of both.

COMMENTARY

Mar 19, 2000

No end to economic problems

By Gregory Clark

Is there no end to Japan's economic policy merry-go-round? In 1996, the rationalist economists persuaded the politicians to raise taxes and cut public spending in a bid to reduce the large public debt. When the economy slumped as a result, the government moved quickly to cut taxes, increase public spending...

COMMENTARY

Mar 19, 2000

Traveling for business or for pleasure?

By Doug Bandow

MYANMAR -- As the nurse expounded on the risks of dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and malaria, I realized it was going to be an unusual trip. No five-star hotel this time.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.

Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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