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November 27, 2024

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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...

COMMENTARY

Jan 29, 2003

War rhetoric leaves most Britons cold

By Sarah Benton

LONDON -- A few thousand antiwar protesters gathered outside the House of Commons last week to lobby members of Parliament, to take part in a silent vigil or to attend one of several -- to the annoyance of those who would have liked unity -- antiwar meetings.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 29, 2003

Mother Teresa: a shining example for all of humanity

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

MADRAS, India -- In a time of harrowing sectarian strife, the Vatican has shown that there is an ocean of compassion and tolerance in the highest form of faith.

COMMENTARY

Jan 28, 2003

Court sends LDP a message

By Keizo Nabeshima

Two recent moves by judiciary and law-enforcement authorities are a grave warning against the Liberal Democratic Party's pork-barrel politics. One is the Supreme Court rejection of an appeal by former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura against a Tokyo High Court ruling that found him guilty of taking...

COMMENTARY

Jan 27, 2003

The war dead deserve better

By Kiroku Hanai

I was stunned by news reports that Junichiro Koizumi recently made his third visit as prime minister to Yasukuni Shrine. After his two previous visits drew strong protests from China and South Korea, and after he struggled to justify the visits, officials in both countries must be amazed and angered....

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat

By Greg Dvorak

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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