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January 18, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Apr 16, 2002

Tip of the 'bad debt' iceberg

The results of special bank audits announced last week by the Financial Services Agency confirm that Japan's banking sector is still saddled with large amounts of bad debt. The message is that banks remain heavily exposed to the risks of default despite stepped-up efforts to improve the situation.

EDITORIALS

Apr 14, 2002

Beyond Oprah's book club

Last week, U.S. fiction publishers heard to their dismay that they are about to lose the single biggest booster their industry has known in the past six years: television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's astonishingly influential monthly book club. True, the same period also saw the advent of "Harry Potter"...

EDITORIALS

Apr 13, 2002

Cutting our thirst for oil

Once again, Arab hardliners are threatening to cut oil supplies to force the world to take action in the Middle East. The price of oil, which is usually volatile at such times, jumped sharply in response. But, unlike 1973 or 1979, there is little prospect of concerted action so a real shortage is unlikely....

EDITORIALS

Apr 12, 2002

A positive message from Pyongyang

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is showing fresh signs of improving. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in a recent meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy, Lim Dong Jung, agreed to resume exchanges with the South. Kim also reportedly expressed his willingness to revive dialogue with the United...

EDITORIALS

Apr 11, 2002

Steel-trade row's global jolts

With the world economy globalizing as never before, the possibility is growing that trade disputes may also assume global dimensions, with dire implications for the world's free-trade system. A case in point is the current international trade dispute sparked by the U.S. decision last month to impose...

EDITORIALS

Apr 10, 2002

Another casualty of money politics

The resignation from the Diet of Mr. Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, is yet another reminder that corruption is deeply embedded in the nation's political system. He made the decision, rightly, to take "social, political and moral responsibility" for the tax evasion...

EDITORIALS

Apr 9, 2002

The OIC's blind eye to terror

Defining terrorism should be easy. Innocent people should not be made targets for political purposes. Otherwise, none of us are safe. Yet some individuals -- and sadly, some governments -- continue to accept that "one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." That makes them complicit in the...

EDITORIALS

Apr 8, 2002

New hard line against Pyongyang

I t has always been difficult to understand the thinking of the leadership in North Korea. The rhetorical blasts that Pyongyang unleashes against the United States, Japan and South Korea are usually balanced by sotto voce assurances that dialogue will continue. The schizophrenia has been especially pronounced...

EDITORIALS

Apr 7, 2002

Incorporation of state universities

The proposed incorporation of Japan's government-run universities aims at relaxing state regulations on matters such as budget use, personnel management and research organization, and to substantially expand the decision-making discretion of the universities. The system envisioned would be much more...

EDITORIALS

Apr 6, 2002

Law for Okinawa's prosperity

Thirty years after its return to Japanese control in May 1972, Okinawa continues to struggle with its twin problems: the heavy presence of U.S. military bases and the relatively low level of industrial development. While the base problem is likely to persist for a long time to come, the drive for economic...

EDITORIALS

Apr 5, 2002

Secure food safety

Never before, perhaps, has a government advisory panel made such a scathing attack on public policy. The final report on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, popularly known as mad cow disease, submitted Tuesday by a 10-member investigative committee, points out that the government made a "grave...

EDITORIALS

Apr 4, 2002

Hope fades in the Middle East

If there is a difference between the situation in the Middle East and all-out war, it is difficult to imagine. Palestinians' suicide bombings have introduced an element of savagery and fear that Israelis have never known before. In response, the Israeli government has attacked the Palestinian Authority...

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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