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January 24, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Dec 1, 2007

Opportunity in Annapolis?

There are many reasons to be skeptical about this week's Middle East conference hosted by the United States in Annapolis, Maryland — not least of which is the seven years of utter disinterest shown by the Bush administration. Without active U.S. involvement, the problems that fester in that troubled...

EDITORIALS

Nov 30, 2007

No defense of corruption

The arrest of former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya on suspicion of bribery has greatly damaged people's trust in the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces, as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said. The government needs to tighten discipline among bureaucrats. It also needs to overhaul the ministry's...

EDITORIALS

Nov 30, 2007

Next step toward devolution

In its interim report, a government panel for devolution spells out specific fields in which the central government should transfer powers to local governments and calls for strengthening local financial bases. The report is a precursor of the panel's full recommendations to be submitted to the government...

EDITORIALS

Nov 29, 2007

Science fact, not fiction

In its fourth and final report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), winner (with Mr. Al Gore) of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, concluded that global warming is "unequivocal" and already threatens hundreds of millions of lives and as much as two-thirds of the species on the planet....

EDITORIALS

Nov 28, 2007

Australia with a new face

Until around a year ago, Australian Prime Minister John Howard looked unbeatable with his administration's strong economic management. But in Sunday's elections, the youthful-looking Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd dealt a crushing defeat to the conservative coalition led by the 68-year-old Mr. Howard....

EDITORIALS

Nov 27, 2007

Japan's first regional EPA

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is Japan's third largest-trading partner after China and the United States. In 2006, trade between Japan and ASEAN totaled ¥18 trillion. Japan and ASEAN have concluded an economic partnership agreement covering the goods trade, services and investment....

EDITORIALS

Nov 27, 2007

Spending without accountability

A report submitted by the Board of Audit to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda shows that government organizations and state-financed corporations still waste public money. The board uncovered 451 cases of inappropriate or illegal accounting amounting to ¥31 billion in fiscal 2006. Some cases border on crimes....

EDITORIALS

Nov 26, 2007

GDP raises warning flags

The nation's gross domestic product in the July-September period grew an annualized 2.6 percent from the previous quarter — more than economists expected. This was a rebound from the 1.6 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

EDITORIALS

Nov 26, 2007

Breakthrough in stem-cell research

Scientists from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin have announced that they have succeeded in producing equivalents to embryonic stem cells by reprogramming human skin cells. The new findings represent a breakthrough in regenerative medicine research. Behaving like embryonic stem cells,...

EDITORIALS

Nov 25, 2007

Higher consumption tax on the table

For the first time in three years, the Tax Commission has proposed raising the consumption tax (now at 5 percent) in its tax-reform recommendations for fiscal 2008. It regards the consumption tax as a stable core revenue source to cover growing social security costs. But the commission, an advisory body...

EDITORIALS

Nov 25, 2007

What's pushing up the oil?

Prevailing high prices for crude oil show that efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which drive most production activities and power our daily lives, are imperative. West Texas Intermediate, a benchmark in oil pricing, went above $98 per barrel on New York's oil futures market Nov. 7 and hit an...

EDITORIALS

Nov 24, 2007

North-South progress in Seoul

The governments of both North and South Korea are firmly focused on the latter's December presidential elections. With conservative opposition candidates leading in South Korean opinion polls, Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, the incumbent in Seoul, and Mr. Kim Jong Il, his counterpart in Pyongyang, are eager to alter...

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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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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