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January 23, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Jan 3, 2007

Wages of brute force

Saddam Hussein is dead. The former Iraqi dictator went to the gallows before sunrise Saturday morning in Baghdad, with a Quran in one hand, crying for justice. In death as in life, he divided his country: Shiites danced in the streets and fired guns in the air, while Sunnis mourned the passing of a martyr...

EDITORIALS

Jan 1, 2007

A political showdown year

Mr. Shinzo Abe's administration at first seemed to have smooth sailing. By visiting China and South Korea and holding summits with their leaders, the prime minister managed to improve Japan's relations with the two neighbors. The relations had soured as a result of his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi's...

EDITORIALS

Dec 31, 2006

Japan turns a corner

The year 2006 will go down in history as a turning-point year during which Japan experienced a resurgence in nationalist sentiment and felt a weakening in the influence of the lessons from its modern wars (1930s through 1945). As a result, concerns have mounted that the pillars of Japan's postwar democracy...

EDITORIALS

Dec 30, 2006

2006, politics and personalities

The year 2006 may best be remembered as a year when outsize personalities drove events -- rather than abstract political forces -- although there were, as always, lingering issues that defied resolution. In Pyongyang, supreme leader Kim Jong Il continued his brinkmanship, struggling to keep the world's...

EDITORIALS

Dec 29, 2006

Loose ends in fabrication scandal

Punishment at last has been meted out to now-disqualified structural designer Hidetsugu Aneha, the main player in the earthquake-resistance data-fabrication scandal that surfaced in November 2005. The Tokyo District Court Tuesday sentenced him to five years in prison, coupled with a 1.8 million yen fine,...

EDITORIALS

Dec 29, 2006

Narrowing the great divide

Japanese and Chinese scholars held their first meeting this week in Beijing on a joint project to study both countries' ancient and modern history. Launch of the project had been agreed to in October by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao during their summit in Beijing.

EDITORIALS

Dec 28, 2006

Trouble in Turkmenistan

President Saparmurat Niyazov was larger than life; in death, the forces rushing into fill that void risk destabilizing Turkmenistan, the country he ruled with an iron hand. There is the danger that instability unleashed by the struggle for power could spread beyond Turkmenistan's borders to other Central...

EDITORIALS

Dec 27, 2006

The U.N. votes, Iran ignores

The United Nations Security Council at long last voted to impose sanctions on Iran for its continuing pursuit of uranium enrichment in defiance of the international community. The Tehran government immediately dismissed the U.N. move and vowed to step up nuclear activities. The stage is thus set for...

EDITORIALS

Dec 26, 2006

Nuclear pragmatism

A merican President George W. Bush has signed legislation that lets his country and India cooperate on civilian nuclear-energy programs. The move is likely to be one of the legacies of Mr. Bush's presidency: It is the cornerstone of his attempt to forge a new relationship between the two countries.

EDITORIALS

Dec 25, 2006

Lucky breaks in new budget

The fiscal 2007 draft budget, the first one compiled under the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reduces the amount of new debt, lifting hopes for the nation's financial reconstruction. But the reduction is mainly due to lucky circumstances -- not because of strenuous efforts to cut spending....

EDITORIALS

Dec 24, 2006

Five days and no leads

The latest round of the six-party talks aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear weapons programs ended without tangible results Friday. The participants even failed to decide on the date of the next round. Moreover, Japan and North Korea held no bilateral talks on resolving the fate of Japanese nationals...

EDITORIALS

Dec 24, 2006

Beware of norovirus

Outbreaks of norovirus -- which causes infectious stomach and intestinal ailments -- have prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to call on the health ministry to take special measures. The ministry's statistics show that from Nov. 1 to Dec. 18, a record 9,650 people suffered from food poisoning believed...

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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