More Editorials Articles - The Japan Times

January 22, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Mar 9, 2006

Turbulent times for JAL

The drama started Feb. 10, when four board members of Japan Airlines Corp.'s international operations unit visited JAL President Toshiyuki Shinmachi with a petition carrying the signatures of some 50 managers. They urged him and two other executives to take responsibility for the JAL group's poor business...

EDITORIALS

Mar 8, 2006

On the brink of civil war

The destruction of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra has brought Iraq to the brink of civil war. Hundreds of lives have been lost in sectarian violence following the bombing of the Shiite house of worship. The divisions in the country have never been clearer. There is hope, however, that the sheer revulsion...

EDITORIALS

Mar 7, 2006

A battle that has barely begun

One year since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control went into effect, Japan's smoking rate still remains high compared with other developed nations. The government needs to create a strong momentum toward lowering the rate.

EDITORIALS

Mar 6, 2006

Long-term costs of education reform

In the largely classless society of postwar Japan, educational qualifications, particularly at the college level, have been the key determinant of career opportunities. Hence, standardized admission and low tuition fees ensured that anyone with brains had a chance to attend the top national institutions...

EDITORIALS

Mar 5, 2006

Red hats and purple dresses

If you are out on the town one day -- anywhere from Tokyo to Tijuana -- and you suddenly spot a group of animated, middle-aged women all wearing red hats and purple dresses, don't be puzzled. Smile! You might anyway, because it is an oddly heartwarming spectacle when a chapter of the global sisterhood...

EDITORIALS

Mar 4, 2006

Revamping Japanese ODA

The government is planning to break up the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as an integral part of reforms aimed at the nation's official development assistance (ODA) program. The bank's international finance division will be reorganized into a new government-run financial institution,...

EDITORIALS

Mar 3, 2006

Trying too hard to get ahead

When Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata spoke during a Feb. 16 Lower House Budget Committee session, it appeared that he possessed a strong political weapon for blowing up the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet.

EDITORIALS

Mar 2, 2006

'Black eye' for Philippine democracy

"People power" has a long history in the Philippines. Mass protests have unseated two presidents. The current president, Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, who came to office on the tide of the second uprising, is determined not to be the third. Last week, she declared a state of emergency to quash a coup. She has...

EDITORIALS

Mar 1, 2006

Race against bird flu speeds up

A vian flu appears to be spreading with increasing rapidity. In recent weeks, there have been confirmed reports of the disease in Europe and Africa, demonstrating that the H5N1 strain is hardier than thought and truly a global danger. While health officials call for continuing surveillance and vigilance,...

EDITORIALS

Feb 28, 2006

Fueling trust in rocket science

In the short span of one month, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has successfully launched three rockets, each carrying a satellite. This success has increased trust in JAXA's technological capability, raising Japan's hopes of entering the commercial rocket business.

EDITORIALS

Feb 27, 2006

Deepening crisis in Nepal

The political situation in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal grows increasingly chaotic. Local municipal elections recently called by King Gyanendra, who assumed direct rule after sacking the prime minister and his Cabinet a year ago, had a voter turnout of just 22 percent, abnormally low for that country....

EDITORIALS

Feb 26, 2006

Justice for a Holocaust doubter

Of all the people whose misfortunes made news this past week, few inspire less sympathy than David Irving. The British historian who has fashioned a career out of questioning the Nazis' slaughter of millions of European Jews was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for violating Austria's ban...

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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