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January 20, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Sep 8, 2003

Moving too fast on missile defense

The Defense Agency's plan to build a missile-defense system is causing much controversy here. The basic question is whether such a system is urgently needed and whether it is suitable for ensuring the peace and security of Japan. The question should be addressed very carefully from various angles. The...

EDITORIALS

Sep 7, 2003

Rabindranath Tagore and Japan

Last week, a prominent Liberal Democratic Party member made waves by calling openly for an amendment to the nation's pacifist Constitution. Coincidentally, a quiet announcement in a distant country served to put the familiar debate over Japanese military affairs and ambitions in a longer perspective...

EDITORIALS

Sep 6, 2003

Indonesia punishes a cleric

An Indonesian court this week sentenced Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to four years in jail on charges of treason. The relatively lenient sentence has been widely interpreted as a blow to Southeast Asian efforts to combat terrorism. In fact, Indonesia was in a lose-lose position: It risked creating...

EDITORIALS

Sep 5, 2003

A chance to end faction politics

Factional dissension in the Liberal Democratic Party is probably the most significant aspect of the party's presidential election set for Sept. 20. Factions critical of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are so deeply divided that they have failed to field a single candidate. The group headed by former...

EDITORIALS

Sep 4, 2003

Window dressing in Yangon

Nothing quickens the blood of political analysts like leadership changes in reclusive and secretive governments. The shuffle in the upper ranks of Myanmar's governing junta is no exception. The big question is the effect the changes will have on the fate of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned Nobel...

EDITORIALS

Sep 3, 2003

Deteriorating job environment

The unemployment rate in Japan remains at a disturbingly high level of more than 5 percent, although the overall economy shows some signs of recovery. Particularly hard hit are workers in their 40s and 50s, who continue to bear the brunt of corporate restructuring. Once out of work, those who have passed...

EDITORIALS

Sep 2, 2003

The growing fat of the land

Why are fat people fat? The flip answer -- "because they eat more, stupid" -- just garnered some respectable academic support last week with the publication of a U.S. study that had looked into the question of why the French, with their famously high-fat diet, are still noticeably slimmer than Americans....

EDITORIALS

Sep 1, 2003

WTO's tantalizing drug deal

The Doha Round of trade talks, launched in November 2001, has been a slow and bitter slog, with little cause for optimism. That is why news last week of a deal on inexpensive medicines raised such high hopes. The prospect of an agreement could restore momentum as World Trade Organization members head...

EDITORIALS

Aug 31, 2003

A hopeful start

The much-heralded six-nation talks in Beijing ended Friday without any specific progress on North Korea's nuclear weapons development. But all parties agreed to resolve the issue peacefully while addressing Pyongyang's security concerns. Japan and North Korea reached no explicit agreement on the abduction...

EDITORIALS

Aug 30, 2003

Justice served in Osaka

On June 8, 2001, a disgruntled jobless man stormed an Osaka elementary school, wielding a kitchen knife, and killed eight children and wounded 13 others and two teachers. "This is an unprecedented case of atrocity in the nation's criminal history," the Osaka District Court stated in its death sentence...

EDITORIALS

Aug 29, 2003

More bombings in Bombay

They never miss an opportunity. Every time the governments of India and Pakistan appear ready to build better relations, those efforts are countered with violence by militants. This week two bomb blasts in Bombay claimed 50 lives and wounded more than 150 others. In keeping with the current spirit of...

EDITORIALS

Aug 28, 2003

Caution in order for six-nation talks

International attention is focused on Beijing as six nations convene to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis. To call the meeting a negotiation is premature: This three-day session consists of little more than introductions and laying out positions. All participants must keep firmly focused on the...

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

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