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November 30, 2024

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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Nov 29, 2003

Coup ushers in uncertain era

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- A former Soviet republic, Georgia, is in the limelight again. Outraged by an allegedly fraudulent parliamentary election, protesters toppled the government of President Eduard A. Shevardnadze and installed an interim administration led by a number of opposition leaders.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 29, 2003

Sensible plan for South Korea

By Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- Even those who admire U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rarely consider his diplomatic skills among his strongest suits. Capable of being charming and engaging in person, he tends to come across less well when sniping at allies across oceans over the chief foreign policy issues...

EDITORIALS

Nov 28, 2003

'Mini-nukes' a big problem

The United States' decision to pursue the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons is wrong. At a time when Washington is trying to convince other nations that nuclear-weapons programs should be abandoned, the U.S. move suggests that such weapons are useful after all. It is one more blow to...

COMMENTARY

Nov 28, 2003

No resting on laurels in Asia

By Brad Glosserman

SEOUL -- This is a remarkable moment in international relations. Despite a nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, there are no doubts about the U.S. commitment to East Asia. Despite widespread criticism of U.S. policy, Washington currently enjoys "the best relations ever" with both Japan and China....

EDITORIALS

Nov 27, 2003

For freer budget management

In his opening shot at fiscal 2004 budget reform, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is calling for a substantial cut in government subsidies -- those strings-attached payments that have been roundly criticized for depriving local governments of fiscal freedom. Last week he told a meeting of Cabinet ministers...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 27, 2003

More Americans ditch the lingual desert

By Domenico Maceri

SANTA MARIA, California -- Although America is a land of immigrants from all over the world, when it comes to language fluency one could easily say we suffer from monolingualism. An old joke goes something like this:

COMMENTARY

Nov 27, 2003

Across the Bush-Briton gap

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- U.S. President George W. Bush's state visit to Britain ended Nov. 21 with a carefully stage-managed call on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's constituency in the North East of England. The visit went well despite generally peaceful protests. Although there was some of the usual pageantry,...

EDITORIALS

Nov 26, 2003

Settling for less in Miami

A merican trade officials have agreed to pursue a free-trade zone that stretches throughout the Western hemisphere. The agreement they reached in Miami, Florida, last week is less than it seems, however. Following the breakdown of World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial talks in Cancun, Mexico a few...

EDITORIALS

Nov 25, 2003

New Diet must debate deployment

The Iraq issue will dominate the two-day debate that begins today in the Diet, which opened for a special nine-day session last Wednesday following the Nov. 9 Lower House election. The central question is whether Japan should send noncombat troops to a country where fighting is still rampant. The answer...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 25, 2003

Ghosn, Koizumi and structural reform

By Jay Rajasekera

Carlos Ghosn and Junichiro Koizumi are two well-known names in Japan. Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan, is famous for his rescue of the company from the brink of bankruptcy. Prime Minister Koizumi's "trademark" is structural reform, which he promised in 2001 would lead to the creation of 5 million jobs within...

EDITORIALS

Nov 24, 2003

Between a rock and a hard place

China continues to grow at a blistering pace. It is emerging as one of the drivers of the global economy, sucking in exports from its neighbors and providing returns for investors. Increasingly, however, there are concerns that China is overheating: Growth is bound to stall as the business cycle asserts...

COMMENTARY

Nov 24, 2003

Stub out the smoking habit

By Kiroku Hanai

The Tokyo District Court has rejected a damage suit filed against Japan Tobacco Inc. and the national government by seven former smokers who said they developed cancer and other health troubles from long years of smoking. The suit, filed by victims of lung cancer, cancer of the larynx and emphysema,...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat

By Greg Dvorak

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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