More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

November 27, 2024

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COMMENTARY

Apr 14, 2002

Mideast legacy could spread militancy

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- When terrorists struck the United States last September, many people were keen to downplay suggestions that the attack on the World Trade center had grown out of the anger generated by Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 14, 2002

Population-fund cuts come at deadly price

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- The Bush administration's recent decision to cut back funds appropriated by Congress to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, will have serious repercussions in that agency's support for reproductive health in developing countries. The U.S. decision is aggravated by reduced contributions...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 14, 2002

Britain and the euro: victory for the brave

By Glyn Ford

BRUSSELS -- The introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union has been an unqualified success. The changeover had none of the hitches and glitches that many -- including myself -- thought would mar its early days.

EDITORIALS

Apr 13, 2002

Cutting our thirst for oil

Once again, Arab hardliners are threatening to cut oil supplies to force the world to take action in the Middle East. The price of oil, which is usually volatile at such times, jumped sharply in response. But, unlike 1973 or 1979, there is little prospect of concerted action so a real shortage is unlikely....

COMMENTARY

Apr 13, 2002

China: opportunity or threat?

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Chinese leaders have been urging the Japanese to see China as an opportunity, not a threat.

EDITORIALS

Apr 12, 2002

A positive message from Pyongyang

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is showing fresh signs of improving. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in a recent meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy, Lim Dong Jung, agreed to resume exchanges with the South. Kim also reportedly expressed his willingness to revive dialogue with the United...

EDITORIALS

Apr 11, 2002

Steel-trade row's global jolts

With the world economy globalizing as never before, the possibility is growing that trade disputes may also assume global dimensions, with dire implications for the world's free-trade system. A case in point is the current international trade dispute sparked by the U.S. decision last month to impose...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Apr 11, 2002

Russia's Mideast conundrum

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- The current crisis in the Middle East is a conundrum for Moscow. Russia's involvement in the area has traditionally been painful and controversial, heavily loaded with historical associations, cultural stereotypes and racial prejudice. Rarely did Russian diplomacy score a success there, while...

COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE

Apr 11, 2002

Campaign finance reform passes -- for the moment

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush put the final touches on campaign finance reform for this year by recently signing the McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan Bill into law in the Oval Office before flying off for a series of fund raising events for Republican candidates.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 11, 2002

Threat of new Iraqi war has neighboring Turkey on edge

By Russell Working

ANKARA -- At his shop in the ancient citadel of this busy capital city, Satilimish Sutchuoglu and three fellow carpet sellers gather to drink tea and trade forecasts of economic doom.

EDITORIALS

Apr 10, 2002

Another casualty of money politics

The resignation from the Diet of Mr. Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, is yet another reminder that corruption is deeply embedded in the nation's political system. He made the decision, rightly, to take "social, political and moral responsibility" for the tax evasion...

EDITORIALS

Apr 9, 2002

The OIC's blind eye to terror

Defining terrorism should be easy. Innocent people should not be made targets for political purposes. Otherwise, none of us are safe. Yet some individuals -- and sadly, some governments -- continue to accept that "one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." That makes them complicit in the...

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

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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