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November 30, 2024

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EDITORIALS

Feb 3, 2004

Dispatch debate fails muster

The government's inconsistent statements last week on the security situation in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, the destination of Japanese ground troops, has raised new doubts about a survey report that describes the situation as "relatively stable." This suggests, regrettably, that the government...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 3, 2004

U.S. plans consolidation of Pacific forces

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is planning a sweeping revision of the command apparatus through which American military forces are controlled in Asia in an effort to make them more responsive to contingencies from the Korean Peninsula to Australia.

COMMENTARY

Feb 3, 2004

British society's fatal divide

By Sarah Benton

LONDON -- Last week the inquiry by Senior Appeals Judge Lord Hutton into the July 18 death of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly cleared all state politicians and civil servants -- bar one -- of any blame for Kelly's death and indicted the media, in particular the BBC, for Kelly's wretched end. The one state...

EDITORIALS

Feb 2, 2004

The dollar's dangerous path

A stronger yen, or a weaker dollar, is a drag on Japan's export-led economic recovery. Trying to stem the tide, the government often steps into currency markets on a massive scale. Market players, however, worry that these dollar-buying, yen-selling interventions could be putting the Japanese and U.S....

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2004

Chirac faces mixed fortunes

By Andre Fontaine

PARIS -- Poll ratings have suddenly begun to substantially improve for both French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. That said, a wide gap still separates the two men. While 56 to 58 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Chirac, Raffarin's confidence rating...

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2004

Setbacks have Chen scrambling for win

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has encountered unexpected setbacks in recent weeks that have slowed down his re-election campaign even though, at this point, the race between him and Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan is still neck and neck.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2004

Thailand paying the price for flu coverup

By Philip Cunningham

BANGKOK -- Thai politicians belatedly ceded center stage to the public health experts as a strategy was mapped out to curb and contain the rapidly spreading avian flu. Until Jan. 23, the Thai government emphatically and continuously denied, in the face of mounting evidence and allegations of a coverup,...

EDITORIALS

Feb 1, 2004

Japan and that gold statuette

Japan received two nods when the latest Oscar nominees were announced in Los Angeles last Tuesday (two and a half, if you count Sofia Coppola's quirky comedy, "Lost in Translation," in which a version of Tokyo stars right alongside best-actor nominee Bill Murray). Ken Watanabe was nominated for his supporting...

COMMENTARY

Feb 1, 2004

Paying more for education

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Last week the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Tony Blair just barely won a vote in the House of Commons on the payment of "top-up" fees at British universities. The government had failed to consult widely in the Labour Party before announcing its policy on fees, and this was one reason...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 1, 2004

China-Southeast Asia relations blossom

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- Chinese worldwide ushered in the Year of the Monkey on Jan. 22. The outgoing Year of the Goat had been excellent for China -- despite the outbreak of SARS last winter -- and a relatively good year for Southeast Asia.

EDITORIALS

Jan 31, 2004

Lessons unlearned in Asia

In the aftermath of the devastating SARS outbreak in Asia last year, Asian governments loudly proclaimed that they had learned their lesson. Governments and health authorities must be quick to acknowledge when diseases appear and move rapidly to disclose pertinent information to the public and their...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 31, 2004

U.S. oil firm leaves toxic legacy in Ecuador

By Alejandro M. Garro and Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- Drilling for oil without adequate safeguards is one of the most destructive industrial activities both for people and for the environment. This danger has been particularly stark in the case of oil exploration and exploitation in the forested areas of the Amazon basin.

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

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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