More Opinion Articles - The Japan Times

November 29, 2024

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COMMENTARY

Jun 29, 2003

China a laggard in preemptive reforms

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- When China sacked its health minister and the mayor of Beijing on Easter Sunday for their mishandling of the SARS crisis, many political analysts predicted that severe acute respiratory syndrome would have the same effect on China that the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 had on the Soviet...

EDITORIALS

Jun 28, 2003

Mr. Vajpayee breaks new ground

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has just concluded a historic weeklong visit to China. A meeting of the minds between these two countries -- home to one-third of the world's population -- is long overdue. Both India and China, their neighbors and their entire region, will benefit from better...

COMMENTARY

Jun 28, 2003

Appeasers selling India short

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- Belgian scholar Pierre Ryckmans coined the phrase the "100 percenters" to describe Beijing's international fans who support whatever China says 100 percent. Publishing under the pen name Simon Leys, Ryckmans compiled the statements of these toadies in defense of Chinese actions, including...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 28, 2003

Asia's future leaders take center stage

By John Barry Kotch

SEOUL -- "If you've got it," as the saying goes, "flaunt it!" And Asia's "New Leaders" have got "the right stuff" in spades. But what to do with it?

EDITORIALS

Jun 27, 2003

How to protect personal information

A full-scale electronic government is about to make its debut in Japan. Beginning Aug. 25, the central and local governments will be linked nationwide by an online resident-registration network. "Juki Net," as the system is known, went into limited operation last August. It identifies each resident by...

EDITORIALS

Jun 26, 2003

Europe peeks at a new constitution

The European Union unveiled its draft constitution last weekend. The document overhauls the institutions and procedures of the union of 15 countries to better prepare it for the expansion scheduled for 2004 when 10 new members are added. The constitution navigates between two imperatives: safeguarding...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 26, 2003

End North Korea's drug-trade addiction

By Ah Young Kim

HONOLULU -- The recent seizure of the ship Pong Su off Australia and its cargo of more than $144 million of heroin has put North Korea's drug trafficking in the international spotlight. The attention is long overdue. There must be a strong response by the international community and concerted efforts...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 26, 2003

U.S.-EU axis of divergence

By Jonathan Fenby

LONDON -- When the war in Iraq ended, politicians, diplomats and commentators in Europe stressed the need to repair the rift that had grown up between the United States and countries led by France and Germany, which had opposed the invasion. There was a general anticipation that relations would revert...

EDITORIALS

Jun 25, 2003

IWC: a mix of water and oil

The International Whaling Commission ended its annual session in Berlin last week after approving stronger protective measures, including a resolution calling for the creation of a conservation committee. The meeting, as ever dominated by antiwhaling nations, was yet another blow to Japan's long-standing...

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 25, 2003

Hu recasting China's foreign policy

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- China's new president, Hu Jintao, appears to be remaking his country's foreign policy. Taking over in mid-March after the 16th Communist Party Congress, Hu was immediately plunged into one of China's biggest crises in modern times, the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome.

EDITORIALS

Jun 24, 2003

Threats from the sky and the seas

In late May, a Boeing 727 that had been parked on the Luanda airport tarmac for 14 months lumbered into the Angolan skies and vanished. Nearly a month later, the whereabouts of that plane are still unknown. There is much mystery in African aviation -- the paperwork on many aircraft is questionable --...

EDITORIALS

Jun 23, 2003

Tax system for an aging society

With Japanese society aging rapidly, what kind of tax reform is needed to cover soaring social security costs? The government's tax panel answer is that taxpayers must assume a greater burden. In a report presented to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week, the Tax Commission called for raising personal-income...

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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