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November 23, 2024

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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Sep 5, 1999

Yeltsin's would-be successors

By Constantine Pleshakov

In December, Russia's Parliament will hold elections. Deprived by the constitution of any true political authority, the Duma is still important as a collective opinion-maker. In 1993-1999, it became an ongoing anti-Yeltsin show, the most prominent podium for any sharp criticism of the president. As a...

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 5, 1999

The politics of love and hate

By Sarah Benton

LONDON -- Here we are on the second anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, and neither her life nor her death seems as momentous as it did this time last year. Does this mean she really was just a media phenomenon, ephemeral, superficial, appearing and disappearing in our lives without consequence?...

EDITORIALS

Sep 4, 1999

Business embraces the bit

The business of doing business underwent a radical transformation this week. First, Sun Microsystems announced that it would offer some of its critical business software free over the Internet. Responding to the challenge, Microsoft Corp. two days later revealed that it would offer its own top-selling...

EDITORIALS

Sep 2, 1999

Another stab at peace in Congo

One month after six of the seven parties fighting in the Congo signed a peace agreement, the remaining holdout has joined the ceasefire. Peace is desperately needed in the long-suffering nation, impoverished by decades of looting by former strongman Mobutu Sese Seko and then wracked by civil war after...

EDITORIALS

Sep 1, 1999

A peace process without peace

There are very good reasons to be deeply concerned about the Northern Ireland peace process. The first reason is that it looks to be breaking down. Disputes over the decommissioning of weapons by the Irish Republican Army and the seating of Sinn Fein representatives on the executive council established...

EDITORIALS

Aug 31, 1999

The DPJ at a crossroads

The Democratic Party of Japan looks set for a three-way race to select its new head next month. The current leader, Mr. Naoto Kan, and the deputy secretary general, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, have already announced they will run in the Sept. 25 party election. The third man, Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi, chairman...

COMMENTARY

Aug 31, 1999

ODA helps Japan, the world

By Keizo Nabeshima

Medium-term policy guidelines for Official Development Assistance, announced by the government Aug. 10, set the standards for implementing Japan's ODA between 1999 and 2003. The guidelines place emphasis on aid to Asian countries to help them implement structural reforms aimed at solving their economic...

COMMENTARY

Aug 30, 1999

The social safety net tightens

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The moral obligation to help the poor and ensure that they have adequate food and shelter is recognized and promoted by the main religions of the world. The obligation has been assumed by civilized governments worldwide, but implementation varies hugely and there are no easy answers to the...

EDITORIALS

Aug 28, 1999

The slow road to gender equality

Barely two months have passed since the govern ment enacted the Gender Equality Law. While defenders of the new law insist that is hardly enough time for its effectiveness to be tested, many women's groups, and their male supporters, disagree. The reason, they say, should be obvious: Like the Equal Employment...

COMMENTARY

Aug 28, 1999

Politicians go head to head

By Minoru Tada

Political chaos in August ended when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Party, agreed to form an alliance with New Komeito, despite widespread fears that the tripartite negotiations would fail because of policy differences. By successfully playing a political...

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 28, 1999

Aid that gets 'lost' en route to the poor

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK — Recent reports indicate a massive diversion of funds from international donors providing aid to Bosnia. According to officials from the antifraud unit set up by the Office of the High Rep- resentative, the international agency responsible for carrying out the civilian aspects of the Dayton...

EDITORIALS

Aug 27, 1999

Jitters in Central Asia

The information is sketchy, but this much is certain: Islamic guerrillas have taken hostages, including four Japanese, in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The number of hostages, the number of guerrillas, their nationality and their demands are uncertain. This incident set the stage for the Central...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.

A boom for business tourism in Japan?

By Kathryn Wortley

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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