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COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2007

So much for Abe's reconciliation policy

Remember all that talk just a few months back about how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, unlike former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was embarked on a policy of reconciliation with China?
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2007

Success for the EAS?

The second East Asian Summit (EAS) was held a month after it was originally scheduled to convene. Delay may have served the EAS well: The leaders in attendance appear to have listened to criticism that being a talk shop is not enough, that their meetings must produce tangible results. Their new mindset...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2007

Mr. Abe's bold security agenda

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office determined to transform Japan's role in the world. That goal topped the agenda of his four-nation tour of Europe last week. Mr. Abe is ambitious but he must be cautious when considering Japanese participation in multilateral security operations.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2007

No new U.S. strategy in Iraq

LONDON -- Repeat after me: There is no new U.S. strategy in Iraq. The allies are the same, the enemies are the same, the tactics are the same, even the new American force strength lies within the range that has prevailed since 2003.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2007

Aceh peace pays off for election victor

BRUSSELS -- After the second anniversary of Aceh's tragic tsunami, peace seems to have finally come to the troubled province. Official results of the Dec. 11 provincial elections came with the new year. They confirmed a landslide victory for one faction of the former rebels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 11, 2007

Big mouth strikes again ... and again

Is Lily Allen an outspoken genius or an unwarranted meanie? To help you decide, here are 10 of her top tongue-lashings.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 10, 2007

New light cast on capital-punishment issues

It's not especially pleasing to write about death in the first column of the New Year, but there's a lot of it about.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2007

Deja vu in 2007

Readers should be prepared for a recurring sense of deja vu in the year ahead. Few of the problems that dominated international affairs in 2006 were resolved. The headline issues that absorbed decision makers will continue to demand time and attention in 2007. There is little hope for resolution as neither...
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2007

Unwise gantlet for teachers

Certain professionals must pass state examinations to obtain licenses for their jobs. They include medical doctors, dentists, jurists, certified public accountants, architects, pharmacists and registered nurses, as well as primary, middle and high school teachers. Amid the severe employment situation,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2006

First lady blog talks of Christmas with Abe, Bush bulb

The latest addition to a collection of Christmas ornaments at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home this year came from American first lady Laura Bush, and the Abes enjoyed a cozy Christmas dinner at a singer friend's house, according to a blog recently started by Japan's first lady.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2006

First lady blog talks of Christmas with Abe, Bush bulb

The latest addition to a collection of Christmas ornaments at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home this year came from American first lady Laura Bush, and the Abes enjoyed a cozy Christmas dinner at a singer friend's house, according to a blog recently started by Japan's first lady.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2006

2006, politics and personalities

The year 2006 may best be remembered as a year when outsize personalities drove events -- rather than abstract political forces -- although there were, as always, lingering issues that defied resolution. In Pyongyang, supreme leader Kim Jong Il continued his brinkmanship, struggling to keep the world's...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2006

To fathom Abe, just look at his grandfather

, mother, Yoko (back row right), and older brother, Nobuhiro (left), pose for a family photo. Abe was in kindergarten at the time. AP PHOTO
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2006

Murakami's influence will linger

Yoshiaki Murakami's arrest was one of the biggest financial scandals of 2006, but the nation's best-known shareholder activist has played a pivotal role in persuading Japanese managers to be more attentive to shareholder interests, according to Marc Goldstein, head of Institutional Shareholder Services...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2006

Compelling antiwar images

Clint Eastwood has turned out a pair of outstanding movies based on stories about Iwo Jima, the scene of an internecine battle between U.S. and Japanese forces during the Pacific War.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2006

Political theater in town

In June 2001, the first government-sponsored town meeting under the initiative of then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was held to promote direct dialogue between the people and Cabinet ministers. So far, there have been 174 such meetings. But a report by a Cabinet Office investigation panel shows that...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2006

Where does the abduction issue fit in?

in March 1995. "Honestly speaking, if all the issues are settled, Japan's burden of economic aid would be greater than any other country" in the talks, a senior Foreign Ministry official predicted.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2006

Where does the abduction issue fit in?

in March 1995. "Honestly speaking, if all the issues are settled, Japan's burden of economic aid would be greater than any other country" in the talks, a senior Foreign Ministry official predicted.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2006

Japan-India partnership key to bolstering stability in Asia

NEW DELHI -- Japan and India are natural allies because they have no conflict of strategic interests and actually share common goals to build stability, power equilibrium and institutionalized multilateral cooperation in Asia. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo this week offers an...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2006

Government jiggered town meetings to push policies

The government padded expenses and had "plants," some of them paid, offer comments and opinions in the state's favor at so-called town meetings over the past five years, an investigating committee said in a final report released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2006

Government jiggered town meetings to push policies

The government padded expenses and had "plants," some of them paid, offer comments and opinions in the state's favor at so-called town meetings over the past five years, an investigating committee said in a final report released Wednesday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 9, 2006

Premier League benefiting from foreign ownership of teams

LONDON -- By early 2007 a third of the 20 Premiership clubs will come under foreign ownership.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?