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EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2005

Step up the war on AIDS

The 2005 report by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is a shocking reminder that the number of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide has hit an all-time high, exceeding 40 million people for the first time.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2005

Desertification on the march

To the average person, "desertification" likely conjures up images of sandstorms sweeping across the Sahara. While this is one manifestation, desertification is a global process that persistently reduces the benefits people get from nature -- collectively termed "ecosystem services." This happens as...
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2005

Trade talks down to the wire

While attention is focused on this week's meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Pusan, South Korea, the main event is the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting to be held next month in Hong Kong. That ministerial meeting is critical to the success of the current round of global...
COMMENTARY
Nov 18, 2005

A chance to clean up terror

NEW DELHI -- The Oct. 8 South Asian earthquake struck at the epicenter of a principal recruiting ground and logistic center for global terrorists, leveling a number of terrorist nurseries and training camps in an area that serves as the last main refuge of al-Qaida. Much of the quake's destruction occurred...
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2005

Let consumption tax pay for welfare: panel

A Liberal Democratic Party panel called Monday for converting the consumption tax into a welfare tax, a step that would certainly boost the tax rate to more than 10 percent from the current 5 percent.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2005

G-20 finance chiefs set for talks

Finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 industrialized and emerging economies were to start a two-day meeting Saturday in China where they are expected to discuss the impact of soaring oil prices on the global economy, development issues and possibly China's currency reforms.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2005

20% of Japanese aged 65 or older

Twenty percent of the population, or 25.56 million people, were aged 65 or older as of Thursday, up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier, government statistics showed Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2005

Commercial launchpad abroad urged; Kiribati eyed

A space industry advisory panel at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has proposed in a report that Japan build a rocket launchpad abroad, in addition to the one currently being used on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, METI officials said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2005

Rich-poor divide poses unrelenting threat

NEW YORK -- According to the just released U.N. report "The Inequality Predicament," increasing poverty and the growing gap between the rich and poor will be major threats to developing coun- tries' peace and stability. The report, prepared by the United Nations' Economic and Social Affairs Department,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2005

A light on senile dementia

In April the Welfare and Labor Ministry began a nationwide one-year campaign to help others better understand senile dementia. The campaign targets the mental disorder as a top-priority issue to tackle as the graying of the nation's population progresses. The core organization established for the campaign...
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2005

Bolder way of thinking small

In June, the Cabinet Office's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy stressed the need for smaller and more efficient government in its 2005 basic guideline for economic and fiscal reform. Earlier this month the fiscal 2005 Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finances also called for smaller...
JAPAN / Q&A
Jul 8, 2005

Why is Japan so impatient to land a permanent seat in the UNSC club?

Japan moved a step closer toward its goal of becoming a permanent United Nations Security Council member Thursday, as the so-called Group of Four nations -- Japan, Germany, India and Brazil -- submitted a resolution on the matter to the U.N. Secretariat. The following are some basic facts on the UNSC...
JAPAN / Q&A
Jul 8, 2005

Why is Japan so impatient to land a permanent seat in the UNSC club?

Japan moved a step closer toward its goal of becoming a permanent United Nations Security Council member Thursday, as the so-called Group of Four nations -- Japan, Germany, India and Brazil -- submitted a resolution on the matter to the U.N. Secretariat. The following are some basic facts on the UNSC...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2005

Hungry underclass growing

There is a pain in the belly of Africa that just will not go away. It is gnawing at our development goals and undermining our economies. It is blighting the lives of the young and shortening the life span of the old, yet somehow it is being forgotten. What is this scourge that stalks our continent? A...
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2005

The G8 agrees on debt relief

Group of Eight finance ministers agreed last weekend to write off more than $40 billion in debt owed by the world's poorest countries. The agreement is a critical first step in efforts to help lift these nations out of grinding and enduring poverty. The deal is only a beginning, however. Success will...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2005

Koizumi says time is right to again boost ODA budget

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called Friday for an increase in the foreign aid budget, which has been cut over the past several years.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2005

Monju's fast-breeder technology remains far from practical

A Supreme Court ruling late last month in favor of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor may have been welcome news to its builder, the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, but putting the technology into practical use is still a long way away.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2005

More foreign aid cuts urged

An advisory panel to Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki drafted a proposal Monday urging more cuts in foreign aid in fiscal 2006, citing the nation's troubled finances.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2005

Terrestrial digital radio to get early start in 2006

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will allow terrestrial digital radio broadcasting to begin in 2006, five years earlier than originally planned, ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2005

Japan settles for 'low-risk, low-return' FTA goals

Prudish about bilateral free-trade agreements just five years ago, Tokyo is now fielding partnership requests from 25 economies and regional blocs.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2005

Quicker domestic farm reform

Japanese agriculture is beleaguered. Farmland keeps shrinking as aging farmers retire. Collective farming is all but stalled as prospective partners stay on the sidelines. The domestic market faces strong pressure for liberalization. For all this, structural reform is making little headway. No wonder...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2005

Beijing's military buildup races ahead

HONOLULU -- China is modernizing its military forces faster than anyone expected only a few years ago, escalating the potential danger to the island of Taiwan, to American forces and bases in Asia, and to the overall balance of power in the region.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2005

Disaster meet ends with tsunami alert, preparation pledges

KOBE -- The United Nations committed itself Saturday to a broad plan of action to reduce the number of deaths caused by natural disasters over the next decade.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2004

Laying a foundation for a new East Asia

SINGAPORE -- Optimism for East Asian integration and community building ran high at the conclusion of the 10th ASEAN Summit on Nov. 30 in Vientiane, Laos, and the back-to-back meetings between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its Asia-Pacific partners -- China, Japan, South Korea,...
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2004

At last, Asia is taking shape

HONOLULU -- For generations, East Asia has been identified as a geographical entity -- it was a region on a map -- but it lacked a coherent identity beyond that. That is changing. East Asia is laying the foundation for an international presence that will rival that of the European Union. Last month's...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2004

Partners for sustainability

Economic growth is essential for reducing poverty. But rapid economic expansion in the developing world is often associated with environmental degradation.

Longform

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