Local bellwether elections in Osaka and Aichi

The results of coming local elections in Osaka and Aichi prefectures could have a great impact on the shape of Japan’s local government. The people concerned need to carefully watch and consider the moves of two men ― Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto and Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura. Hashimoto has the idea of dissolving the Osaka city and integrating the Osaka city and prefectural governments into a met

Jan. 13, 2011

[Kevin Horrigan] Selective wussification

For eight years, Ed Rendell was governor of Pennsylvania. The eight years before that, he was mayor of Philadelphia. In all that time, he never got the national attention he’s received in his last two weeks as governor, since unburdening himself about what he called “the wussification of America.”He was upset that the NFL postponed the Dec. 26 game between his beloved Philadelphia Eagles and the v

Jan. 13, 2011

[Greogry Rodriguez] Image of Americans in post-American era

The ugly American ― the stereotypically brutish, ethnocentric, bumbling traveler abroad ― is dead. He’s gone the way of global U.S. hegemony, the strong dollar and mid-20th century American naivete.Thirty years ago, the streets of major European capitals were awash with wide-eyed, culturally entitled, middle-class American tourists who were members of the first generation to take advantage of fore

Jan. 13, 2011

[Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz] CIA needs sunlight, and Tinners case might shine some on it

By its nature, an intelligence service is antithetical to the transparency and accountability that are hallmarks of a democracy. When the Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947, diplomat Dean Acheson wrote, “I had the gravest forebodings about this organization and warned the president that as set up neither he, the National Security Council, nor anyone else would be in a position to know

Jan. 13, 2011

2011 promises to be year of electric car

This year can be the year in which electric cars make headway in attracting a large number of customers who want to buy a vehicle that has no gas emmissions over a vehicle that runs on fossil fuels. But many problems must be overcome before electric cars become a transportation mainstay. Nissan kicked off fierce competition in electric car sales with the December launch of the Leaf, a five-door ha

Jan. 12, 2011

Tobacco companies behind the smoke screen

Cigarette makers do a lot more than shred tobacco and roll it up in thin sheets of paper. A December report by the surgeon general’s office outlined a host of changes that tobacco companies have made over the years to render smoking easier to start and harder to quit. For instance, vents and other filter designs make the smoke feel less harsh even though it does the same damage. A bigger, quicker

Jan. 12, 2011

[Mike Matz] A gift of wilderness

When most Americans hear the words “public lands” they think of our national parks or national forests or perhaps even our national wildlife refuges. Yet, what might surprise them is that the largest category of our publicly owned land is administered by a little-known agency, the Bureau of Land Management, with a big mandate ― taking care of 400,000 square miles, an area nearly four times the siz

Jan. 12, 2011

[Matthew Lynn] Beatles ‘Revolution’ returns decades later

“You say you want a revolution,” the Beatles sang in a song that was released in the year that students across Europe famously took to the streets to protest against the established order.It may not quite be 1968 all over again. Even so, there is a whiff of youthful rebellion in the air. Young people across the region have been staging angry demonstrations in the last few months as government aust

Jan. 12, 2011

[Albert Hunt] Shooting reveals dark side of U.S. exceptionalism

Violence isn’t endemic to America. Gun violence is.The tragic killings of six people including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl and serious injury to Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson this weekend underscored this tragic reality. Gun murders occur in other developed countries, not with anywhere near the frequency.There are almost 300 million guns in America, a third of the

Jan. 12, 2011

[Editorial] Mayor Oh’s challenge

In his desperate challenge to the opposition-dominated city council over the school free lunch issue, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has proposed a referendum in the capital city. Thus he is offering himself as the gladiator for the conservative forces in what can be a preview of the 2012 presidential election. The 50-year-old mayor in his second term said he could not tolerate the lives of the 10 million

Jan. 11, 2011

Don’t remove the ‘N-word’ from ‘Huck Finn’

The “N-word” has become so emotionally charged that its casual use can end a career, as radio shrink Laura Schlessinger discovered the hard way last year. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to excise it from classic literature for fear of offending modern sensibilities.Alan Gribben, an English professor at Auburn University, is working with NewSouth Books in Alabama to publish a joint edition

Jan. 11, 2011

Can Japan open up under P.M. Naoto Kan?

Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister, likes to cast himself as an ‘Action Man’ bent on churning out new policies to tackle the country’s problems. And to his credit, one cannot say that Kan has done nothing since taking office in June. He has dealt with a crusty China over disputed islands, repaired ties with Washington, and dispatched a key political rival. Thus, it is not surprising that Kan has st

Jan. 11, 2011

[Xiao Gang] Liberalize interest rates further

On Christmas day, China’s central bank raised interest rates for the second time in 2010 to check rising consumer prices and the heated real estate market. It would not be surprising to see the central bank lift the rates again in the near future. The move has left me wondering whether allowing interest rates to play their due role in the economy through liberalization, as opposed to raising them

Jan. 11, 2011

[Song In-yeup] Marking the first anniversary of earthquake in Haiti

Exactly one year ago on Jan. 12, 2010, a great earthquake hit Haiti located on the center of the emerald green Caribbean Sea. In less than a minute, 200,000 people died, more than 100,000 were missing and 1.5 million became homeless at one time. The National Palace and almost all government buildings collapsed. Thirty high-ranking U.N. officials including Hedi Annabi, special representative to the

Jan. 11, 2011

[Doyle McManus] A modest speaker not to be underestimated

The new speaker of the House, Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, isn’t the most brilliant statesman ever to hold the job (Newt Gingrich beats him on that count), the most groundbreaking (that was Nancy Pelosi) or the most charismatic (speakers rarely score high on that scale).But he is among the most modest, an attribute rare among politicians ― and one that should come in handy in the rough-and-tumble

Jan. 11, 2011