You never want to kick a nation when it’s down. It’s time, though, to consider the depth of Japan’s coming recession. A week ago, before radiation fears prompted a mass exodus from Tokyo, a downturn was of the “if” variety. Japan’s prospects then dimmed with each passing day of blackouts and panicked news reports. The questions now are when the recession will officially begin, how bad it will be a

Viewpoints March 21, 2011

The world is beset by crises, from an earthquake and tsunami in Japan to revolution and repression in the Middle East. For one small segment of the population, however, it’s party time.The rich are spending again; the more conspicuous the consumption, the better. Gone are the exhortations to bankers in the dark days of 2008 and 2009 to temper extravagant behavior, act more like an everyman. Shun t

Viewpoints March 21, 2011

The decision to opt for medical care that relies on the most costly technology is often based on blind faith that newer, elaborate and expensive must be better.The sentiment is understandable. We look to the miracles of medical technology to solve all sorts of problems, from weight loss to wrinkle removal. We place even greater faith in this technology when engaged in life’s inevitable losing batt

Viewpoints March 20, 2011

Alarmed by the nuclear disaster in Japan, China has ordered a comprehensive safety assessment of all nuclear plants under construction and suspended approval of new plants pending formulation of new safety regulations.In a statement released on Wednesday, the State Council urged using “the most advanced standards” for the safety checks and told officials to immediately cease construction of the pl

Editorial March 18, 2011

The devastation in Japan unleashed by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake last Friday has heightened awareness of quake risks in Korea, creating an environment conducive to boosting disaster preparedness.On Wednesday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said he would make it mandatory for all new public buildings in Seoul to adopt earthquake-resistant design regardless of their size. For this, he said he would ask the

Editorial March 18, 2011

In every natural disaster, there is an arc to the story, the narrative. Earthquakes open with surprise. Scientists can’t predict them with the precision of hurricanes, can’t track them on radar, can’t provide much if any warning. Buildings ― rooms ― start to sway sickeningly, dishes crash. That’s how you know.Tsunamis are more predictable. There’s warning, as there was in Japan last week. Resident

Viewpoints March 18, 2011

Of all the things I expected to experience in Tokyo, hugging three Japanese female strangers in their 70s was never part of the plan.This city is no-public-display-of-affection central. The anti-Paris when it comes to spontaneous gestures of intimacy. When the ground begins to shake, protocol is the first casualty. So, when a big aftershock hit Shinjuku train station, we four panicked strangers jo

Viewpoints March 18, 2011

The principal lesson from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan is that even the richest and most disaster-ready country in the world cannot have enough of disaster preparedness. Historically earthquake-prone and -battered, Japan is also temblor-hardened and -geared-up. But despite its legendary obsessive-compulsive ways that would leave no stone unturned as far as priming up for disasters

Viewpoints March 18, 2011

Entire towns vanished.Simply gone.Thousands dead, thousands more missing and feared dead.Simply gone.And as individual families in Japan and the world as a whole begin to grieve last week’s horrific earthquake and tsunami, we are also learning firsthand about the vulnerability of nuclear energy.The technology that resource-scarce Japan harnessed to become an industrial powerhouse is now becoming a

Viewpoints March 17, 2011

Pity President Obama: Every time he tries to compromise with Republicans on energy reform by backing dirty or dangerous forms of power generation, a disaster occurs to demonstrate why pursuing such strategies is a bad idea. It happened a year ago when a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico after Obama had been talking up the advantages of expanded offshore drilling, and it’s happening again t

Viewpoints March 17, 2011

The New York Times characterizes the tsunami that struck coastal Japan as “murderous,” while a friend writes that “Planet Earth is an unfriendly place.” I rode out the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in my seventh-floor apartment in San Francisco, which experience instilled in me an appropriate terror and respect for the fluidity of so-called terra firma. The epicenter of that 6.1 earthquake was locat

Viewpoints March 17, 2011

Japan’s domestic nuclear crisis is going global in a hurry.Just ask Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, who wants to convene Group of Seven talks on a response to Japan’s earthquake. “I’ve asked for a G7 meeting at the level of finance ministers and central bankers to see how we can purchase their bonds and how to respond on the financial level,” she said.The internationalization of this

Viewpoints March 17, 2011

Supporters of the proposed free-trade agreement between the United States and South Korea argue that we should approve the pact to improve our economy and to reward an ally in a troubled region for its strong security relationship with the United States, and to solidify these strong security ties with a stronger trade relationship. Though there is no doubt South Korea is a close ally, we need to e

Viewpoints March 17, 2011