Thanks to the Year of the Dragon baby boom, Taiwan will see a respite from the greying of its population. The latest figures from the Council for Economic Planning and Development delay the arrival of zero population growth from the earlier estimation of 2022 to between 2024 and 2027. Taiwan is estimated to officially become an aged society (with 14 percent of population over 65 years old) by 2018, one year later than previously estimated.With one of the lowest birth rates in the world, Taiwan h

Aug. 3, 2012

Japan has fallen to 25th place in a world ranking of innovation ― down five places from 2011 ― according to a study conducted by INSEAD, an international graduate school and research institution concerned with innovation in countries around the world. Japan’s economy, still the third-largest in the world, continues to rest on past achievements rather than advancing toward a better future.While Japan ranked relatively highly in some sections of the study, Japan’s knowledge and technology output c

Aug. 3, 2012

Market activity to promote the use of electronic books is picking up this summer. Efforts should be made to improve the environment for the spread of e-books so it can lead to further development of the culture of the printed word.Rakuten, Inc. a leading online shopping service, has begun marketing a low-cost electronic reader. U.S. online retailer Amazon.com, the largest operator in the market, will soon launch digital readers that can display Japanese. Meanwhile, more publishers are moving the

Aug. 3, 2012

For an economy that’s growing at an anemic rate of 1.5 percent, you would think there would be more discussion of the U.S. housing market on the campaign trail. The sector has powered past recoveries and is responsible for as much as one-fifth of gross domestic product. Yet President Barack Obama has made little more than a passing reference to housing in his campaign, calling it a drag on the economy and recommending an expanded mortgage-refinancing program. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt

Aug. 2, 2012

Premier Wen Jiabao’s call to open up the economy further to private investors is a reminder that we have a lot more to do to provide a level playing field for the private sector. Wen urged the country during Monday’s executive meeting of the State Council to fully implement the policies encouraging the private sector’s growth. Admittedly, the government has been increasingly aware of the importance of the private sector and has devised a series of policies to facilitate the growth of private ent

Aug. 2, 2012

The power succession in North Korea has reached its culminating point. Kim Jong-il, who died seven months ago, left his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as the successor but appointed a number of high-ranking officials to mentor him and help ensure a smooth transition. Now the training wheels are being removed and the young Kim is about to show the world who he really is and what he is capable of.After six months of training in the driver’s seat, Kim Jong-un has decided that he is mature enough to rul

Aug. 2, 2012

On June 29, one year ago, the National Assembly passed the revision of the Special Adoption Law, which gave more rights to adoptees, better protection to birth mothers, and greater protection of children’s rights. The law will enter into full force on Aug. 5.What changes are taking effect next week? It is not possible to give a definitive because the Ministry of Health and Welfare is still finalizing the decree and ordinance for the law application. However, from the draft published in March, it

Aug. 2, 2012

Until recently, it was hard to imagine that Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s scandal-prone former prime minister, might attempt another comeback. Now, sadly for Italy and Europe, he might. Italy’s prospects are troubled enough without the turmoil that a resurgence of the billionaire media mogul would stir. Berlusconi, 75, was out of favor when he left office in November, and his career in politics looked over. A busy retirement ― including defending himself on a charge of paying a minor for sex, which

Aug. 1, 2012

While Mao Zedong was the founder of communist China, Deng Xiaoping was the architect of its economic miracle and great power resurgence. Even as China was going through spectacular economic growth during the 1980s and 1990s, Deng cautioned the country’s leaders to “bide your time and hide your capabilities.” The first part of his advice was spot on as China was navigating the difficult task of building and modernizing in an international environment not entirely favorable to the country. By conc

Aug. 1, 2012

NEW YORK ― For years, climate scientists have been warning the world that the heavy use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) threatens the world with human-induced climate change. The rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, would warm the planet and change rainfall and storm patterns and raise sea levels. Now those changes are hitting in every direction, even as powerful corporate lobbies and media propagandists like Rupert Murdoch try to

Aug. 1, 2012

The worst drought in more than a half-century is gripping most of the U.S. Midwest and South, damaging crops and presaging higher food prices. Congress is deadlocked as it tries to pass a new farm bill, as it does every five years, amid demands for broad emergency assistance for the hardest hit areas. This impasse may be the best thing that one could hope for, considering the flaws in the proposed legislation. Instead of trying to adopt a new bill before its August recess, Congress should approv

July 31, 2012

The Los Angeles City Council voted last week to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, the culmination of years of controversy over the sale of pot here. Meanwhile, in Oakland, a federal crackdown closed the nation’s largest dispensary amid protests and demonstrations. But authorities rarely seem to address the real issue about marijuana in California: Is it good medicine?Some proponents of medical marijuana argue that pot is “natural” and therefore better, or at least no worse, than le

July 31, 2012

Former Citigroup honcho Sanford I. Weill is widely seen as the man most responsible for the rise of “too big to fail” banks and, by extension, for the enormous federal bailouts they received in 2008 and 2009. Last week, however, Weill shocked the financial industry when he said that megabanks should be broken into smaller pieces, separating the arms that take federally insured deposits from the ones making bets on Wall Street. Lawmakers resisted such a straightforward approach when they enacted

July 31, 2012