[Editorial] Judicial reform

In February last year, the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed to resume efforts to reform the judiciary and the prosecution, a project that was promoted by lawmakers of the 17th National Assembly but has since been left on the back burner. The main impetus behind the latest legislative campaign was the two parties’ desire to correct what they saw as the pol

March 13, 2011

[Editorial] Quake in Japan

A Herculean rescue and recovery operation is under way in Japan following Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. The quake, which hit Japan’s northeastern coast, measured 9.0 in magnitude, the strongest ever recorded in that country. It triggered a ferocious, 10-meter tsunami that swept away everything in its path. To make matters worse, radiation leaked from a quake-damaged nuclear reactor

March 13, 2011

Beware risks ‘on the cloud’ in e-mail accounts

Tens of thousands of Gmail users had a rude shock recently when they logged in only to find all their messages had vanished. Google has restored their e-mail from tape backup by this week, but the inadvertent deletion (during a software upgrade) must raise concerns over security and trust in applications that share remote databases beyond the control of individual users. There were no reports that

March 13, 2011

Harmony-breaking words from a U.S. official

The assemblies of Okinawa Prefecture and two cities in the prefecture ― Naha and Urasoe ― on Tuesday unanimously adopted resolutions protesting comments by a U.S. official that allegedly disparaged the Okinawans. Other Okinawan assemblies will follow suit. In an off-the-record lecture in Washington in December before 14 students who were about to visit Tokyo and Okinawa, Kevin Maher, head of the o

March 13, 2011

[William Pesek] Prada gets my $1,500 as poor can live in envy

In the annals of fashionable timing, Prada SpA’s trip to Asia deserves a mention. It’s blowing off Milan and taking the largest initial public offering of a family-owned Italian company since 2006 to Hong Kong. The reason investors in Prada’s hometown must reach 5,800 miles away to buy the stock: Asia’s hot, Europe’s not. It gets even better for Prada. The $2 billion IPO will hit the investment ca

March 13, 2011

[Eric Jackson] Steve Jobs’s hottest app may be succession plan

Apple Inc. suffers from a Steve Jobs discount, and it’s not fair.Ever since Jobs, the chief executive officer, disclosed that he had a rare form of pancreatic cancer in August 2004, Apple’s stock has been underpriced. That assertion may seem absurd, given that the shares have risen more than 2,000 percent since then and the company’s market value of $325 billion is second only to that of Exxon Mob

March 13, 2011

[Annette Heuser] Gadhafi’s end depends on one power stepping up

The turmoil in much of the Arab world has grown into more than a regional protest by peoples seeking to overthrow repressive regimes. Successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have spurred demonstrations from Morocco to Iran and now, tragically, conflict in Libya which increasingly looks like civil war.The criminal acts of that country’s leader, Moammar Gadhafi, demand foreign intervention. With t

March 13, 2011

It’s not time to tap the strategic oil reserve

Whenever gasoline prices spike, it’s a pretty good bet that politicians are going to propose tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This time around, the talk started with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who last week urged President Obama to consider selling oil from the reserve as a way to stabilize prices. Then on Sunday, White House

March 11, 2011

[Editorial] Price stability

The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate from 2.75 percent to 3 percent on Thursday. On the same day, President Lee Myung-bak promised a shift in policy from growth to price stability. It was better late than never for both the central bank and the Lee administration to renew their resolve to fight inflation.Following the rate increase, the Bank of Korea governor implied the central bank will t

March 11, 2011

Polarization likely to only worsen

Individualism is dead.That’s the stark take-away from an analysis of U.S. congressional voting records by the National Journal.Since 1982, the National Journal has combed congressional votes on key issues and rated legislators’ records. Last year, it reviewed 95 significant votes in both chambers using a relative, not absolute, measure. In other words, it seeks to compare members with one another,

March 11, 2011

Foreign press crackdown a blot on China’s image

My doorbell rang unexpectedly on Sunday (March 6) afternoon.I wasn’t expecting guests, but I guess the two uninvited ones at my door belong to an organization that is not in the habit of ringing ahead to announce its arrival.The two uniformed Chinese policemen at my door, accompanied by a staff member of the estate management, did not introduce themselves or show any identification. Perhaps they f

March 11, 2011

[Editorial] Galliano a reminder of repercussions to discrimination

Before he was accused of being an anti-Semitic drunk, before videos surfaced of him calling people “ugly Jews” and professing his love for Adolf Hitler, designer John Galliano was a long-time fashion darling who wowed the sartorial elite, season after season, as the creative force behind luxury fashion house Christian Dior.On March 1, at the height of the controversy, Dior fired its creative direc

March 11, 2011

Free speech can work only with mutual respect

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would allow hateful protests at military funerals has resulted in a public debate over the limits of free speech. The court ruled that the First Amendment protected those who engaged in a venomous protest at the funeral of a Marine who had died in Iraq. Protesters from Westboro Baptist Church, whose headquarters are in Kansas, appeared at the funeral holding

March 10, 2011

[Gregory Rodriguez] The loyalty dance

Dance, monkey, dance.That’s what the United States has long shouted at immigrants and ethnic groups suspected of being disloyal. The nation asks its newcomers to perform in meaningless ways to “prove” they belong here.The dancers change, but not the dance. Because the United States is continually incorporating immigrants, the perceived threat of betrayal is constant. This week, Rep. Peter T. King,

March 10, 2011

[Michael J. Graetz] The high cost of oil

The spread of popular revolt in the Middle East to Libya has exacerbated a spike in oil prices and gasoline costs at the pump. In turn, this has stimulated widespread complaints about the lack of a coherent U.S. foreign policy toward despots in the region. This is not the first time this has happened.More than four decades ago, a military coup, led by a 27-year-old Moammar Gadhafi, overthrew Libya

March 10, 2011