Forget Abenomics. Ignore Shinzo Abe’s efforts to rejuvenate Japan’s diplomatic and military clout. Look past the quest to rewrite the constitution. History will judge this prime minister by one thing alone: what he did, or didn’t do, to end the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. It’s mind-boggling how disengaged Japan’s leaders have been since their “BP moment” ― the March 2011 near-meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. Abe’s predecessors Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda virtually ign

Viewpoints Aug. 13, 2013

The standoff between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party is deepening as the government’s controversial tax reform proposal has provided fresh ammunition for the opposition party to attack the ruling camp.On Monday, the Democratic Party seized upon the unpopular tax plan to step up its assault on President Park Geun-hye. It kicked off a nationwide signature collection drive to thwart the reform plan, which was unveiled Thursday to levy more taxes on people in the mi

Editorial Aug. 12, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has taken another step toward allowing Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense, causing concern in Japan and neighboring countries. Abe recently appointed Ambassador to France Ichiro Komatsu to head the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, which advises Cabinet members on legal issues and examines the government’s legislative proposals. The appointment is widely seen as reflecting Abe’s intention to lift Japan’s self-imposed ban on engaging in collective

Editorial Aug. 12, 2013

A full generation of Americans has come of age since the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union late in 1991. Those who lived that nearly half-century of tensions, with its threats of mutual nuclear destruction, tend to mistakenly recall a tidy geography: The West, chiefly the U.S. but also its NATO allies, poised decade after decade in readiness to combat the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies to the east.In truth the Cold War played out at random times, on multiple continents, among

Viewpoints Aug. 12, 2013

At their White House meeting last week, U.S. President Barack Obama assured Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of his support as Greece prepares for talks with creditors on additional debt relief amid record-high unemployment. The U.S. should also endorse a new blueprint for recovery based on one of the most successful economic assistance programs of the modern era: the Marshall Plan. It is clear by now that the European Union’s policies in Greece have failed. Projections that government spend

Viewpoints Aug. 12, 2013

So, the White House announces the emergence of a “significant” terrorist threat; the State Department issues a worldwide travel alert and shuts down 21 diplomatic missions; the Pentagon places U.S. forces throughout the Middle East on heightened alert, and the president of the United States ... books a gig on “Tonight.”The decision to chat up Jay Leno seemed a bit incongruous at first, but on second thought, it wasn’t a bad idea at all. The late-night talk show gave the president a chance to exp

Viewpoints Aug. 12, 2013

My father used to say that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who do what they say they are going to do, and everybody else. I thought of that maxim when I heard that the Graham family was selling the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos, the chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc. When Amazon went public in 1997, Bezos was the frontman, evangelizing his vision of not only the world’s biggest bookstore but also the world’s dominant retailer. This, from the CEO of a company that was lo

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2013

Major media outlets have featured him as representative of a new generation of “patriot hackers.” He sent an old laptop to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., where it’s now on display. He claims to have launched hacking attacks on websites ranging from jihadist forums to WikiLeaks. Last week, a guest on the syndicated radio program “Coast to Coast AM” described the individual hiding behind “The Jester” moniker (or “th3j35t3r” in hacker lingo) as “not somebody in someone’s basement

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2013

President Barack Obama keeps declaring war on rising college costs. In a speech at Knox College last month, he vowed to unveil an “aggressive strategy to shake up the system, tackle rising costs and improve value.” He said something similar in his 2012 State of the Union address, so I’m a little skeptical that much will happen. As students get ready to go to college this month, let me suggest ways to “shake up the system” and “tackle rising costs.” In doing so, I would point out that two things

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2013