After a firestorm of criticism, the Obama administration is suggesting that it will make amends for its aggressive pursuit of journalists suspected of receiving leaks of classified information. But airy affirmations of the importance of a free press and vague promises of a new look at Justice Department regulations aren’t enough. The administration needs to commit itself in specific terms to stronger protections for news gathering that will be embodied in a federal statute.It was bad enough that

Viewpoints June 4, 2013

Everybody knows that Japan has an energy crisis. We also know that the yen has greatly depreciated, by some 20 percent in just a few weeks. It’s time to put these two facts together. “Abenomics,” the shorthand for the aggressive economic strategies being pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is the hot thing in Asia. What wonders will the weak yen work for Japan’s export machine? Is a recovery just around the corner? Despite its volatility, Japan’s stock market says so, and foreign investors, in

Viewpoints June 4, 2013

The world should stop panicking over China’s economic slowdown. It’s actually a good thing. This advice won’t go down well in Australia, which has made a big leveraged bet that China will keep growing 10 percent forever. It won’t comfort exporters in Japan, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan. Traders won’t be happy to see prices of oil, gold and steel plunge as demand from the mainland shrinks. Asia, as a whole, will shudder if China weakens the yuan. Europe might have to find a new benefactor for

Viewpoints June 4, 2013

The militaries of South Korea and the United States have reportedly agreed to maintain the current unified command structure for allied forces even after Seoul takes back the wartime operational control of its armed forces from Washington in December 2015.The two sides had originally agreed to dissolve the U.S.-South Korean Combined Forces Command following the planned OPCON transfer, with each military operating on its own under a parallel command structure.Yet according to reports, they recent

Editorial June 3, 2013

The government has finalized the financing plan for President Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledges.It is the first time a Korean government has come up with a detailed funding scheme to implement the president’s election promises. To her credit, Park had budget officials clearly show the public how much money would be needed to deliver on her promises and where it would come from.According to the final plan, a total of 134.8 trillion won would be needed over the next five years to translate the pled

Editorial June 3, 2013

China and the European Union are quarreling over Chinese exports of solar panels, which Europe says are being dumped in its markets. It’s a stupid fight ― but one that could easily escalate into a bigger trade conflict if both sides don’t take care. In the short run, the EU should withdraw its threat of punitive tariffs. In the long run, all the big trading nations, including the U.S., should reform the anti-dumping rules that encourage this nonsensical wrangling. So far, Europe has been followi

Viewpoints June 3, 2013

Apple Inc.’s success at avoiding billions of dollars in U.S. taxes through some (apparently) legal maneuvers has tax pundits pointing their guns at the corporate tax system. The case has revived numerous hoary cures for the supposed evil of corporate taxes.The cures include abolishing the corporate tax altogether, turning it into a pure “territorial” system that taxes multinational firms only in proportion to the income generated within the United States, declaring a tax “holiday” allowing busin

Viewpoints June 3, 2013

Someone steals your most sensitive secrets. Then, planning a face-to-face meeting, he says he wants to develop “a new type” of relationship with you. At what point, exactly, would you start thinking he was planning to drink your milkshake? Ahead of the first summit meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China on June 7, the two nations are on the brink of geopolitical conflict. As its officials acknowledge, China is a classic rising power, poised to challenge U.S

Viewpoints June 3, 2013

PARIS ― The war in Syria is Russia’s to lose. Arguably, it could very well end up being Russia’s biggest test as a player on the world stage since the end of the Cold War.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, are meeting here in Paris this week to discuss the possibility of discussions. The topic of whether to allow Iran at the adults’ negotiating table with the nonplastic cutlery is sure to come up, further delaying any seriousness to the notion of endin

Viewpoints June 2, 2013

Is the Bank of Japan creating the biggest pyramid scheme in history? In recent weeks Haruhiko Kuroda has been the toast of the financial world, winning plaudits from Nobel laureates Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz. The move by the BOJ governor to end deflation with large bond purchases has been cheered by International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao and the Japanese business establishment. Yet markets are raising troubling ques

Viewpoints June 2, 2013