The involvement of two ethnic Chechens in the Boston Marathon bombing came as a brutal reminder of the wars that ravaged the Russian republic more than a decade ago. Less understood is that they aren’t over. Vladimir Putin said when he first ran for president in 2000 that his “historic mission” was to resolve the situation in the North Caucasus. To do so, he oversaw a second war in Chechnya, already devastated by Russia’s failed attempt to subdue the republic in 1994-1996. Instead of solving the

Viewpoints April 28, 2013

Christine Lagarde wants her staff at the International Monetary Fund to examine what might happen to the global economy when central banks begin to raise interest rates. She’s wasting their time. If Japan has taught us anything, it’s that slashing rates to zero and beyond is a lot easier than returning them to normalcy. Japan is on its sixth central-bank governor since its bubble burst in 1990, and like his predecessors, Haruhiko Kuroda is doubling down on quantitative easing. Why? Politicians,

Viewpoints April 28, 2013

Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to have abandoned its desire to cultivate friendship with its neighbors, notably Korea and China. To the chagrin of the victims of Japan’s imperialist expansion, Abe came near to denying Japan’s invasion of neighboring Asian countries when he said on Tuesday that there was “no clear definition of an invasion internationally and academically.”Abe went on to say that what happened in international relations might look different, depen

Editorial April 26, 2013

On Tuesday, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office disbanded its Central Investigation Department, the most powerful department with a staff of elitist prosecutors. Its abolishment went down in the history of the nation’s prosecution as an event nothing short of epochal.Its predecessor, the Central Investigation Bureau, which was inaugurated 52 years ago, changed its name to the Central Investigation Department in 1981. Then the department was given a strengthened mission to investigate corruption case

Editorial April 26, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected a sharp debate at home when he said his country wanted to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He may not have anticipated a sharp debate in the U.S. After all, rarely does Washington have the pleasure of opening new trade negotiations when the potential benefits are so heavily stacked in the U.S.’s favor. Why so? Because Japan’s nontariff barriers ― protecting major sectors of the economy, including services, agriculture and selected manufactures ― sta

Viewpoints April 26, 2013

PARIS ― The details revealed so far in the Boston Marathon bombing case are strikingly similar to those of a high-profile case in France last year. Both exemplify the modus operandi of today’s young jihadist.Naturally, it all starts with an immersion in Islamic extremism. The North Caucasus region where the Boston suspects spent their childhood ― a region where there has been a great deal of separatist violence since the collapse of the Soviet Union ― ended up being dominated by a radical Saudi

Viewpoints April 25, 2013

A bill proposing to extend Korean workers’ retirement age to 60 is likely to pass the National Assembly this month. The bill has already won approval from lawmakers on the parliament’s Environment and Labor Committee and will likely pass a floor vote during the April 29-30 plenary session.If enacted, the reform bill will make it compulsory for employers to set the minimum retirement age of their workers at 60. Currently, the relevant law simply recommends that companies set their contractual ret

Editorial April 24, 2013

The government’s drive to raise tax revenue by shining a light on the underground economy is expected to get a boost from a group of citizens committed to bringing tax evaders to justice.Today people from some 150 civic organizations, including consumer groups and associations of self-employed businesspeople, are to launch a watchdog group to combat the shadow economy. Promoters of the grassroots movement say tip-offs on tax evasion have been pouring in from whistle-blowers since they announced

Editorial April 24, 2013

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced yesterday that it was delaying a plan to allow passengers to carry pocketknives, hockey sticks and golf clubs aboard airplanes. With terrorism prominently in the news ― and opposition surging from flight attendants and others in the airline industry ― this decision was perhaps inevitable. It’s also wrongheaded. To a public that has gone along with relinquishing hand lotions, bottled water and other seemingly innocuous items, it may seem a

Viewpoints April 24, 2013

WARSAW, Poland ― Simcha Rotem was stooped, his head bowed showing tiny wisps of white hair as he stood at a podium between two black menorahs spewing towering gas flames.Behind him a new, 40-foot-tall black stone frieze showed armed guerilla fighters, their faces locked in determined grimaces. And before him two dozen TV cameras recorded his every word as Rotem declared: “We knew we had no chance. Should we start the uprising? Those are the doubts I live with every day.”Rotem was a featured spea

Viewpoints April 24, 2013