Shinzo Abe faces plenty of roadblocks in his quest to revive Japan’s sluggish economy. His mentor wasn’t supposed to be one of them.Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is easily the most popular Japanese politician of the last 20 years. Not since Yasuhiro Nakasone in the mid-1980s had a Japanese leader made such a splash domestically and globally. Not coincidentally, both were keen reformers ― as Abe, too, claims to be.After he left office in 2006, the now-71-year-old Koizumi seemed happy to

Viewpoints Nov. 12, 2013

Are jellyfish massing against humankind? Not really; it just seems that way. They may be sending us a message, though.Enormous aggregations of the diaphanous sea creatures have been wreaking havoc from shore to shore ― clogging water intake valves on seaside power plants, destroying fish farms, crowding fishing nets and, yes, stinging people (sometimes fatally). It’s nothing personal. Jellyfish, lacking brains, do not wish us harm. They’re merely going about their lives as they have for more tha

Viewpoints Nov. 11, 2013

Do you say a little prayer (for the markets, maybe) before you get down to work?Since 1999, the wonderfully named town of Greece, New York, has been doing that. At town council meetings, a volunteer chaplain ― generally but not invariably Christian ― prays before the opening of business. The U.S. Supreme Court now must decide whether these prayers, which frequently invoke Jesus Christ by name, violate the constitutional ban against establishing religion.Begin with the easy part: The Founders wou

Viewpoints Nov. 11, 2013

It has been more than five years since the Korean courts adopted a working prototype of the American style jury trial system. During the period, there have been a series of legislative efforts to develop a sustainable system in Korea. Recently, there were a couple of non-guilty verdict cases which caused a media frenzy on the particulars of the current legal framework. Both were mainly related to defamation under the Election Law: one for spreading groundless rumors against then-candidate Park G

Viewpoints Nov. 11, 2013

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut ― I am one of the winners of this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which makes me acutely aware of criticism of the prize by those who claim that economics ― unlike chemistry, physics, or medicine, for which Nobel Prizes are also awarded ― is not a science. Are they right?One problem with economics is that it is necessarily focused on policy, rather than discovery of fundamentals. Nobody really cares much about economic data except as a guide to policy: ec

Viewpoints Nov. 10, 2013

Whittaker Chambers and Ayn Rand are two of the most important American conservative icons. Both abhorred collectivism and spoke on behalf of individual freedom. Chambers’ autobiography, “Witness,” is one of the defining conservative documents of the 20th century. Rand’s most influential novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” continues to inspire and orient conservative and libertarian thought.Here’s what history has largely forgotten: Chambers utterly despised Rand’s novel. Their differences were fundamental,

Viewpoints Nov. 10, 2013

PARIS ― History judges a leader exclusively through his actions and their ultimate results rather than through fleeting words. It appears that U.S. President Barack Obama is finally putting the brakes on his mouth after flooring it down Hope-and-Change Highway for most of his tenure.Remember the Syrian crisis that dominated chatter for months before all but vanishing? Recall how critics were talking about grievous incompetence and even possible impeachment? Fast-forward to today, and just try to

Viewpoints Nov. 8, 2013

While nearly every one of the nations caught up in the Arab Spring since 2011 still suffered and seethed, for a long time Tunisia, the birthplace of the revolts, stood head and shoulders above the rest with a moderate leader and a relatively peaceful, prosperous state.Middle East experts lauded Tunisia as an example for its neighbors. A Foreign Affairs magazine article early this fall carried the headline: “Tunisia’s Lessons for the Middle East.” Another magazine article last summer called Tunis

Viewpoints Nov. 7, 2013

In an unprecedented move, the government has filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to dissolve the United Progressive Party, which it views as an “unconstitutional and dangerous” pro-North Korea political party.The government’s action is in compliance with the Constitution, which empowers it to pursue the disbandment of a political party if its “purposes or activities are contrary to the fundamental democratic order.”In September, the Ministry of Justice launched a task force to examine

Editorial Nov. 6, 2013

The government has strongly signaled its determination to stimulate the depressed housing market by deciding to retroactively apply a proposed cut in home acquisition taxes.In August, the government announced a plan to permanently lower taxes on home purchases starting next year. On Monday, however, it agreed with the ruling Saenuri Party to have the tax cut take effect retroactively from Aug. 28.The policy change, which would cost the government 780 billion won in additional revenue losses, sho

Editorial Nov. 6, 2013