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Monday, August 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
ENVIRONMENT: Green-Themed World Expo a First for the Millennium
With attractions ranging from humanoid robots to mammoth fossils, the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan, the first of the millennium, opens its doors on Mar. 25 with the intention of promoting economic development in harmony with nature, organisers say.JAPAN: Travel Agents Agree on Global Code to Combat Child Sex Tours
In a landmark step hailed by activists, Japanese travel agents agreed to abide to a code of conduct in an international campaign to stop the sexual exploitation of children in foreign countries.Environment-Themed World Expo a First for the Millennium
Beginning Mar. 25, pavilions will represent the messages of 122 countries at the World Expo in Japan as they laud ''Nature's Wisdom''.NORTH-EAST ASIA: Assertive China, Insensitive Japan Raise Tensions
New saber-rattling between China and Taiwan over a law passed by Beijing Monday that allows the use of military force if Taiwan declares independence from China has raised tensions further in North-east Asia - a region that is already simmering in territorial and historical disputes.HEALTH-JAPAN: Intellectually Disabled Strive Hard For Recognition
Fifty-year-old Yae Abe seems to have a gargantuan task ahead of her, in making Japanese accept people with intellectual disabilities.JAPAN: No More Song and Dance for Filipino Entertainers
'Cynthia' (not her real name), a pretty young Filipino hostess, plies drinks and sings karaoke along with her customers at 'Queen Bee' bar in Shinjuku - a bustling district famous for its nightlife in the center of the Japanese capital.POPULATION: Young Koreans Shed Past to Embrace Modern Japan
The controversial identity of Japan's Korean population, the largest ethnic minority in the country, is undergoing drastic changes these days given new security threats from North Korea and the emergence of a fledging multicultural society at home.CLIMATE CHANGE: Japan Still Off Mark With Greenhouse Targets
The Kyoto Protocol, which comes into effect on Wednesday, might be the only international treaty with a Japanese name; but many Japanese instead of being proud of that fact, feel that Japan has failed to take the lead in cutting greenhouse emissions blamed for global warming.CLIMATE CHANGE: Japan Still Off Mark With Greenhouse Targets
The Kyoto Protocol, which comes into effect on Wednesday, might be the only international treaty with a Japanese name. But many Japanese instead of being proud of that fact, feel that Japan has failed to take the lead in cutting greenhouse emissions blamed for global warming.JAPAN-NORTH KOREA: Angry Japanese Demand Sanctions
North Korea's declaration that it has nuclear weapons and was pulling out of multilateral disarmament talks, has prompted a group representing the families of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang to reiterate their call for the imposition of sanctions against the communist nation.JAPAN-NORTH KOREA: Angry Japanese Demand Sanctions
North Korea's declaration on Thursday that it has nuclear weapons and was pulling out of multilateral disarmament talks, has prompted a group representing the families of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang to reiterate their call - backed by a petition signed by more than five million Japanese - for the imposition of sanctions against the communist nation.HEALTH-JAPAN: New Figures Prompt Fears of AIDS Explosion
Japan's new figures for HIV/AIDS are a cause for alarm with health experts indicating that the actual number could be far greater, given that many Japanese who may be positive have not yet been tested.TSUNAMI IMPACT: World Heritage Sites Not Spared From Killer Waves
As the world rushes to the aid of millions of survivors struggling to regain their devastated lives in the tsunami-struck countries in the Indian Ocean, a group of international archeologists is planning a joint study to restore cultural treasures that have been destroyed in the huge disaster.
Tsunami Forces Issue of Early Warning System
United Nations experts have announced an early warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean to be launched in Julio. But there is still much to do. ''We are worried the importance of rehabilitating the local communities is being sidelined in this process,'' say NGOs.TSUNAMI IMPACT: There’s More to Disaster Mitigation Than a Warning System – NGOs
Non-governmental organisations are worried that important aspects of global disaster reduction would be overlooked at an international conference as countries and agencies jostle to take the lead in a high-profile tsunami early warning system.TSUNAMI IMPACT: Conference Reminds World of Lessons to be Learnt
While the occurrence of natural events is largely beyond human control, the consequences are not. And this was the message brought forth at the opening of an international conference on natural disasters with a global reminder to heed the lessons of last month's tsunami that killed over 160,000 in South and South-east Asia.TSUNAMI IMPACT: Deluge of Unfocussed Kindness Can ‘Kill’ – Experts
There is a risk that with direct aid, donor nations might run the risk of 'killing' the already fragile tsunami-affected countries with too much kindness. Because of this, Japanese experts want the aid money committed by Japan, to the devastated countries, to be spent wisely.DEVELOPMENT-JAPAN: Once Docile Women Flex Economic Muscle
Japanese women, long viewed as docile and entertaining "flowers" in the office, are bucking the trend to become ‘tigers' and ‘economic locomotives' that make key economic contributions these days, say analysts./ARTS WEEKLY/JAPAN: Korean Cultural Loot Still Remains Buried
The issue of missing cultural property is an emotive thorn in the tortured relationship between Japan and the two Koreas. The Japanese looted thousands of cultural artifacts from Korea, during Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. But repatriation still remains controversial and complex.CHALLENGES 2004-2005: U.S. Subservient Japan Ponders Security Role
Japan is securely poised to enter 2005 as a decisive power in global politics but analysts say the new path poses a lingering dilemma for the Japanese public.JAPAN-NORTH-KOREA: Wrong Bones Trigger Calls for Sanctions
Japan has every reason to be fuming at North Korea after the bones returned by Pyongyang, of two missing Japanese abducted more than two decades ago, turned out to be that of different people. Now, angry Japanese officials plan to travel to the country on Saturday to confront the North Koreans with DNA results to prove their case.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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