The government has resubmitted to the Diet a bill calling for the adoption of identification numbers for individuals to be used for the administration of social security programs and tax payments. The ruling and some opposition parties recognize the need to introduce the numbering system. Deliberations on the bill should begin as soon as possible so it can be approved by the current Diet session. Under the system, cards carrying numbers, individuals’ photos and IC chips would be issued to all ci

The success of North Korea’s third nuclear test last month and its warning of more to come this year show that China’s policy on the Korean Peninsula has been an abject failure. While the world swiftly condemned Pyongyang’s “provocative act,” the Chinese leadership appeared deeply split over what should be Beijing’s appropriate response. The split led Xinhua news agency and the Global Times, both official mouthpieces of the Chinese government, to publish diametrically opposite editorials on hand

Here come those dastardly dams!In Asia, Africa and the Middle East, nations are aggressively building new hydroelectric dams, seemingly heedless of the potentially disastrous effects on the countries downstream.As examples, Laos broke ground on a new Mekong River dam that’s causing concern bordering on fury in Cambodia and Vietnam. India is enraged about a new Chinese dam going up on the Brahmaputra River. And Ethiopia’s new dam on the Nile is angering Sudan, while Egypt has threatened war.What’

Robots are evoking some deep economic anxiety these days. They’re routinely mastering human tasks ― driving cars, trading securities, diagnosing diseases - - that not long ago appeared permanently beyond their capabilities. And as automated technology advances at an exponential rate, more and more jobs, in more and more fields, will be done by intelligent machines in the very near future. This transition will involve some scary trade-offs. Growth and productivity will probably accelerate, and lo

For the first time in history, the strategic objectives of the four major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula, namely the United States, China, Russia and Japan, have converged on one concept ― domestic reform and external opening of the North Korean polity and economy. The reform agenda includes denuclearization of the North, reducing military tensions on the peninsula and improving the human rights conditions in the North, and her opening up would entail economic growth and rising internat

Two and a half years after Yangdong Village was registered with UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage item, a casual visitor to this “gem” of Korea’s traditional community culture sees signs of negligence that give him worries about its future. The elegant “yangban (nobility)” houses, pavilions and libraries ― 17 compounds in all ― stand there well along with about 100 peasants’ cottages below and around them. And a modern structure was established last year at the entrance to the village to serve

The resignation of Kim Jeong-hoon, President Park Geun-hye’s science minister nominee, is another painful reminder that Korea badly needs to reform its politics before trying to rejuvenate its economy. The nomination of Kim for the post of future planning and science minister was seen by many as the highlight of Park’s ministerial appointments made last month. Such a view is justified by Kim’s distinguished career. Since 2005, Kim has served as the president of Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, one of t

Former presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo’s decision to run for a parliamentary seat in April signals that the software entrepreneur-turned politician has started to position himself to take another shot at the presidency ― this time using a different approach. Ahn, 51, founder of AhnLab, Korea’s largest anti-virus software company, had no political experience to speak of when he announced his independent candidacy last September.The hugely popular businessman could have become a lawmaker had he

Having spent some time in foreign countries and still having frequent business trips to other countries, I have come to realize that there is one peculiar thing that can be observed on the streets in Seoul. It is interesting, to say the least, to note that walking down the streets of Seoul we frequently encounter people who spit on the sidewalk. Some drivers do this while their cars are waiting for the green signal and gentlemen in nice suits clear their throat on the pavement without the slight

Where is most cosmetic surgery performed? If you answered the USA, you are correct. When it comes to sheer numbers, more cosmetic surgery procedures are carried out in America than anywhere else, with over 3 million performed in 2011. However, according to new figures, when population is accounted for, Korea leads the world, followed by Greece and Italy. The figures, from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, show that Korea has the highest proportion of its population undergoi

It is too soon to predict how the U.S. Supreme Court will deal with the issue of same-sex marriage, but history has already been made. The Department of Justice argued last week that in the context of marriage (and everywhere else), courts should treat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation with essentially the same hostility they apply to discrimination on the basis of race and sex. To understand the importance of that argument, detailed in a brief opposing a 2008 California law bann

With the newly inaugurated Park administration beginning to reshuffle and rename government ministries, many major newspapers are discussing the rather odd ministry names used by the previous administration. Perhaps the most outstanding name in dispute is the “Ministry of Knowledge Economy.” One may wonder, “How exactly does ‘knowledge’ relate to ‘economy’?” Judging by the title alone, it is hard to grasp what the ministry does. Although the term “knowledge economy” has been used by Peter Drucke

After more than a year of bitter partisan fighting, Congress on Thursday finally reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, including new provisions that will extend the law’s protections for gay, lesbian, transgender and Native American victims of domestic violence. It’s about time.There is no rational explanation for why lawmakers took so long to reauthorize this legislation, which was first enacted in 1994 and had been renewed twice with broad bipartisan support. Admittedly, the revised law

If you burrowed into the home office earlier this week instead of braving the snow and sleet to get to your cubicle, you might have paused to give thanks that you don’t work for Marissa Mayer.The Yahoo CEO, America’s most famous working mom, became America’s most famous monster boss after issuing a no-more-telecommuting edict. Starting in June, employees who have been allowed to work from home will be required to report to Yahoo’s offices instead. So much for that 21st century no-walls workplace

“Housewives.” “Homemakers.” They don’t look like four-letter words, do they?But that’s what they became in the aftermath of the publication of Betty Friedan’s book about the “problem that has no name,” which gave a voice to the female yearning to be someone who was more than married to a house.It’s been 50 years since the late Ms. Friedan’s book, “The Feminine Mystique,” ignited a wave of bra-burning and contempt for men and domesticity. The women’s movement has ebbed and flowed over the decades

PARIS ― When Ben Affleck’s “Argo” ― a film based on the true-life, CIA-assisted Canadian operation to rescue American diplomats during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 ― won the Oscar for Best Picture, all I could think about was how badly Iran blew a prime opportunity to keep quiet for once.Iranian Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini is so incensed with the portrayal of his country in “Argo” that the government is financing a film in response. Look, Canadians took issue with some “Argo” distor

PARIS ― In his masterpiece “Diplomacy,” Henry Kissinger describes, probably too idyllically, the international balance-of-power system that, following the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815, produced what came to be called the “Concert of Europe.” As Kissinger describes it, after the Napoleonic Wars, “There was not only a physical equilibrium, but a moral one. Power and justice were in substantial harmony.” Of course, the concert ended in cacophony with the outbreak of World War I in the summer of

As details continue to emerge about the killing of Reeva Steenkamp by the Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, one fact appears to be certain: The man known as the “Blade Runner” did fire four bullets through a bathroom door in his South African home, killing his girlfriend. Thus, it might appear that this will be an open-and-shut case when Pistorius goes before a judge in a trial that will inevitably become a media spectacle in South Africa and beyond on the scale of the O.J. Simpson trial. But as m

I was born in 1946, just when the boomer wave began. Bill Clinton was born that year, too. So was George W. Bush, as was Laura Bush. And then the next year, Hillary Rodham. And soon Newt Gingrich (known as “Newty” as a boy). And, also in 1946, Cher. (Every time I begin feeling old, I remind myself she’s slightly older.)Why did so many of us begin coming into the world in 1946? Demographers have given this a great deal of attention, but it’s not that complicated.My father, for example, was in Wor

SYDNEY ― In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 22, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed the audience of officials, experts, and journalists that Japan is “back” and will not stand down in its ongoing sovereignty dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. With Chinese provocations on the rise, U.S. President Barack Obama, Abe’s host, appealed for calm and restraint on both sides.Japan is likely to accede ― grudgingly ― to Am