Latest news with #Vogel
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Opinion: Japan needs true vision of peace toward next 80 years
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) -- In 1979, a Harvard University Professor and American sociologist, the late Ezra Vogel, published a book that became a runaway bestseller in both Japan and the United States. While most commentators at the time focused on its eye-catching main title, "Japan as Number One," the subtitle was equally compelling: Lessons for America. Vogel at times joked that his book had sold for the wrong reasons. He had tried to understand and explain the societal forces behind Japan's economic miracle, but an even stronger motivation had been his alarm at America's decline. He thought it was Japanese society as a whole that carried lessons for America. Living in Japan, I find myself periodically revisiting Vogel's book, reflecting on its ongoing relevance for our times. As America moves in directions unknown to its allies, enemies and maybe even to itself, what lessons might he have drawn for Japan today? He would start with a reality check of Japan's deep-rooted challenges: a region fraught with geopolitical tensions, the constant risk of large-scale natural disasters, an aging and declining population and other woes. Yet he would also be the first to remind of Japan's strengths, such as its peace credentials, its resilient democracy and rule of law, its educated population, its safety, world-class cultural traditions and public institutions. In light of the political and societal changes unfolding in the United States, however, I believe there are at least three immediate areas where Japan needs to significantly speed up its transformation. These are in peace diplomacy, higher education, and environmental sustainability. How can Japan maintain its peace credentials in a period of increasing security threats and military buildup in the region? How can it ensure its own protection and safeguard alliances, while at the same time preserving the Peace Constitution's legacy? How can it control a rising military budget without damaging the country's social fabric at a time of competing national expenditures? My peace activist friends in Hiroshima often criticize their government for not providing meaningful leadership in nuclear disarmament negotiations. On the other hand, considering Japan is under the nuclear umbrella of the United States, the government's stance is bound to be, at best, a difficult balancing act. Despite such constraints, Japan can do more to articulate its own unique and genuine vision of peace. Tokyo remains far too deferential to Washington. As times change, the world needs a more independent expression of what Japan means when it says peace. As to higher education, Japanese universities lag significantly in global rankings, with its best performer, the University of Tokyo, currently at around 28th. Despite decades of policies to consolidate and internationalize, the sector struggles to attract foreign talent. Japan's affordable higher education and attractive culture and society could be strong draws for international students, particularly at a time when many worry about the U.S. administration's policies on student visas and unsettling moves to muzzle academic freedoms. Yet language barriers and a lack of professional opportunities for foreign graduates remain daunting. I have worked with many bright students in Japan who ultimately, and reluctantly, left the country after graduation to settle elsewhere. This is a great loss. Japan needs to attract and keep foreign graduates and young professionals, helping them integrate much more easily. Language acquisition is key. Finally, it is clear that the current U.S. administration has decided to abdicate its environmental leadership role. Japan can step in to fill the gap but currently punches far below its weight: in a 2024 OECD survey of 30 countries, Japan ranked 23rd in sustainability. Despite technological prowess and a vast potential for renewable energy from geothermal, solar, and tidal sources, it is still highly dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. While ordinary citizens diligently sort out the mountains of plastic waste the country produces, groundbreaking innovation in waste management or the circular economy still seem in the distant future. Efforts to decarbonize infrastructure and promote green architecture lag, and the promised green revolution advances more at a crawl. For a country that seamlessly marries high-end technology with mottainai and wabi-sabi traditions, Japan is a natural source of leadership in addressing environmental threats. It should seize the chance. Eighty years after the war Japan has overcome many challenges, but it cannot remain as it is. To paraphrase the main character in "The Leopard" by author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, "For things to remain the same, everything must change." (Nassrine Azimi, a co-founder of a global initiative called Green Legacy Hiroshima which promotes peace through atomic-bombed trees, was an original member of the U.N. Institute for Training and Research and served as the first director of its Hiroshima Office.)
Kyodo News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Kyodo News
OPINION: Japan needs true vision of peace toward next 80 years
HIROSHIMA - In 1979, a Harvard University Professor and American sociologist, the late Ezra Vogel, published a book that became a runaway bestseller in both Japan and the United States. While most commentators at the time focused on its eye-catching main title, "Japan as Number One," the subtitle was equally compelling: Lessons for America. Vogel at times joked that his book had sold for the wrong reasons. He had tried to understand and explain the societal forces behind Japan's economic miracle, but an even stronger motivation had been his alarm at America's decline. He thought it was Japanese society as a whole that carried lessons for America. Living in Japan, I find myself periodically revisiting Vogel's book, reflecting on its ongoing relevance for our times. As America moves in directions unknown to its allies, enemies and maybe even to itself, what lessons might he have drawn for Japan today? He would start with a reality check of Japan's deep-rooted challenges: a region fraught with geopolitical tensions, the constant risk of large-scale natural disasters, an aging and declining population and other woes. Yet he would also be the first to remind of Japan's strengths, such as its peace credentials, its resilient democracy and rule of law, its educated population, its safety, world-class cultural traditions and public institutions. In light of the political and societal changes unfolding in the United States, however, I believe there are at least three immediate areas where Japan needs to significantly speed up its transformation. These are in peace diplomacy, higher education, and environmental sustainability. How can Japan maintain its peace credentials in a period of increasing security threats and military buildup in the region? How can it ensure its own protection and safeguard alliances, while at the same time preserving the Peace Constitution's legacy? How can it control a rising military budget without damaging the country's social fabric at a time of competing national expenditures? My peace activist friends in Hiroshima often criticize their government for not providing meaningful leadership in nuclear disarmament negotiations. On the other hand, considering Japan is under the nuclear umbrella of the United States, the government's stance is bound to be, at best, a difficult balancing act. Despite such constraints, Japan can do more to articulate its own unique and genuine vision of peace. Tokyo remains far too deferential to Washington. As times change, the world needs a more independent expression of what Japan means when it says peace. As to higher education, Japanese universities lag significantly in global rankings, with its best performer, the University of Tokyo, currently at around 28th. Despite decades of policies to consolidate and internationalize, the sector struggles to attract foreign talent. Japan's affordable higher education and attractive culture and society could be strong draws for international students, particularly at a time when many worry about the U.S. administration's policies on student visas and unsettling moves to muzzle academic freedoms. Yet language barriers and a lack of professional opportunities for foreign graduates remain daunting. I have worked with many bright students in Japan who ultimately, and reluctantly, left the country after graduation to settle elsewhere. This is a great loss. Japan needs to attract and keep foreign graduates and young professionals, helping them integrate much more easily. Language acquisition is key. Finally, it is clear that the current U.S. administration has decided to abdicate its environmental leadership role. Japan can step in to fill the gap but currently punches far below its weight: in a 2024 OECD survey of 30 countries, Japan ranked 23rd in sustainability. Despite technological prowess and a vast potential for renewable energy from geothermal, solar, and tidal sources, it is still highly dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. While ordinary citizens diligently sort out the mountains of plastic waste the country produces, groundbreaking innovation in waste management or the circular economy still seem in the distant future. Efforts to decarbonize infrastructure and promote green architecture lag, and the promised green revolution advances more at a crawl. For a country that seamlessly marries high-end technology with mottainai and wabi-sabi traditions, Japan is a natural source of leadership in addressing environmental threats. It should seize the chance. Eighty years after the war Japan has overcome many challenges, but it cannot remain as it is. To paraphrase the main character in "The Leopard" by author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, "For things to remain the same, everything must change." (Nassrine Azimi, a co-founder of a global initiative called Green Legacy Hiroshima which promotes peace through atomic-bombed trees, was an original member of the U.N. Institute for Training and Research and served as the first director of its Hiroshima Office.)
Japan Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Japan needs true vision of peace toward next 80 years
opinion By Nassrine Azimi In 1979, a Harvard University Professor and American sociologist, the late Ezra Vogel, published a book that became a runaway bestseller in both Japan and the United States. While most commentators at the time focused on its eye-catching main title, "Japan as Number One," the subtitle was equally compelling: Lessons for America. Vogel at times joked that his book had sold for the wrong reasons. He had tried to understand and explain the societal forces behind Japan's economic miracle, but an even stronger motivation had been his alarm at America's decline. He thought it was Japanese society as a whole that carried lessons for America. Living in Japan, I find myself periodically revisiting Vogel's book, reflecting on its ongoing relevance for our times. As America moves in directions unknown to its allies, enemies and maybe even to itself, what lessons might he have drawn for Japan today? He would start with a reality check of Japan's deep-rooted challenges: a region fraught with geopolitical tensions, the constant risk of large-scale natural disasters, an aging and declining population and other woes. Yet he would also be the first to remind of Japan's strengths, such as its peace credentials, its resilient democracy and rule of law, its educated population, its safety, world-class cultural traditions and public institutions. In light of the political and societal changes unfolding in the United States, however, I believe there are at least three immediate areas where Japan needs to significantly speed up its transformation. These are in peace diplomacy, higher education, and environmental sustainability. How can Japan maintain its peace credentials in a period of increasing security threats and military buildup in the region? How can it ensure its own protection and safeguard alliances, while at the same time preserving the Peace Constitution's legacy? How can it control a rising military budget without damaging the country's social fabric at a time of competing national expenditures? My peace activist friends in Hiroshima often criticize their government for not providing meaningful leadership in nuclear disarmament negotiations. On the other hand, considering Japan is under the nuclear umbrella of the United States, the government's stance is bound to be, at best, a difficult balancing act. Despite such constraints, Japan can do more to articulate its own unique and genuine vision of peace. Tokyo remains far too deferential to Washington. As times change, the world needs a more independent expression of what Japan means when it says peace. As to higher education, Japanese universities lag significantly in global rankings, with its best performer, the University of Tokyo, currently at around 28th. Despite decades of policies to consolidate and internationalize, the sector struggles to attract foreign talent. Japan's affordable higher education and attractive culture and society could be strong draws for international students, particularly at a time when many worry about the U.S. administration's policies on student visas and unsettling moves to muzzle academic freedoms. Yet language barriers and a lack of professional opportunities for foreign graduates remain daunting. I have worked with many bright students in Japan who ultimately, and reluctantly, left the country after graduation to settle elsewhere. This is a great loss. Japan needs to attract and keep foreign graduates and young professionals, helping them integrate much more easily. Language acquisition is key. Finally, it is clear that the current U.S. administration has decided to abdicate its environmental leadership role. Japan can step in to fill the gap but currently punches far below its weight: in a 2024 OECD survey of 30 countries, Japan ranked 23rd in sustainability. Despite technological prowess and a vast potential for renewable energy from geothermal, solar, and tidal sources, it is still highly dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. While ordinary citizens diligently sort out the mountains of plastic waste the country produces, groundbreaking innovation in waste management or the circular economy still seem in the distant future. Efforts to decarbonize infrastructure and promote green architecture lag, and the promised green revolution advances more at a crawl. For a country that seamlessly marries high-end technology with mottainai and wabi-sabi traditions, Japan is a natural source of leadership in addressing environmental threats. It should seize the chance. Eighty years after the war Japan has overcome many challenges, but it cannot remain as it is. To paraphrase the main character in "The Leopard" by author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, "For things to remain the same, everything must change." Nassrine Azimi, a co-founder of a global initiative called Green Legacy Hiroshima which promotes peace through atomic-bombed trees, was an original member of the U.N. Institute for Training and Research and served as the first director of its Hiroshima Office. © KYODO
San Francisco Chronicle
03-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Vogel joining Kidd's staff with Mavs in reunion for title-winning tandem, AP source says
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are poised to add Frank Vogel to coach Jason Kidd's staff in a reunion for a tandem that won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday night. Vogel was the head coach and Kidd one of his assistants when the Lakers won their 17th championship in the Florida 'bubble.' The roles will be reversed this time, with Vogel serving as associate head coach after spending this past season as a consultant for the Mavericks. Both coaches are 52. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal with Vogel isn't finalized. Kidd stayed with Vogel one more season in LA before replacing Rick Carlisle as coach of the Mavericks in 2021-22. Dallas went to the Western Conference finals that season, then to the NBA Finals two years later. Kidd joined Vogel's staff in LA after getting fired in Milwaukee. His head coaching career began in Brooklyn in 2013-14, immediately after the Hall of Fame point guard retired as a player. The Lakers fired Vogel two years after winning the title. After a year away from the bench, Vogel spent just one season with Phoenix in 2023-24, getting fired after the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Vogel also has been the head coach in Indiana and Orlando. He led the Pacers to consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013-14. Indiana lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat both years. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vogel joining Kidd's staff with Mavs in reunion for title-winning tandem, AP source says
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are poised to add Frank Vogel to coach Jason Kidd's staff in a reunion for a tandem that won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday night. Vogel was the head coach and Kidd one of his assistants when the Lakers won their 17th championship in the Florida 'bubble.' The roles will be reversed this time, with Vogel serving as associate head coach after spending this past season as a consultant for the Mavericks. Both coaches are 52. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal with Vogel isn't finalized. Kidd stayed with Vogel one more season in LA before replacing Rick Carlisle as coach of the Mavericks in 2021-22. Dallas went to the Western Conference finals that season, then to the NBA Finals two years later. Kidd joined Vogel's staff in LA after getting fired in Milwaukee. His head coaching career began in Brooklyn in 2013-14, immediately after the Hall of Fame point guard retired as a player. The Lakers fired Vogel two years after winning the title. After a year away from the bench, Vogel spent just one season with Phoenix in 2023-24, getting fired after the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Vogel also has been the head coach in Indiana and Orlando. He led the Pacers to consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013-14. Indiana lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat both years. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP NBA:
