Asia Times

Many in Japan are dismayed by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's claim that "comfort women" were necessary for the morale of troops in World War II. Abetted by the present government, more incendiary sound-bites from the far-right can only be expected. They are symptomatic of the nation's failure to come to terms with a checkered past. - Walden Bello (May 23, '13)

The strategic consequences of a sustained North Korean nuclear weapons program are immensely troublesome. As neighbors such as South Korea and Japan consider possible countermeasures, they might consider it time to reassess whether nuclear weapons are an option to maintain an "ugly stability" in the region. - Tahir Mahmood Azad (May 23, '13)

The United States Congress has stepped closer to a full trade embargo on Iran with legislation intended to increase support for Israel. If it is passed into law, President Barack Obama would lose his waiver rights that ensure countries with historic trade and financial relations with Tehran continue cooperating with Western efforts to pressure Iran over its nuclear program. - Jim Lobe (May 23, '13)

Several agreements including plans to work on developing a north-south economic corridor marked Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Islamabad this week. China has been a strong ally to its southern neighbor, but critics in Pakistan urge the government there to stop deluding itself and recognize that India is of far more importance to Beijing. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (May 23, '13)

Elections in Pakistan have seen one crony replaced with another, further distancing from power the educated and intelligent young generation that could shape a new future for the nation. Unless the generals and their political accomplices hand some power to the people, the moral and intellectual thread of society will continue to unwind. - Mahboob A Khawaja (May 23, '13)

The death last week of former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla resonated with South Korean victims of their countries' past dictatorships, particularly as an Argentine human-rights group was coincidentally visiting Seoul to receive a human-rights award for work on ending Videla's impunity. Though separated by thousands of kilometers, the tales of the "disappeared" and the oppressed are strikingly familiar. - Stephanie Wildes (May 23, '13)

The Kyrgyz government faces a rough ride when it reports to parliament on Thursday on its economic performance over the past year, but First Deputy Prime Minister Joomart Otorbaev is accentuating the positive, including strong growth, slow inflation and less red tape. - Gulnura Toralieva

Water shortages are endangering the livelihood of farmers on northwest Bangladesh, as drastically low rainfall fails to replenish the falling water table, while once-abundant flows from nearby rivers in the region are stemmed by damns across the border in India. - Naimul Haq