Prospects for Islam in post‐Soeharto Indonesia∗

The Islamic parties combined may win a majority of the popular vote in the general elections in Indonesia in June, says Professor Mitsuo Nakamura of the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Chiba University, but there is virtually no possibility that so‐called “Islamic fundamentalism” will gain influence, and little likelihood that a solid Islamic bloc dominating both legislative and executive bodies of the government would initiate a comprehensive program of Islamization. In this article, Nakamura discusses the implications of the growing number of Islamic political parties for the future of Indonesian politics, and whether the emergence of these parties is likely to be detrimental or conducive to the reconstruction of Indonesia's national life on a more democratic footing.     

Death following spontaneous recovery from cardiopulmonary arrest in a hospital mortuary: 'Lazarus phenomenon' in a case of alleged medical negligence

We report a possibly first forensic autopsy case of death following a spontaneous recovery from cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) after clinical declaration of death: 'Lazarus phenomenon'. A 65-year-old male with congenital deafness and dumbness was found unconscious in his room at a public home. During pre-hospital and clinical resuscitation including defibrillation and medications for about 35 min, CPA persisted under electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring and therefore, his death was pronounced. However, about 20 min later, a police officer who had been called for the postmortem investigation found the patient moving in the mortuary. The patient subsequently showed typical ECG signs and laboratory findings of early inferior wall myocardial infarction and died 4 days later. The forensic autopsy, due to alleged medical negligence, revealed myocardial infarction with thrombotic occlusion of the right coronary artery and secondary hypoxic brain damage. The present case and the related clinical literature suggest that, especially in cases of acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients, a careful observation to confirm death after discontinuation of resuscitation is recommended to provide appropriate medical care, irrespective of the quality or duration of advanced life supporting efforts.     

Interests of Asian Countries in the Review of the Dispute Settlement Procedure

FeaturesofDSprocedure .TheWTOsystemisarule basedinternationaltradingsystemasopposedtobeingapower orientedtradingsys tem .Itgivesstabilityandpredictabilitytointernationaltrade.Lookingatfiguresofdisputes ,itisremarkablethatbetween 1 947 1 994inwhichtheoldGATTsystemoperated ,therewereabout30 0disputesonrecordandthat,from1 995whentheWTOwasinitiatedto 2 0 0 3,therewereabout 30 0disputes.ThismeansthatthedisputesettlementprocedureoftheWTOismuchmorefrequentlyusedascomparedwiththedisputesettlemen…     

Asian currency turmoil: What the turmoil taught

Mitsuo Sato, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), examines the causes of the East Asian financial crisis, and points out some lessons that can be learned from it. The ADB, he says, will have to accelerate its efforts to transform itself from a conventional project financier to a broad‐based development institution, in order to meet the changing needs of the Asian region. Policies related to the overall sustainability of the development process should be central to the Bank's operations, and it should focus on building up institutional capacities in its developing member countries. The ADB can use its credentials to catalyze resources for member countries, and should continue to promote sub‐regional cooperation.