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David Howell
For David Howell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2022
U.K.-Japan relations grow stronger amid these trying times
U.K. and Japanese relations grow stronger amid trying times marred by war and rising inflation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2022
Is it the end of Trump and Trumpism?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump winning re-election would not bode well for the future of America or the world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2022
The dilemmas and delusions of Britain's political and economic predicaments
Britain is facing several issues, including whether to keep new Prime Minister Liz Truss in office or replace her after recent political setbacks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2022
The fate of the Commonwealth after Queen Elizabeth’s death
More than just a a relic of the old British Empire, where does the Commonwealth's future lie with its new king amid a rapidly transforming world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2022
Why the Ukraine outcome is central to all our futures
Can either side in the Ukraine war possibly u201cwinu201d in the pure sense of inflicting full defeat on the other and how much pain is the West going to have to bear?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 1, 2022
An economic lesson from Japan
How does Japan, which imports massive volumes of oil and with a weakening currency, keep inflation so low?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2022
Escaping a confusing global energy maze
There are many contradictions affecting the oil and gas markets, such as governments trying to phase out fossil fuels while also demanding increased production.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2022
A global inflation problem like no other — and what can be done about it
Boosting oil output is not the usual solution to an inflationary outburst, but it's just about the only one that will work quickly.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2022
Weighing the cost of short-term expedients against long-term necessities
It is becoming clear that the worldu2019s policymakers are caught in a dreadful confusion: a confusion between short-term fixes or long-term necessities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2022
Amid global energy chaos, uncertainties grow
For modern nations, primary energy supplies are the lifeline of national existence. Cut that line, even for a moment, and you can be certain of deep political instability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2022
The solution to the Ukraine crisis lies in Asia
Sanctions and embargoes from the West against Russia over the Ukraine invasion will count for nothing if they are offset by business as usual in Asia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2022
As tensions over the Ukraine worsen, is the West on the wrong track?
The Ukraine conflict is going to be fought in the realms of cyberspace, financial sanctions and the global energy front. This is where Russia can be made to feel pain.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2021
China vs. the British Commonwealth
A current situation within the Commonwealth can be summed up in four words, "the Chinese have arrived," to which the critic can add four more words, "the British have departed."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2021
Fixing Europe’s migrant predicament requires a new approach
The causes behind the sudden and ugly new migrant tableau are blurred, but one theory is the Belarus government may be inviting immigrants in and then urging them to enter Poland and the EU.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2021
An energy crisis like no other
Transforming the worldu2019s fuel mix to mitigate climate change requires balance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2021
The submarine row that is sinking diplomatic relations
France is furious that its plan to supply Australia with submarines has been swept aside by the new pact with the United Kingdom and the United States.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2021
The era of depending on U.S. military might for security has passed
The global battlefield has shifted and the world's democracies should and can no longer rely on America to guarantee their security.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2021
A nuclear crisis foreseen and predicted
The U.K.'s decline in nuclear power production is due to the growing obsolescence of the nation's aging power plants u2014 and rectifying the situation is proving difficult.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2021
The changing battlefield and winning future conflicts
The powerful supercarrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship ever built by Britain, with its crew of 2,500, has now arrived in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean where it is holding joint drills and maneuvers with units of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2021
How the Irish question affects us all
Partition of Ireland was the solution in the last century, but now it persists as the impossible problem in this one.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world