Max Fisher - The Japan Times

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Max Fisher

For Max Fisher's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

WORLD

Oct 12, 2022

Bombing Kyiv into submission? History says it won’t work.

Even though it creates misery and loss, the methodical bombing of civilian centers has more often been shown to rally support for resistance.

Japan Times

WORLD

May 26, 2022

After mass gun killings, other nations changed course — to notable effect

Only the U.S., whose rate and severity of mass shootings is without parallel outside of conflict zones, has so consistently refused to answer those events with tightened gun laws.

Japan Times

WORLD

Dec 2, 2021

The next challenge to vaccinating Africa: Overcoming skepticism

There are growing signs in parts of Africa, as well as South Asia, that skepticism or outright hostility toward the COVID-19 vaccines may run deeper than expected.

Japan Times

WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS

Dec 24, 2013

Why world's newest country is nearing civil war

It was considered one of the world's great successes when South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9, 2011. After many unhappy years as a region of Sudan, the new country declared its independence with crucial support from the outside world, particularly the United States.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 6, 2013

Why is the U.S. OK with Israel having nukes but not Iran?

Could Iranian officials have a point when they sometimes respond to accusations that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability by not-so-subtly nodding to the one country in the region that does have nuclear weapons: Israel?

JAPAN / ANALYSIS

Dec 1, 2013

Does China ADIZ take focus off 'real enemy'?

China has one of the largest and most consequential militaries in the world, but how Beijing thinks about its military and makes military decisions is largely a mystery to the outside world. The People's Liberation Army is technically attached to the Chinese Communist Party, rather than to the Chinese government, and scholars often describe it as a "black box" because it is so difficult to understand from the outside.

Japan Times

WORLD

Oct 30, 2013

U.S. spying on friends prompts look at 'adversarial' international system

A week now after the initial revelation that the United States may have monitored the cellphone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, there's little doubt that the story has been damaging for this country and for the National Security Agency, which earned the wrath of even longtime defender Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who oversees it as the Senate Intelligence Committee chair. At the same time, though, the initial anger appears to be giving way to debate: Is it, in fact, a bad idea for the United States to spy on friendly foreign leaders such as Merkel?

Japan Times

WORLD

Oct 26, 2013

Saudi driver's license protest kick-starts nation's women's rights movement

Women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia were set to get behind the wheel en masse Saturday to protest their government's refusal to allow women to have driver's licenses — a demonstration that comes just two years after a similar push. While the earlier effort was not successful, it did kick-start some very gradual progress on women's rights, setting the stage for this weekend's demonstration. The story of how Saudi women got from the 2011 driving protest to this one hints at how far they've come and how far they have to go.

Japan Times

WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS

Oct 23, 2013

The reasons long-time allies Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are moving apart

Ever since the United States and Saudi Arabia fell into something of an alliance in the late 1970s, the world's most unlikely partnership has had lots of down moments.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Oct 19, 2013

U.S. helped asylum-seeker Wang tell Beijing about Bo in 2012: Clinton

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has disclosed new information about the United States' role in a major 2012 diplomatic incident in which a Chinese official sought asylum at a U.S. consulate but was turned away. The incident — which helped trigger the downfall of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, one of China's biggest political scandals in decades — has long been shrouded in a degree of mystery.

Japan Times

WORLD

Sep 1, 2013

The Syria questions you were too afraid to ask

The United States is preparing for a possibly imminent series of limited military strikes against Syria, the first direct U.S. intervention in the two-year civil war, in retaliation for President Bashar Assad's suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.

Japan Times

WORLD / ANALYSIS

Jul 6, 2013

U.S. has spotty record on aid cuts after coups

The Foreign Assistance Act, a U.S. law first enacted in 1961, is pretty clear: It says, in Section 508, that the United States must cut aid to any country "whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 10, 2013

Why South Korea has already won

Pop stars, bourgeois lifestyle commentary and funny videos often seem to interest young South Koreans more than the latest provocation by the North.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Apr 3, 2013

Kennedys have long, storied diplomatic history with Japan

Depending on which report you read, Caroline Kennedy is either definitely going to be appointed as the next U.S. ambassador to Japan or probably going to be appointed.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 25, 2013

Did success have a prayer in Iraq?

It is possible the invasion of Iraq was a mistake that might have still been executed much more effectively for a much better outcome after 10 years.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Society

Feb 23, 2013

American teacher's spin on Japan's racism riles Net nationalists

Japan's informal army of young, hyper-nationalist Web users puts U.S. citizen Miki Dezaki in its cross hairs for uploading a video titled 'Racism in Japan' on YouTube.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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