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April 16, 2024
 

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Omar Ashour
For Omar Ashour's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2017
No end in sight for Syria's balance of terror
In a war with endlessly shifting priorities, conflicting aims, few credible commitments and plenty of foreign meddling, any ceasefire today is just as likely to be broken by violence tomorrow.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2016
The Islamic State group's European strategy
Europe needs its democracies to unite around a common strategy to defend against manifold security challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2015
Putin plays Syrian roulette
No solution for Islamic State and Syria can be achieved without a green light from Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2015
Mass death sentences now a part of life in Egypt
With its mass death sentences, Egypt's military regime is joining the ranks of Adolf Hitler's Nazis and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2015
What good is an Arab armed alliance?
Will an Arab military alliance leave the Middle East better or worse off, particularly given today's growing Sunni-Shiite divide?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2013
Egypt's new revolution endangers democracy
If the junta-led political process can somehow roll back from exclusion and media repression, Egypt may yet see a transition similar to Turkey's after 1997.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2012
Egypt's democratic dictator?
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first-ever elected civilian president, recently granted himself sweeping temporary powers in order, he claims, to attain the objectives of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2012
Coming to grips with Libya's jihadists
"They are armed and I am not going to fight a losing battle and kill my men over a demolished shrine," said Fawzi Abd al-'Aali, the former Libyan interior minister, before he "resigned" last August.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2012
Egypt's new old government
Egypt's first-ever freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, has appointed his first Cabinet, and guess what? It is crammed with officials from the old regime.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012
Libyan election another Arab Spring paradox
"We certainly did not expect the results, but ... our future is certainly better than our present and our past," said Sami al-Saadi, the former ideologue of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the founder of the political party al-Umma al-Wasat, which finished third in Central Tripoli during Libya's recent parliamentary election.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2012
Who will triumph in Egypt?
Everything about Egypt's revolution has been unexpected, and the first-round results in the country's first-ever competitive presidential election are no different.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2012
What does Egypt's military leadership want?
"Whatever the majority in the People's Assembly, they are very welcome, because they won't have the ability to impose anything that the people don't want."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2012
Salafi challenge to an Egypt ruled without God
"We want democracy, but one constrained by God's laws. Ruling without God's laws is infidelity," Yasser Burhami, the second leading figure in the Salafi Call Society (SCS) and its most charismatic leader, recently said.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2011
Lack of leadership hobbles Egypt's revolution
The man who taught me to sacrifice my heart for Egypt is dead," said Vivian Magdi, mourning her fiancé. Michael Mosad was killed in the Maspiro area Oct. 9, when an armored vehicle hit him during a protest called to condemn an attack on an Egyptian Church in the southern Aswan region. The protest left 24 dead and more than 200 injured — a higher toll than that taken by the "Battle of the Camels," when former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's security forces and armed thugs attacked pro-democracy protesters in Tahrir Square at the height of the revolution.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2011
Hosni Mubarak's last laugh?
August 3, 2011, will be remembered as a historic day in Egypt. Former President Hosni Mubarak was put on public trial, together with his two sons and his ex-interior minister, General Habib el-Adly. The repercussions for Egypt, indeed for the entire Arab world, will be profound.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2011
Was killing him a mistake?
"He lived a hero, he died a martyr. . .if they killed one Osama, a thousand others will be born," says a comment on a Facebook group called "We are all Osama bin Laden." The group formed one hour after U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of the al-Qaida leader's death. The group already has around 30,000 "likes." Moreover, there are more than 50 similar groups on Facebook.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2011
The Gadhafis: like father, like son
LONDON — "The enemy of yesterday is the friend of today . . . . [I]t was a real war, but those brothers are free men now." Thus spoke Seif al-Islam Gadhafi in March 2010, referring to the leaders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an armed organization that had attempted to assassinate his father, Moammar Gadhafi, three times in the mid-1990s.
Japan’s young workers head abroad as huge wage gap persists
The departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Now with inflation at its strongest in decades, Japanese are starting to realize that years of static wages leave many of them budgeting each month before their next pay check.
EVs head for junkyard as mechanic shortage inflates repair costs
An AA patrol for electric vehicles in Birmingham, England. Fewer than 10% of the U.K.’s 236,000 auto mechanics are qualified to work directly on EV batteries or their cases, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry.
Japan strongly condemns Iranian attack on Israel as 'escalation'
Missiles are showcased in a parade marking Iran's National Army Day in Tehran on April 18, 2023.
Worries remain one year to go before Osaka Expo
Construction at Yumeshima island, the venue for the Osaka Expo
How ‘winged’ gyōza took flight from a Tokyo suburb
The creator of "hanetsuki gyōza" is Isao Yagi, and his restaurant, Nihao, can be found right on the border of Tokyo and Kawasaki in Ota Ward.
For Modi, the Indian election is less about winning and more about by how much
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar, India, on April 6, ahead of the country's upcoming general election starting Friday.
Akebono's human side eclipsed his incredible sumo achievements
The heights Akebono reached in sumo helped pave the way for future foreign-born yokozuna Asashoryu and Hakuho.
Ohtani’s dizzying three weeks end in exoneration by authorities
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani during a spring training game on March 12.
How ‘winged’ gyōza took flight from a Tokyo suburb
The creator of "hanetsuki gyōza" is Isao Yagi, and his restaurant, Nihao, can be found right on the border of Tokyo and Kawasaki in Ota Ward.
How Ippei Mizuhara allegedly wired millions from Shohei Ohtani’s account
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in December at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California

Podcast

Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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