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Peter Singer
For Peter Singer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Since September 2022, Patagonia has allocated profits amounting to $71 million to environmental initiatives that include stopping a proposed mine in Alaska and conserving land in South America, as well as helping to elect pro-environment U.S. Democrats.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2024
The competitive edge of doing good in business
Are companies that give all profits to charity also doing good for their business? Some examples show they are, and that this model is worth pursuing.
International rules governing the ethical conduct of war prohibit the direct targeting of civilians but permit striking military targets, even when it is known that the strikes will kill some civilians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024
The killing of innocents in the Israel-Gaza conflict
Unmasking the true horrors in Hamas' raid into Southern Israel and the Israeli response in Gaza.
The question of when a person dies is a scientific and moral issue with far-reaching implications in the area of organ transplants, among others.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023
When does science say we die?
Debates about when a human being dies are yet unresolved, with profound implications for the medical profession and areas such as organ transplants.
Palestinians in Gaza City evacuate after an Israeli airstrike on Oct 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2023
The spiral of violence that led to Hamas
If Palestinians are ever to regain the moral high ground, they must hope for the destruction of Hamas.
A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in San Francisco in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023
With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate
Do accidents involving self-driving cars today save lives tomorrow? When it comes to self-driving cars, the challenges aren't just technical, but ethical.
A harvesting combine burns after hitting an anti-tank mine in a wheat field near the village of Vilkhivka, in Ukraine's Kharkiv Region, in July 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023
Feed the people, not the factory farms
There can be no excuse for Russia, in pursuit of its war of aggression against Ukraine, to target that country’s grain exports.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023
The coming disruption of animal food production is almost here
It will be easier to persuade people to avoid meat from animals if they can eat meat and other animal products that taste like those they know but do not require raising animals.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2023
Can we compare pain across species?
It is increasingly accepted among the general public and ethicists that preventing suffering is morally important regardless of the species of the individual who is suffering.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2023
Half a century of animal liberation is not enough
Because of the growth and further intensification of animal production, humans inflict more suffering on animals now than they did in 1975.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2023
Should we research geoengineering?
Combating climate change by intervening in planetary systems once had no support. That is no longer the case.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2023
Will the Catholic Church rethink contraception?
A break with a view of sex and procreation rooted in medieval ideas of natural law is long overdue for the Catholic Church.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2023
In defense of the art-targeting climate activists
The eco-activists targeting masterpieces can claim that civil disobedience is justified by the failure of our democracies to show sufficient concern about future generations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2022
Free speech for whom?
Elon Musk may be a u201cfree speech absolutist,u201d but Twitteru2019s new owner may already be recognizing the need to distinguish between speech that appeals to reason or that which stirs up hatred.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2022
World can remain a bystander no more
A disturbing trend is becoming evident: Governments of affluent countries are giving less foreign aid to help the world's poor and hungry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2022
Abortion and democracy in America
After the Roe v. Wade decision, many are speculating about which rights the Supreme Court will take away next.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2022
How Australia revived the political middle
The outcome of Australia's federal election in May should help to dispel the cynicism that leads many to think that politics never changes anything.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2022
Should Europe stop paying for Putin’s war?
If Europeans face economic hardship by ceasing to use Russian energy, is that really too much to ask after the invasion of Ukraine?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2022
Putin’s justification for an attack on Ukraine conjures up memories of WWII and Hitler
Similar to Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia in order to incorporate districts with a German-speaking population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2022
Is it time for plant liberation?
Plants don't have central nervous systems, nor the neurons that form the consciousness of animals, but they have dopamine and serotonin, that function like neurotransmitters.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2022
Unvaccinated creating another kind of COVID-19 victim
People who make choices that are likely to harm others, such as refusing vaccinations, and have been warned of the consequences of those choices must take responsibility for them.

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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