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Stephan Richter
For Stephan Richter's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2020
Can Michael Bloomberg make America proud again?
The electoral odds inside the Democratic Party are aligning in such a manner that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg could end up as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency on Nov. 3.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2019
Labour's defeat offers the left hard lessons
Some serious rethinking needs to happen if the Labour Party is not planning to be a spent, past force in British politics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2019
Macron, the Atlantic alliance and opposite day
The French government is using psy-ops and parental logic to turn U.S. President Donald Trump into a fan of NATO.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2019
Xi: Smooth talker vs. brass knuckle operator
The Chinese leader's latest global export strategy: tools for human control.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2018
Cave rescue highlights the positive power of globalism
The Thai drama shows a global community does indeed exist and can do great good.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2017
Hillary Clinton: the perfect one
Hillary Clinton's new campaign memoir remains true to her long-standing line: The fault for any mistakes always lies with others.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2017
Qatar: Is Trump striking the match for a little war?
Acting like a rhetorical warmonger, U.S. President Donald Trump is providing the Saudis with ample blessing for their internecine warfare.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2017
Iran and the Saudi deflection campaign
Donald Trump appears to have no idea that the principal source of support that Salafist terrorists use has Saudi Arabia written all over it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2016
Merkel flip-flop: don't let me be misunderstood
Germany's middle-of-the-road voters have arrived at the conclusion that Merkel should have known better than to open Germany's borders to all asylum seekers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2015
Pope and Xi should have met up in the U.S.
There aren't two leaders on Earth today who face such similar challenges in running their two organizations as Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2015
Has the U.S. learned the Vietnam War's lessons?
The Vietnamese still long for U.S. acknowledgment of the wrongs it committed when it waged the Vietnam War.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2015
Hillary's arduous road to the White House
The ultimate test for presidential candidates in the U.S. is whom voters would rather want to have over in their backyard for an afternoon barbecue. Can Hillary Clinton pass it?
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2015
What U.S. 'upward mobility'? Elites replicate themselves
There cannot be any doubt that America's renowed upward social mobility is a thing of the past. If anything, the U.S. now excels in the self-replication of economic elites — as Europe did in the 19th century.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014
Who'll pay for the Iraq sins?
Will the purveyors of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq ever do penance for their sins of warmongering?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2013
Climate change as a form of terrorism
The typhoon in the Philippines is a useful reminder that we need to think more about what can be done, both on climate mitigation and on disaster preparation.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2013
The U.S. Civil War continues
A big hoax of American history is that the Civil War ended in 1865. Unfortunately it continues — as a battle over redistributing shares of economic power in the clothing of cultural values.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2013
Larry Summers and a tale of two Harvard professors
It is hard to imagine any private bankers being so callous and socially unconscionable as Larry Summers, a leading candidate to be the next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2013
Every interventionist step spoils best-laid plans
Every interventionist step the U.S. has taken in the Middle East for 10 years has strengthened the Iranians and fomented Shiite-Sunni conflict.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?