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Kent Harrington
For Kent Harrington's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Harvard historian Calder Walton says U.S. leaders have ignored China’s massive, multifront intelligence push.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2023
The vulnerability of open societies to foreign espionage
Are Western nations, with their open societies, making the same mistake with China as they did with the Soviet Union?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2023
Xi Jinping has a Russian albatross around his neck
Given the growing political turmoil in the Kremlin, Xi Jinping's big bet on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, has become much riskier.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2023
What do America’s spies really think about China?
While U.S. spy agencies focus on China’s military, economic and technological capabilities, they omit too much when it comes to the country’s domestic political challenges.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2022
The South China Sea’s environmental crisis
China's expansive assertion of offshore sovereignty is not only challenging others' territorial rights, it is also threatening a central feature of the Southeast Asian ecosystem — fishing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2021
Unfortunately for North Korea, there is a new boss in the White House
Despite making economic development his domestic priority five years ago, Kim has failed to improve basic living conditions in the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2020
Chairman Kim goes back on script
U.S. President Donald Trump's 'bromance' with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has played out more or less as most experts expected.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2019
Kim Jong Un's moneyball strategy
The North's leader is quietly building a united front with China and Russia, much to the detriment of U.S. interests in the region.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2019
Trump's North Korean road to nowhere
Judging by the outcome of the first meeting between Trump and Kim, U.S. allies in the region have good reason to be deeply concerned.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2018
How Kim has gotten the best of Trump
Since the historic June summit, the North Koreans have reaped significant benefits without having to make any real concessions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2018
The populist war against intelligence
Ominously for the health of the democracies of the West, other populists are following Donald Trump's example in attacking their own intelligence agencies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2018
Trump is in denial about North Korea
Donald Trump needs to put substance ahead of spectacle — and U.S. allies ahead of his own fragile ego — before it is too late.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2018
Will China 'weaponize' social media?
Now that Russia has shown how cybertactics and informational subterfuge can upend established democracies, China will surely be taking some pages from the Kremlin's playbook.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2017
Trump's unraveling Korea policy
With every tweet by Donald Trump, Asian officials find it more difficult to believe the U.S. remains committed to their security. Nowhere is that more true than in South Korea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2015
How China is winning S.E. Asia
If push comes to shove in the South China Sea, will the U.S. find allies in its corner, or will they just be holding Uncle Sam's coat?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 24, 2015
America's bickering allies
After spending the last six decades defending South Korea and Japan, the U.S. has every reason to demand that its two longtime allies enhance their military cooperation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015
Managing North Korea's collapse
Regardless of whether the North Korean regime collapses with a bang or a whimper, ensuring that the country's nuclear weapons are not used, moved or exported is a task that will require the capabilities of the U.S. armed forces.

Longform

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