EDITORIALS

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025
Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might
The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
An Iranian daily newspaper displays an image of a damaged building in Israel on Sunday. Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear program has raised tensions, exposed divisions and put pressure on the U.S. to decide on its next move.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2025
Chasing peace with Iran as the Middle East smolders
Iran’s nuclear program is a danger, but so too is a wider war in the Middle East.
China’s expanding military presence and frequent exercises around Taiwan and Japan require Tokyo to strengthen the country’s defenses and diplomatic efforts against Beijing’s aggression.
EDITORIALS
Jun 13, 2025
A belligerent China hones its tools of intimidation
Recent exercises underscore the ability of the People’s Liberation Army to project power ever farther from the country’s shores.
Lee Jae-myung’s election as South Korea’s president marks a dramatic political turn after Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster, putting a seasoned progressive in charge as the country faces economic strain, tense U.S. ties and the challenge of improving relations with Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jun 6, 2025
A return to normalcy in South Korea, but hard work lies ahead
Lee's victory in a ballot to replace Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached after trying to launch a coup, caps an extraordinary life that took him from the slums to the nation’s highest office.
The Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard — cutting billions in funding, blocking foreign students, and threatening its independence — marks an unprecedented attack on U.S. higher education.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2025
U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard
The fight against Harvard will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm.
Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's newly appointed agriculture minister, arrives at the ministry building in Tokyo on Wednesday. He replaced Taku Eto, who quit after saying he’s never needed to buy rice, a comment that angered many people.
EDITORIALS
May 23, 2025
Rice price uproar intensifies ruling party's election fears
When the remarks triggered a predictable and understandable backlash, Eto explained that he was trying to make a joke.
As Japan heads into summer elections, debate over the consumption tax has intensified, with opposition parties demanding cuts to ease pressure on households and the government defending the levy as essential amid rising debt and economic uncertainty.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2025
Don’t overreact to the consumption tax debate
Economic uncertainty in combination with rising prices are squeezing the budgets of households, businesses and the government.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan