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April 30, 2024
 

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Julian E. Barnes
For Julian E. Barnes's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Leaders of intelligence agencies testify before a congressional committee about worldwide threats in Washington on March 11.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
Campaign puts Trump and the spy agencies on a collision course
Some former officials fear that Trump, if elected again, would try to weaken intelligence agencies or undermine their independence.
An image taken from video of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet crew’s encounter with an unexplained anomalous phenomena
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024
Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien cover-up
But the new report suggests that the public’s belief that the government is hiding what it knows will probably continue.
Houthi supporters and other protesters rally in solidarity with the Palestinians in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
After U.S. strikes, Iran’s proxies scale back attacks on U.S. bases
Tehran, wary of igniting open warfare with Washington, has told militia groups it backs to curtail assaults on targets such as military installations.
The war in Ukraine has pitted the United States and its allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin (center).
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024
Russia’s advances on space-based nuclear weapon alarm the U.S.
A satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and-control operations.
Flour is distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency at its headquarters in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, in November.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
Major donors pause funding for U.N. agency as scandal widens
One of the area's largest employers, the UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom are facing starvation after 16 weeks of war.
David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office representative on the Defense Department's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, testifies during a House subcommittee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington last July.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2024
UFOs remain a mystery to lawmakers after classified briefing
Members of the House went into a confidential briefing hoping for answers about what the government knows about alien life. They emerged with more questions.
U.S. President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives in the country amid the Israel-Hamas war, on Oct. 18. No other episode in the past half-century has tested the relationship between the United States and Israel in such an intense and consequential way as the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2024
The U.S. and Israel: An embrace shows signs of strain after Oct. 7
No other episode in the past half-century has tested the relationship in such an intense and consequential way as the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.
U.S. President Joe Biden with IBM’s System One quantum computer during a tour of a facility in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2022. Chinese spies are challenging the C.I.A. by deploying artificial intelligence and other advanced technology as the two nations try to pilfer each other’s trade secrets.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 28, 2023
Chinese spy agency rising to challenge the CIA
In recent years, China's Ministry of State Security has sharpened itself through better training, a bigger budget and the use of advanced technologies.
Russian conscripts watch a tank demonstration in Moscow in August 2022. Despite its bravado in public, the Kremlin has indicated its interest in striking a deal to halt the war so long as it could still declare victory.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2023
Putin quietly signals he is open to a ceasefire in Ukraine
The repeated interest in cutting a deal exemplifies how opportunism and improvisation have defined his approach to the war behind closed doors.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after testifying in his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court building in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 6.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Material from Russia probe went missing as Trump left office
A binder given to the Trump White House contained details that intelligence agencies believe could reveal secret sources and methods.
A screen displays the amount of time Israeli hostages have been held by Hamas militants since they were abducted on Oct. 7, at an event marking the Jewish Sabbath held for families, friends and supporters, in Tel Aviv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2023
Israel eyeing deal for Hamas to release all civilian hostages in Gaza
The two sides are negotiating two proposals, one involving a small number of people and one that could involve 100 or more civilians.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks before an audience in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2023
U.S. airstrikes send twin messages to Iran, American officials say
The airstrikes were the latest gamble by the United States to modify Iran’s behavior, few of which have worked in the past.
A memorial for Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot and killed in June outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023
U.S. provided Canada with intelligence on killing of Sikh leader
U.S. gave assistance, but communications intercepted by Canada were more definitive in linking India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Models of military equipment and a giant screen displaying Chinese leader Xi Jinping are seen at an exhibition at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 17, 2023
In risky hunt for secrets, U.S. and China expand global spy operations
The rival nations are taking bold steps in the espionage shadow war to try to collect intelligence on leadership thinking and military capabilities.
An impromptu memorial for Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group who died in a plane crash in Russia, in Moscow on Aug. 27. A shadowy fight is playing out on three continents for control of Prigozhin's sprawling interests as head of Wagner.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2023
After Prigozhin’s death, a high-stakes scramble for his empire
African leaders once allied with the Wagner chief hear a new message from the Kremlin: Russia’s African operations are under new management.
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region, via video link in Moscow, Russia, in April last year.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2023
Russia claims its Sarmat ICBM is on ‘combat duty'
Russian military analysts said the announcement meant that the missile had been deployed in a silo and was ready to be used.
A billboard promoting contract army service in front of the Private Military Company Wagner Center in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 27, 2023
Kremlin eyes how to bring private military group under its control
The organization’s military prowess, experienced operators and ties to African governments may be too valuable to lose.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk during World War II in Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2023
Russia pushes long-term influence operations aimed at U.S. and Europe
Russian spy agencies are using the techniques to hide the Kremlin’s involvement in cultivating pro-Russia messages, a U.S. analysis has shown.
A rescue worker stands next to a damaged building of the Moscow International Business Center following a drone attack in the Russian capital on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2023
Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russia are message for its own people
U.S. officials say they expect Ukraine to continue its attacks because they send a strong message: Kyiv can still strike back.
Relatives and friends touch the coffin of a man who was killed fighting Russian troops in Ukraine's Donetsk region, during a funeral ceremony in Kyiv on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2023
Troop deaths and injuries in Ukraine war near 500,000
Ukraine and Russia have lost a staggering number of troops as Kyiv’s counteroffensive drags on. A lack of rapid medical care has added to the toll.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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