author

 
 

Meta

Noah Feldman
For Noah Feldman's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2018
What Tillerson didn't admit: The U.S. has no leverage
From North Korea to China to Russia and the Middle East, American objectives are clear — and the Trump administration has no credible road map to achieve them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2018
Imagine a Palestinian movement led by Gandhi
Renouncing violence would go a long way toward reviving negotiations with Israel.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2017
When the 'Arab Street' and its protests come to Sweden
Anti-Jewish violence spreads to liberal Europe, where Muslim immigrants enjoy the freedom to protest.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2017
Manafort indictment begins complicated story
Democrats who are getting revved up for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to follow the money from Russia to the Trump campaign shouldn't get too excited yet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2017
How a 1929 dispute frames the Temple Mount conflict
The holy site has been the symbolic flashpoint of the broader Israeli-Arab struggle since at least 1929.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2017
Turkey's slide toward dictatorship
President Erdogan uses a permanent 'state of emergency' to destroy Turkish democracy
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2017
China aiming for a regional empire
The American obsession with President Donald Trump and the investigation into untoward Russian influence is distracting us from China's bid to displace the United States when it comes to global leadership. The latest major step is the "Belt and Road" initiative, which officially kicked off this week.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2017
Comey memo of Trump request describes a high crime
Right around now, the president is probably asking himself whether firing the FBI director was the right decision. And if he isn't, he should be.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2017
Seoul gets the impeachment process right
The removal from office of South Korean President Park Geun-hye is a remarkable outcome for a relatively new democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2017
Appeals court tells Trump it won't back down
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholding a nationwide freeze on Donald Trump's immigration executive order is a powerful rebuff to the administration — and to the president personally.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2017
Foreign policy surprises won't serve U.S. interests
If Trump really wants to make America great again, he's going to have to change his foreign policy approach. Shaking up the world is going to make America weaker and poorer.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2017
Trump's court pick conservative but not extremist
Democrats should think hard before trying to depict Neil Gorsuch as a radical conservative — a bruising confirmation fight could push him in the wrong direction.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2017
Dangerous uncertainty surrounds Taiwan Strait
The world's most dangerous flash point got much more dangerous last Wednesday when China sent its lone aircraft carrier into the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan scrambled fighter jets in response. This is how accidental wars start: provocation and counter-provocation in an environment with too much uncertainty. The uncertainty arises from not knowing the incoming Donald Trump administration's answer to a pressing foreign policy question: Would the United States defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2017
Will Washington and Beijing's cool war heat up?
The big question for 2017 is whether the U.S. and China will let their troubled relationship unravel further.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2016
Blame British Empire for U.S. Electoral College
The accident of British colonial charters gave rise to America's electoral college system — and the great difficulty of amending it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2016
When losers concede, democracy gets a boost
The tradition of concession helps ensure the continuity of government and offers a legitimating assist to democracy itself.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2016
One path to leadership in China is now closed
Instead of sharing power across factions as his two predecessors did, Xi Jinping is consolidating power for himself.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2016
Erdogan's judicial purge threatens rule of law
A purged judiciary can be expected to function as a rubber stamp for the government.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2016
Sex versus gender in the U.S. bathroom case
North Carolina and the federal government have sharply different ideas about the acceptance of transgender people. But what about the legal stakes?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2016
Dangerous new uses for state eavesdropping
It's one thing for the U.S. government to intercept communications with foreigners for intelligence-gathering purposes. But it's quite another to use those intercepts as evidence at trial.

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