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Kuni Miyake
For Kuni Miyake's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2021
An outside look at the Chinese Communist Party's 100th birthday
President Xi Jinping's speech marking the 100-year anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party was never going to win the hearts and minds of China's neighbors — including Japan's media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2021
Iranian, Israeli and U.S. hard-liners muddle nuclear deal prospects
The optimists say the coming few weeks could be critical for both the Biden and Rouhani administrations to revive the nuclear deal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2021
The Biden-Putin summit through Tokyo's eyes
The long-anticipated first summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin was held in Geneva last week. Tokyo’s initial reaction was rather unnoteworthy, partly because the meeting ended at midnight Japan time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2021
Budapest citizens rise up against a Chinese university and influence
Not everyone in Budapest is buying Orban's attempt at justifying the deal to build a Chinese university campus in the city.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 3, 2021
Mr. Xi, policies are more important than narratives
While Chinese culture is laudable, culture does not equate to policy and will not guarantee that others will automatically respect your government.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2021
What is really behind the calls to cancel the Olympics?
If the Asahi genuinely believes that the Olympic Games should be canceled, why does the paper not withdraw its sponsorship from the games?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2021
Where are the Arab states during these times of Israeli-Palestinian troubles?
My conclusion is that the Palestinian leadership has missed several golden opportunities for the Palestinians to live in peace with Israel and realize self-governance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2021
Will Moon Jae-in's appeasement policy work this time?
History may eventually show that Mr. Moon's fanciful but unrealistic appeasement policy vis-a-vis North Korea between 2017 and 2022 failed to work.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2021
Is the G7 foreign ministers’ joint communique worth reading?
Although China was singled out in the foreign ministers' communique this year, the matter of China was just one of many important issues also mentioned.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2021
After three U.S. strikeouts, will Afghanistan be the fourth?
A primary concern is the withdrawal could make the region far more unstable than it was previously — a pattern that the world has seen before.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2021
Will the Suga-Biden summit provoke China?
Based on my observations, global media coverage of the Suga-Biden summit meeting in Washington was rather favorable. Walter Russell Mead, for example, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s visit was “hailed in both countries as a major success,” and “The alliance with Japan is the single most important international relationship America has.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2021
Beijing will be watching Suga-Biden talks closely
If the Japan-U.S. summit between Joe Biden and Yoshihide Suga in Washington should prompt a furious reaction from China, it will only move Tokyo and Washington closer together.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2021
Salvaging the Iran nuclear deal
Make no mistake, Japan only wishes to see stability in the Gulf and ultimately a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2021
Was the Suez container ship crisis unforeseeable?
Last week, a massive container ship wedged itself between both banks of the Suez Canal in Egypt, completely blocking the waterway and affecting 10% of the world’s trade traffic. I could not keep silent about the matter, having been to the canal several times, as I spent two years beginning in 1979 in Cairo studying Arabic during my training stage at the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2021
Will the U.S. end its ambiguity over Taiwan?
Tokyo should think seriously about Japan's options to deal with a Taiwan contingency.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 21, 2021
Two very different ‘two-plus-two’ meetings
Were the Tokyo and Seoul two-plus-two meetings successful? For Japan, it was a great beginning and much more successful than expected.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2021
Moon must stop daydreaming about North Korea
The Biden administration should not, and most likely will not, repeat the same mistakes the Trump administration made vis-a-vis North Korea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2021
Can Japan really shoot at vessels over the Senkaku Islands?
My American friend in San Francisco said he could not believe Japan could not shoot at invading foreign vessels. His comment hit the nail on the head.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2021
Mori’s resignation highlights changing gender norms
Yoshiro Mori reportedly decided to resign immediately after the remarks. It was the secretariat of the organizing committee who strongly pleaded with him to stay in his position.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 19, 2021
A decade after 3/11, what lessons has Japan learned?
The March 11, 2011, earthquake's impact on the people and government of Japan has been both physical and philosophical.

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