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May 05, 2024
 

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Leonid Bershidsky
For Leonid Bershidsky's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2018
Europe's 2018 takeaway: Trump is no fluke
Commentators and politicians see the mixed outcome as evidence that Americans would back Trump for a second term.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2018
Why Banksy's art stunt is economic genius
His shredding trick demonstrates the street artist's talent for exploring the ways in which people value art.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2018
Why Putin is softening on internet memes
The Kremlin is having second thoughts about jailing people for silly social media posts it calls 'extremist.' It wants to look scary, not ridiculous.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2018
The Swedish vote is another populist failure
The election was a warning to centrists to do more to integrate immigrants.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2018
A master class in the art of political survival
The Kremlin isn't completely unresponsive to popular opinion, but it won't tolerate dissent that demands radical change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2018
Soviet Union's collapse gets a revisionist view
A new narrative from a former vice president paints Yeltsin as a tool of the U.S. in thwarting the 1991 coup by hardliners.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2018
Facebook, Twitter and violence are linked
Studies in the U.S. and Germany link Facebook and Twitter with xenophobic crime.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2018
Anti-dollar mavericks can't win just yet
Could the U.S. be going too far with the weaponization of its economic advantage? For now, Turkey, Russia and Iran are powerless against the dollar's dominance, even with China's help.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2018
Iran faces consequences for snubbing Trump
The U.S. has made nice with North Korea and Putin, but kept Iran in the firing line.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2018
Putin and Trump couldn't make their relationship work
The Helsinki summit ended without agreements because there's nothing the two leaders can do for each other.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2018
NATO can be viable with or without the U.S.
America's European allies can call Trump's bluff by showing they can take care of their own defense.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2018
Open-plan offices are making us less social
Being in a wall-less aquarium makes workers want to communicate electronically rather than face-to-face.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2018
Russians love being victorious underdogs
Why the anti-Putin opposition is mad about the national soccer team, too.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2018
Oh, the symbolism of Germany's World Cup exit
It was a nation of champions in 2014. It is a nation of self-doubters today.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2018
You can hate Putin but love the World Cup
Russians and foreign visitors can get a closer look at each other, without the usual filters.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2018
There's a better answer than electric cars
Promising emissions-reducing technology may make internal combustion engines more environmentally friendly than electric motors.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2018
Trump's approach to Kim is amoral, and it may work
By building a personal rapport with the North Korean dictator, Trump is at least in a position to ask for what he wants.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2018
The Spider-Man of Paris is just one of many
Countries can benefit by accepting hard-working migrants who have shown their mettle by surviving their perilous journeys.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2018
Putin's evasions on MH-17 are a disgrace
The Kremlin may not want to admit guilt over the downed airliner, but it can at least stop dodging responsibility.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2018
Russia sets out to sanction Western sanctions
Just as investment banks are cutting their growth forecasts for Russia because of a growing likelihood of new U.S. sanctions, Russian legislators are looking for a strong response.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Traders spooked by intervention risk trim record yen shorts
Traders edged back from record bets on yen weakness this past week, in a period that included a likely bout of intervention by Japan to prop up the currency.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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