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September 03, 2025
 

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Michael MacArthur Bosack

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Michael MacArthur Bosack
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2022
What's behind the key appointments in Kishida’s new ‘unity Cabinet’
Selections have significant implications for what observers should expect from the government over the next year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 15, 2022
Opposition seeks answers after heavy Upper House election defeat
Japan's Upper House election should have been a far more contested vote than it was, but the opposition once again failed to make the right moves.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2022
Dissecting Kishida’s post-election road map
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has important choices to make on how he leverages his renewed mandate and extra political capital after the LDP's strong Upper House election showing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 9, 2022
The massive void that Shinzo Abe’s assassination has left behind
Japan's longest-serving prime minister wasn't just any other leader — he was a towering figure whose death has completely changed the nation's political landscape.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2022
Five things to know about Japan's opposition parties going into the election
Unseating incumbents is usually difficult, but media outlets and observers are giving opposition parties even less a chance than usual of scoring big wins.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2022
A sneak peek at the future of Japanese security policy
This year, the conference brought back a Japanese prime minister to deliver the keynote address, and Kishida took the opportunity to present his own principles for the country's security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 7, 2022
Five things to know about the LDP going into election
The LDP is enjoying a wide approval margin over the opposition, with nearly a 35-point lead over its nearest competitor, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 31, 2022
When will Kishida fully reopen Japan's borders?
A look at the political forces that have been driving Japan's draconian stance on incoming tourism for the past two years.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2022
The man behind Kishida’s success on the world stage
Toshimitsu Motegi has shown competency not only in international relations, but also as the LDP secretary-general, which will serve his political ambitions well.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2022
Pure gold for Japan’s Golden Week diplomacy
More than just photo opportunities, Kishida's diplomatic engagements were meaningful — some producing major developments in Japan's bilateral relationships with important partners.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2022
Japan-New Zealand relations evolve amid a changing world
Kishida and Ardern's talks were the first in-person meeting between the two countries' heads of government since 2017 and served as an important milestone in the strategic partnership
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2022
Here are the big takeaways from the Japan-Philippines security meetings
The Japan-Philippines two-plus-two meeting was a big step for establishing the policy architecture necessary for evolving bilateral ties.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2022
Russia's war of aggression and Asia’s great reset
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to tectonic shifts in the strategic environment around the world, and Northeast Asia is no exception.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 3, 2022
LDP power broker Taro Aso's fortunes begin to fade
Aso has a difficult choice: He can play the role of elder statesman and let the LDP milk the last ounce of politicking out of him, or serve in the vice presidential position for life.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 24, 2022
From the Ukraine crisis emerges a more resolute Japan
Japan's willingness to declare concretely Russia's Ukraine actions as illegal and in violation of standing agreements is notable, as is its engagement with other world leaders.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 11, 2022
How ‘free-riding Japan’ came to embrace security multilateralism
Tokyo's foreign policy has seemed to take to heart the message from an old proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2022
Takeaways from Japan’s recent security meetings
Some observers have interpreted Japan's effort to foster relationships with other security partners as a sign of fissures in the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2022
Understanding Kishida's political landscape for 2022
To champion his own policy agenda, Kishida will have to wait and see how much political capital he has after the next Upper House election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2021
How Japan-North Korea relations changed under Kim Jong Un
Last Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked 10 years in power. Recent observers have focused on nuclear weapons and diplomacy with South Korea and the United States, but there are under-discussed considerations related to Japan-North Korea ties.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2021
Looking back on Japan’s secrets protection law
The operative assumption from critics of the secrets legislation was that the new law would restrict freedom of information and make the Japanese government increasingly opaque.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over alleged possession of illegal drugs
Takeshi Niinami, then-chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, in May 2024
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
‘Cool’ Patagonia wants to take used items into the mainstream
"It's not just about sales. It's about system change," said Marty Pomphrey, general manager of Patagonia Japan, on Aug. 6.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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