author

 
Menu
Search
 
September 03, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Michael MacArthur Bosack

Meta

Michael MacArthur Bosack
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 30, 2021
Center-left Kishida endorses bold moves in security realm
It's unlikely Kishida will usher in drastic changes that have not already been gestating inside the LDP and Defense Ministry, but it will be important to see which items gain top priority.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 17, 2021
Shinzo Abe became a faction boss. Now comes the tough part.
The former prime minister now leads the biggest LDP faction, but that doesn't automatically mean he will become kingmaker of the party
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 16, 2021
Tokyo and Canberra quietly reach a major security milestone
Japan and Australia reached a major milestone in their security relationship when, for the first time ever, the SDF executed an 'asset protection' mission with a non-U.S. military unit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 9, 2021
Kishida's top diplomat pick highlights growing confidence
Kishida picking Yoshimasa Hayashi to be the foreign minister was a great choice for him. Had Hayashi and others not pushed Kishida, he may not have sought the country's top leadership job.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2021
What to make of Japan’s prediction-defying election
When the counting stopped, the ruling coalition defied expectations — only losing a net total of 12 seats.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 20, 2021
The LDP says the party will double Japan’s defense spending. Can it?
Abe waited until after the 2013 Upper House election to roll out his new National Security Strategy. The Kishida government will probably do the same.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 12, 2021
How the LDP keeps winning
It's precisely because of the LDP and Komeito's massive vote-generating machine that the ruling coalition has an edge over the opposition in the coming election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2021
What Kishida's Cabinet picks tell us
It is important to look at not only who gets tapped, but which LDP factions they represent.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Oct 1, 2021
How Kishida can avoid becoming another revolving-door prime minister
The new LDP president will focus on expanding his power, implementing policies that benefit the electorate and ensuring success in the upcoming elections before widening his policy window.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2021
Who the opposition wants to win the LDP presidential race
The opposition are strategizing on how to erode the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's Lower House majority, a task all the more difficult without knowing who their principal opponent will be.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2021
Will Japan’s next PM take a shot at constitutional amendment?
An important political factor at play here is that every single LDP candidate has to voice support for constitutional amendment if they hope to win the party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 17, 2021
Why Shinzo Abe is backing a little-known hawk
The move by the former prime minister is aimed at allowing LDP heavyweights to maintain control of an increasingly fluid political situation.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 10, 2021
What to watch once official campaigning begins in the LDP race
While previous presidential elections have subscribed to a typical formula, this year's vote will be anything but dull.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 10, 2021
The outliers hoping to be heard in the LDP election
While the race front-runners are clear, don't count these names out
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 9, 2021
The LDP's outspoken 'maverick' steps up to fight for the party's top spot
Cosmopolitan and media savvy, Taro Kono is a reformist but has his share of liabilities.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 9, 2021
The puppeteers pulling the strings of the LDP leadership race
With their considerable influence, Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso's backing is crucial to anyone wanting to become the next prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 8, 2021
Fumio Kishida steps into the ring for the second time in a year
Routinely derided by his critics, the former foreign minister may prove to have more moxie than some would expect in the party leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 8, 2021
With Suga's imminent departure, the battle for power has already begun
The prime minister's announcement that he would step down as leader of the LDP has set in motion a fierce race to the top.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 1, 2021
SDF quietly breaks new ground in Afghanistan withdrawal
What makes the dispatch of the SDF to facilitate evacuations in Afghanistan notable is not the scale of the operations, but that they are taking place at all.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 26, 2021
LDP leadership election: Suga has a target on his back
As LDP heavyweights jockey for position ahead of the party's presidential election, one thing for sure is there is a target on Prime Minister Suga's back.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER