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May 03, 2024
 

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Yoichi Funabashi

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Yoichi Funabashi
For Yoichi Funabashi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2021
A dishonorable retreat in Afghanistan
A dangerous possibility is that the fall of Kabul will make China even more confident of the U.S.' accelerating decline, and will thus step up its efforts to forcefully reunite with Taiwan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2021
China and Taiwan’s ‘unrestricted vaccine warfare’
Last year, the countries of East Asia were hailed for their success stories in the effort to stop the coronavirus pandemic. Today, these same countries are battling a resurgence in infections. One unintended consequence of their early success in suppressing the virus has been a late start in vaccinating their populations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 23, 2021
China’s 'guochao' nationalism
In China, a boycott of leading global brands that have announced they will not use cotton produced using the forced labor of Muslims in Xinjiang province continues. Among the targets of this boycott are Swedish apparel manufacturer H&M and American and German sportswear manufacturers Nike and Adidas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 25, 2021
How Japan can avoid losing out on the world stage
Tokyo must learn from its history of making bad decisions and being slow to deal with postwar crises.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2021
In preparing Taiwan contingency, Tokyo must remain discreet
Experts are divided on the question of China's ability to launch an invasion of Taiwan and the merits of its strategy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 18, 2021
Managing the U.S. and China: Japan’s best way forward
Tokyo must be wary of Beijing's attempts to split the Japan-U.S. alliance, and must work to persuade Washington of the best approach to conflict.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 11, 2021
What the evolving international order means for Japan
As tensions in the Asia-Pacific region increase, the ties between Tokyo, Washington and Beijing continue to change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 18, 2021
The 'Quad' has the potential to become a truly historic undertaking
Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden invited the leaders of Japan, Australia and India to join him online for a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (“Quad”). Under the Trump administration, the foreign ministers of the Quad countries had convened twice since 2018, but the March 2021 summit represented the first meeting of the four heads of state.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 21, 2021
The era of the Japan-Australia alliance is here
It seems likely that the Japan-Australia relationship will develop into an alliance in substance if not in name.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 19, 2021
The need to deepen fusion with Australia, Japan's second ally
The two nations face significant common challenges, from China's regional aggression to growing nationalism in the United States.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Remembering 3/11
Mar 9, 2021
Ten years after the Fukushima nuclear accident
The 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident was Japan's greatest national crisis in the postwar era. In the midst of the crisis, the then Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government secretly commissioned experts to create a worst-case scenario in which the fuel rods in the fuel pool would dissolve and come into contact with concrete, releasing large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2021
Biden’s Asia strategy: 'Personnel is policy'
Considering the weak domestic position of the United States, its demands for human rights could be perceived as self-righteous and end up alienating other countries.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2021
Will Biden’s emphasis on alliances go anywhere?
Even if allies strike a deal with the current U.S. administration, there is always the fear that it may be overturned in four years.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 17, 2021
Why a new Asia policy is needed under Biden
During the four years of the Trump administration, the U.S. has been left behind in efforts to construct a new regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2021
Asia’s rise doesn’t necessarily mean the West’s decline
The post-pandemic world is no simple seesaw game in which East Asia rises and the West falls.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 2, 2020
An America in decline and the dangers that entails
The U.S. has dealt with the question of decline more than once in the postwar era.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 19, 2020
How Tokyo can navigate the Japan-U.S.-China trap
The relationship between the world's three largest economies is a beneficial one, but must be maintained with delicacy and skill to keep conflict at bay.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2020
The world enters a new age of radical uncertainty
When it comes to the pandemic, or climate change, we may have to accept a certain amount of coexistence, even as we develop countermeasures.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2020
Russia and China advance vaccine nationalism
COVID-19 vaccines are in the final Phase-3 of clinical trials around the world. Russia, however, skipped Phase-3 trials and immediately moved to approve the vaccine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 14, 2020
Time for innovation in the U.S.-Japan alliance
China's offensive maneuvering will continue for some time. In response, the U.S. and Japan have no choice but to work on reaffirming and strengthening their alliance.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Saudi Arabia steps up Gaza-related arrests as Israel ties edge closer
The arrests for Gaza-related posts indicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime will take a hard line against citizens not toeing the line when it comes to normalizing ties with Israel.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
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.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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