author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 28, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Ramesh Thakur

Meta

Ramesh Thakur
Ramesh Thakur is Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; adjunct professor, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, Griffith University, and editor-in-chief of Global Governance from Jan. 1, 2013. He began writing for The Japan Times in 1998 as Vice Rector of the United Nations University.
People pray at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945. Over half a century on, the global framework to stop nuclear weapons proliferation needs a serious rethink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2024
What stands in the way of a nuclear weapon-free world?
Almost 80 years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world is still far from abolishing nuclear weapons due to a crumbling of the nonproliferation architecture.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron as chief guest of celebrations marking India's Republic Day on Jan. 26.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024
The fraternity between France and India has never been stronger
Beyond the pomp of Republic Day celebrations with Macron as guest of honor, Modi and the French leader signed substantive defense deals, cementing ties.
An image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, the site of his killing in June
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2023
Western nations grapple with plots to assassinate Sikhs
From undercover stings to diplomatic tensions, unpacking the Sikh hit man plots in Canada and the U.S.
Protesters wave Palestinian flags as they walk over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in London on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2023
Immigration, politics and the West's foreign policy
On the same day that a 100,000 strong pro-Palestinian march took place in London, the police pressured a pro-Israeli prayer walk to cancel the event.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023
India’s realism comes of age in response to Israel-Hamas war
Unlike other Global South country leaders, Modi wasted no time expressing solidarity with Israel, an ally of India.
United Hindu Front activists protest in New Delhi on Sunday over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh independence proponent back in Canada.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023
The politics behind Canada and India’s diplomatic tiff
Ottawa's soft-power righteousness over assassination of Sikh leader in British Columbia ruffles feathers in New Delhi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi converses with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2023
The Modi-Jaishankar partnership serves India’s global interests well
Important contributors to India’s rising global profile are the communication skills, professionalism and competence of Foreign Minister Jaishankar.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders of the Group of Seven, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meet during their summit in Hiroshima on May 21. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2023
The G7 leaders’ vision on nuclear disarmament
Geopolitical rivalries and the failure to address the complicity of G7 members in perpetuating a nuclearized world are stymieing nonproliferation efforts.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2023
Anthony Albanese’s ‘Voice’ speaks to Australian guilt, not to its better angels
Australians debate the pros and cons of a constitutional amendment that aims to give special rights and representation to the nation's Indigenous people.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2023
U.S. allies look for their place in the emerging global order
A bitterly divided and fractured America lacks the necessary common purpose, principle and the requisite national pride and strategic direction to execute a robust foreign policy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2023
Nuclear weapons may not be in Seoul’s best interest
South Korean nuclearization could destroy all efforts to denuclearize North Korea and could also kill its alliance with the U.S.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2023
Politics by other means in the Modi vs. BBC row
The subversion of India’s media through public institutions, tax authorities and enforcement agencies is a legacy that started long before the BJP came to power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2023
Australia fast-tracks itself into a formidable naval power with sub deal
It’s doubtful that Australia would have contemplated buying U.S. and British-built nuclear-powered submarines but for the sense of the threat from China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2023
What are the possible endgames in Ukraine war?
Prudent nations would do well to prepare for peace even in the midst of the Ukrainian conflict.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2023
What’s not to like about Rudd’s appointment as Canberra’s man in Washington?
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has the resume and qualifications to serve Canberra well in Washington.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2022
Thank you my queen: You left the world a better place
Whether or not a constitutional monarchy makes sense in theory, with the British Commonwealth, it worked in practice.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2022
Mikhail Gorbachev’s nuclear legacy in tatters
A tragic 'might-have-been' of modern times is the West's failure to seize then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's offer of full partnership to forge a new nuclear world order.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 29, 2022
Learning the right nuclear lessons from Ukraine
Hiroshima gathering affirms the importance of nuclear disarmament amid nuclear-armed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2022
Who does the U.S. think it is, telling India how to respond to Ukraine?
All countries act according to their own geopolitical calculations and none is immune from making mistakes, including the U.S.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2022
Why some in Asia don’t outsource their moral compass to the West
Just because some Asian countries come to different geopolitical conclusions based on their particular circumstances and priorities does not make them intellectual and moral inferiors.
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Japan to resist Trump efforts to form trade bloc against China
As Japan gears up for the trade talks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also seeking to cushion the blow that the U.S. tariffs may have on the domestic economy.
As many as nine dead after driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd
An ambulance is parked at the site of the Lapu Lapu day festival, where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver on Saturday.
Japan’s legal system struggles to deal with AI-made child sexual abuse images
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
How to bring up bad news in Japanese
As in other cultures, when someone shares bad news in Japanese it’s best to respond with supportive words.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society
Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER