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May 04, 2024
 

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David Howell
For David Howell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2021
Clean energy: Oil and carbon at loggerheads
If the world is to get anywhere near its lower carbon goals, as set out in the Paris Agreement, then all future investment in oil and gas development must cease.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2021
Lessons from Britain: The old way of politicking no longer applies
The recent remarkable electoral events in the U.K. have big implications for British politics. But they also contain important lessons that should be of interest everywhere in the world where politicians and political parties seek the support of voters under modern conditions, Japan very much included.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2021
New Zealand: A weak link or clever player?
New Zealand may be small in population, but it is an important link in the chain of response to China — and if one link fails the chain fails.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2021
Smaller armies and better defenses in a new world
Concern has been raised that the United Kingdom is once again reducing the size of its armed forces. A chorus of complaints has come from retired generals, from defense experts and from politicians, all bemoaning the planned reduction in military manpower and in tanks and other equipment, as well as in warships.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2021
After Brexit, a better union for the U.K.
The need for radical reform in the British system clearly remains, with an end to the monopoly of power at Westminster.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2021
Time for realism in the climate battle
After the one-year respite caused by COVID-19, carbon emissions will be staying stubbornly high, just as they were before the pandemic pushed down world energy demand for a while.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2021
It's time to replace the outmoded G7
There is talk of permanently expanding the old inner group into a larger team of like-minded countries, reflecting the new realities of world power, as well as the new dangers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2021
How could the storming of the U.S Capitol have even occurred?
The motto of the worldwide Boy Scouts and Girl Guides movement is, “Be Prepared.” It is clear that there were not many Boy Scouts around on Capitol Hill in Washington on the fateful day of Jan. 6.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2021
What sovereignty means today?
The U.K.'s sovereignty has been regained. What exactly is this sovereignty? And precisely who has taken back control?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2020
Going the last mile — Brexit myths and truths
That negotiators cannot overcome a few obstacles leaves the public bewildered. Clearly, in the words of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, there has been 'a failure of statecraft.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2020
Overcoming the Gulf States' oil curse
Deep reform could evolve out of traditional forms of rule in Gulf States. But do the leaders of these nations have the vision and courage to guide the way through to a different future.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2020
Updating democracy: The younger generation is losing faith in the system
'Capitalism' and 'socialism' describe the once emerging industrial world, so we need the same inventiveness to describe the digital world that has replaced it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2020
A miserable 21st century: Poor America
What the U.S. is suffering from now, in acute form and in almost all its limbs and organs, is what great world powers throughout history have at some stage endured.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2020
Japan-U.K. trade deal: Cheer amidst the gloom
It could be that the golden era of U.K. relations with China is set to be replaced by a golden era of relations with Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2020
The never-ending negotiation
Even with a broad agreement, EU-U.K. talks will go on and on — but that is only natural.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2020
Keeping the United Kingdom united
As the U.K. fights its way out of the COVID-19 lockdown, and at the same time stumbles toward the its exit from the EU, a new preoccupation takes hold.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2020
Is an old political dream coming true at last?
A new kind of egalitarianism is pushing its way to the center of the global stage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2020
A new way of thinking about foreign aid
Throughout the developing world there is a new mood of both pride and hope. Aid from the rich North is beginning to feel patronizing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 30, 2020
Why Five Eyes should now become six
Japan should become a full member of the intelligence alliance
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2020
Back to too much oil?
If swelling production keeps outpacing recovering consumption, we will be returning to the pre-1970 world of cheap oil.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
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.
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.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
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.

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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