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David Howell
For David Howell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2019
Brexit hasn't triggered a general Japanese retreat from Britain
The headline-grabbing departures are only a tiny fraction of the dozens of Japanese companies in the U.K. and the150,000 jobs that they provide.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2019
The endgame of Brexit is approaching at last
The immediate outcome is reduced to two routes, neither very attractive but at least going forward.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2019
Safeguarding democracy
With almost every individual empowered by web access, the whole system of garnering and marshalling opinion becomes impossibly distorted.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2018
The year in energy — moving backward
The ugly truth is that the emissions battle will be won or lost (and at present is being lost) thanks to the energy policies of China, India, the U.S. and Russia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2018
The children take over at Westminster
If MPs vote against the one compromise proposal that is on the table, they will, with absolute certainty, be voting for chaotic impasse, with an outcome very likely to be the very opposite of what they intended.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2018
Brilliant Brexit plan gets a bad reception
Faced with the only possible withdrawal plan, all the party factions, like angry children, continue to demand the impossible.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2018
Oil and money — a combo that faces a cloudy future
The oil and gas industry remains one of the world's biggest and most complex. Yet it is also now becoming one of the world's shakiest.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2018
The dis-United Nations
The U.N. faces daunting challenges in the age of Trumpism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2018
Religion and politics; hopes and disappointments
What a confused and frightened world needs from spiritual leaders is perception, wisdom and illumination, not the same old damaging socialist message from the 1970s.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2018
A middle way emerges on the road to Brexit
Tired of the endless squabbling by the two extremes, chances are good the Conservatives will close ranks behind May's approach
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2018
NATO facing deep dilemmas
Can an old-fashioned military alliance like NATO can deliver the security and physical safety modern societies need?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2018
Washington: A tale of two governments
Democratic leadership with a coherent voice and message may be a thing of the past
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2018
Take the Shanghai Cooperation Organization seriously
The age of American domination, and Western-dominated global institutions, is coming to an end.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2018
Syria — nothing but endless dilemmas
It is becoming ever harder to work out who is on whose side, who should be backing whom, and to what end.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2018
The Commonwealth — mother of all networks
The web of former British colonies fits like a glove with the new wave of globalization.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2018
Wanted: A British Ministry for Asian Affairs
If post-Brexit Britain's future lies in Asia, that is where its hard resources and its soft diplomatic power must be redeployed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2018
Making the best case for Brexit
The government must persuade a deeply divided nation that Brexit is the right course.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2018
Is the Quad the new Trump card?
A secure and stable Asia needs to have a good counterbalance to China, which is just what the Quad could deliver.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2018
Russia's East-West dilemmas
It's in no nation's interest that Russia should continue to be the odd one out.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2018
Brexit: Planning a fresh start at the national level
Britain faces the question of whether it can emulate Japan's amazing postwar revival in the age of globalization and digital revolution.

Longform

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