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May 06, 2024
 

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Cass R. Sunstein
For Cass R. Sunstein's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2014
Why extremism loves company
Most violent extremists are not poor and do not lack education. But psychological experiments suggest that it's a matter of extremism loving company, and that participation in group decision-making tends to strengthen and polarize people's views.
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2014
How easy is it to indoctrinate students? Easy
Research from the University of Munich shows that it wasn't so hard for China's government to get high school students to believe that it is trustworthy, committed to the rule of law, and that free markets are a big problem.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2014
There's a conspiracy theory wherever you look
Whether it's Ukraine, the National Security Agency, assassinations of national leaders, recent economic crises, the authorship of Shakespeare's plays — some people jump at the chance to connect a bunch of dots to support a relevant conspiracy theory. Why is that?
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2014
Pope warns of hazards in browsing 'God's gift'
Pope Francis rightly warns that although the variety of opinions being aired over the Web can be seen as helpful, it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information that only confirm their own ideas.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2014
Is it better to win Olympic bronze than silver?
Research suggests that in the Olympics, those who finish third are likely to be a lot happier than those who finish second. There are broader implications as far as our emotional reactions to other events are concerned.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2014
What exactly are these Obama 'executive orders'?
In the aftermath of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, there is a lot of confusion about the phrase 'executive actions.' These are an optional tool the president can use to get something done.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2014
Warring dogmas block climate-change progress
National debates over environmental issues are sometimes derailed by two kinds of extremists: eco-doomsayers and techno-optimists. Noisy, headline-grabbing dogmas are an impediment to progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2013
A pardon for war hero convicted of being gay
Queen Elizabeth II's long-overdue pardon of war hero Allen Turing should serve as opportunity for the world to reflect on discrimination against gays.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2013
Winners of 2013's behavioral economics oscars
The Oscars won't be awarded until March, but those who hand out the annual Behavioral Economics Oscars (Becons) are famously impatient, and it is time to announce this year's winners.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2013
Beatles' luck shows success isn't pre-ordained
The Beatles' success was anything but foreordained — and that the same can be said about countless others whose iconic status we now take for granted.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2013
Tea party anti-elitism harks back to Alger Hiss
The anti-elitism displayed by America's tea party harks back to the beginning of the socialist-and-liberal baiting dialogue of the late 1940s, especially to the perjury trial of Alger Hiss.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2013
The type who dare risk a government shutdown
Don't look for the refinement of public views in the U.S. Congress unless the most extreme members of the Republican Party feel they can risk moving out of their echo chambers.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2013
Diverse 'American exceptionalism'
American exceptionalism' began wth the Constitution's effort to establish a large self-governing republic, in which diverse views serve as both a safeguard and a creative force.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2013
How poverty harms people's mental resources
In a series of U.S. studies, it's been found that being poor, and having to manage serious financial problems, can be a lot like going through life with no sleep.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2013
The most important economist you never heard of
Economist Ronald Coase, who died last week at the age of 102, had an incalculable impact on academic thought and public policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2013
We lose serendipity if Bezos personalizes news
Whatever the emerging form of newspapers, it is crucial that they continue to provide readers with all sorts of stories, ideas and opinions that readers didn't select.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2013
Could the PTA and bowling leagues breed extremists?
What if exposure to civic organizations — and not social isolation, per se — is more likely to contribute to the rise of extreme movements, including fascism?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2013
Why well-informed people are also close-minded
A U.S. study finds that if you know a lot about politics, efforts to undermine or dislodge your political beliefs with facts might well upset you and therefore backfire.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2013
When Supreme silence is golden in America
As the recent U.S. Supreme Court arguments over same-sex marriage attest, silence plays a role in constitutional law just as it does in ordinary life.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
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.

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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