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May 03, 2024
 

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Peter Singer
For Peter Singer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2014
Trouble with revoking citizenship extralegally
In the absence of global citizenship, it may be best for the U.K. government to retain the principle that citizenship is not to be revoked without a judicial hearing.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2014
Philosophers still vital to our high-tech world
A Harvard University report showing a big dropoff across the U.S. in the proportion of bachelor degree graduates who majored in the humanities contrasts with the finding by a Swiss think tank that three or four of the top five 'Global Thought Leaders' are involved in philosophy.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2014
Tips for electing a leader with common sense
One way voters perhaps can eliminate a presidential candidate from consideration is to look at his or her watch. If it costs more than $500, they should find someone else to vote for, someone whose interests extend beyond personal enrichment.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2014
Golden rice should be embraced as a lifesaver
With regard to the use of genetically modified organisms, regulations to protect the environment and the health of consumers should be maintained. What needs to be rethought, though, is blanket opposition to GMOs, especially when a lifesaver grain is at stake.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2014
Why is Stalin honored despite killing millions?
It is impossible to imagine a Hitler statue anywhere in Germany, so why is it that statues of Josef Stalin have been restored in towns across Georgia (his birthplace) and that another is to be erected in Moscow as part of a commemoration of all Soviet leaders?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013
Dilemma deepens as drones kill more civilians
The Obama administration's refusal to apologize in some cases to family members of the innocent victims of drone attacks, or even to explain what went wrong, indicates that his promise of greater transparency on drone policy has yet to be fulfilled.
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2013
The true bitterness of sugar
Our use of sugar implicates us in land grabs that violate the rights of some of the world's poorest communities. Better-informed and more ethical consumers could change this.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2013
A dream for the digital age: Internet access for all
Giving the five billion people who still stuck in the paper age digital access would transform their lives in a very positive way.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2013
Dethroning King Coal for the sake of the planet
Our continued high level of greenhouse-gas emissions protects the interests of one group of humans — mainly affluent people alive today — at the cost of others.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2013
Leaks play a critical role in health of democracies
How can a democracy determine whether there should be government surveillance of the kind that the NSA is conducting if it has no idea that such programs exist
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013
Misplaced pride in conspicuous consumption
Wouldn't you laugh at someone who paid more than 200 times as much as you did for a watch, and ended up with an inferior product? Some lawmakers don't get it.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2013
Prodding big food firms into the field of ethics
Consumers should take it upon themselves to become better informed about what they eat and drink and to let ethics influence purchasing choices.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2013
Agricultural land grabs in developing countries?
Should rich countries — or investors based there — be buying agricultural land in developing countries?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2013
Agricultural land grabs in developing countries?
Should rich countries — or investors based there — be buying agricultural land in developing countries?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2012
Should we strive to live to age 1,000?
On which problems should we focus research in medicine and the biological sciences? There is a strong argument for tackling the diseases that kill the most people — diseases like malaria, measles and diarrhea, which kill millions in developing countries, but very few in the developed world.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2012
Preference should go to real, rational women
In the Dominican Republic last month, a pregnant teenager suffering from leukemia had her chemotherapy delayed, because doctors feared that the treatment could terminate her pregnancy and therefore violate the nation's strict anti-abortion law. After consultations between doctors, lawyers, and the girl's family, chemotherapy eventually was begun, but not before attention had again been focused on the rigidity of many developing countries' abortion laws.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012
Court judgment in Canada may set guidelines for physician-assisted death in terminal cases
Gloria Taylor, a Canadian, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Over a period of a few years, her muscles will weaken until she can no longer walk, use her hands, chew, swallow, speak and, ultimately, breathe. Then she will die.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2012
Rampant use and abuse of religious freedom
What are the proper limits of religious freedom? Marianne Thieme, leader of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands, offers this answer: "Religious freedom stops where human or animal suffering begins."
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2012
Are humans getting better at beating violence?
With daily headlines focusing on war, terrorism and the abuses of repressive governments, and religious leaders frequently bemoaning declining standards of public and private behavior, it is easy to get the impression that we are witnessing a moral collapse.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2012
How much should one's birth gender matter?
Jenna Talackova reached the finals of Miss Universe Canada last month, before being disqualified because she was not a "natural born" female. The tall, beautiful blonde told the media that she had considered herself a female since she was four years old, had begun hormone treatment at 14, and had sex reassignment surgery at 19. Her disqualification raises the question of what it really means to be a "Miss."
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.
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.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle
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