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April 28, 2024
 

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Panu Wongcha-um
For Panu Wongcha-um's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Lt. Saw Kaw, a soldier of the Karen National Liberation Army in charge of the Cobra column, walks with his team members after inspecting the house of a high-rank Myanmar soldier at Infantry Batallion 275 at Myawaddy in Myanmar on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
In rebel-held Myanmar town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink
Armed groups in Myanmar are striving to work together to repel the junta after rebels took control of a crucial trading-post town last week.
A rebel fighter of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) raises Karen's national flag after burning Myanmar's national flag in Myawaddy, a Thailand-Myanmar border town, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 16, 2024
Rebels raise flag at seized Myanmar base as commander vows to retain control
The celebrations by the rebel fighters came less than a week after the capture of a key trading town on Thailand's western border.
Military personnel stand guard as hundreds of refugees crossed over the river frontier between Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, following the fall of a strategic border town to rebels fighting Myanmar's military junta, in Mae Sot, Tak province, Thailand, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 15, 2024
Myanmar rebels say they have repelled junta push to take back border town
A resistance group fighting Myanmar's military rule said its fighters had repelled an attempt by junta troops to advance on the key town of Myawaddy.
Pita Limjaroenrat at the Thai Parliament complex in Bangkok on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 31, 2024
Thai court rules against opposition's view of royal insults law
The nine-member court said in a unanimous ruling that Move Forward’s push for changes amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy
Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin. Thailand's parliament voted in favor of his prime ministerial candidacy in Bangkok on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2023
Thai property mogul Srettha Thavisin's unlikely rise to PM
The conservative establishment sees Srettha and his Pheu Thai party as more palatable than the progressive Move Forward Party.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 11, 2023
Role of Thailand's monarchy looms over battle to appoint prime minister
A deadlock over the appointment could tip Southeast Asia's second-largest economy into crisis, with reformers vying to dislodge the grip on power of the royalist military establishment.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2023
Thailand's ex-PM Thaksin shakes up election with talk of return
If Thaksin is serious about coming home, it could complicate an expected post-election scramble by Pheu Thai to try to form a coalition with other opposition parties.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 22, 2023
Some new faces but old divisions to haunt Thailand's May election
The confrontation between the military-royalist establishment and popular opposition parties has shaped a tumultuous two decades of street protests, judicial intervention and coups.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 11, 2023
Myanmar junta chief's family assets found in Thai drug raid, sources say
Title deeds and bankbooks belonging to Min Aung Hlaing's daughter and son were found at the home of Tun Min Latt, 53, when he was arrested in the Thai capital.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2021
Thai royalist turns protester as anti-government movement broadens
Son of a billionaire, Tanat 'Nat' Thanakitamnuay switched sides in part because of a pandemic response that resulted in deaths and economic hardship.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 3, 2021
A year after taboo on Thai king broken, 103 face prison for royal insult
Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, one of those charged, says he has no regrets and vows the prosecutions won't crush the country's anti-government movement.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2021
Thousands of Myanmar villagers poised to flee violence to Thailand
Karen rebels and the Myanmar army have clashed near the Thai border in the weeks, displacing villagers in both nations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 27, 2021
On Myanmar crisis, ASEAN pushes boundaries of 'noninterference'
The summit's concluding 'consensus statement' stretch the bounds of ASEAN's longstanding principle of noninterference in members' internal affairs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 24, 2020
Turning point in Thailand: Queen's brush with protest
Many Thais have questioned why the queen was on that road at that time, and have challenged the severity of the government's reaction.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 10, 2020
Testing royal taboos: Inside Thailand's new youth protests
Street protesters have not previously sought changes to the monarchy, which the constitution says must be held 'in a position of revered worship.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 24, 2020
In Thailand, it's statues of democracy leaders that are disappearing
Certain historical statues have been disappearing in Thailand, but they are not effigies of colonialists or slave owners torn down by protesters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2019
Thai king creates boot camp-style 'unity' courses
Thousands of civil servants, police and teachers are being sent to a military camp in Thailand for intensive training in community service and loyalty to the monarchy, according to the royal palace and interviews with trainees and organizers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 6, 2019
From coup-maker to candidate? Thailand junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha considers election run
Thai junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha is known for losing his temper in public, but recently he has displayed a softer side amid speculation he may run for office in the first elections since the army seized power in 2014.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 2, 2018
Thailand's political tough guy back in the fray to support military as vote nears
The last time most Thais saw politician Suthep Thaugsuban was in 2015 when he entered the Buddhist monkhood and announced his retirement after spearheading protests that culminated in a military coup against a government he detested.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
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.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
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.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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