author

 
Menu
Search
 
October 20, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

John Authers
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2025
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Of late, the country has suddenly given every impression of heat. There are good reasons to believe hypothermia is over.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new Pentagon policy mandating pre-approval for unclassified information threatens to reverse nearly a century of First Amendment protections.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2025
Hegseth tries turning back 94 years of press freedom
The history on his side has been discredited by the Supreme Court for a century.
Shipping containers near the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai. The U.S. under President Donald Trump has revived mercantilist trade policies to favor American industry, but China is outpacing the U.S.
COMMENTARY
Sep 29, 2025
Why America will lose its mercantilist game to China
There is already one country that has been practicing mercantilism for decades and it appears to be a step ahead of the U.S. as it starts to play the same game: China.
A Rheinmetall Leopard 2 tank production line in Unterluess, Germany. The country's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has pledged to make the Bundeswehr Europe’s strongest army, marking a sharp departure from post–Cold War pacifism and sparking economic optimism rather than fear.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 19, 2025
German rearmament is a welcome 'war dividend'
Merz’s planned arms buildup means the definitive end to the "peace dividend” that the Western world had enjoyed since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2022
How the Ukraine offensive will shift the market narrative
And not for the first time, market attitudes toward events in the Ukraine war have been inconsistent as the nature of war makes economic predictions difficult to make.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2021
What inflation in 2022 will teach us about capitalism
Since the 1980s, capitalism has evolved to keep inflation under control. The risk now is that capitalism has embarked on a regime change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2021
The Fed has risen too far above political control
The problem with the Fed is that the need for stability — and for avoiding market shocks — cuts across the desire to exert more democratic control over the central bank.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2020
Vaccine confronts humanity with next moral test
Who gets coronavirus protection first (and last)? Who profits (and loses)? What is “informed consent” (if it exists)? Divided societies face agonizing choices.
Why I chose Japanese citizenship over permanent residency
Jon Heese (second left) takes part in a 2024 New Year's nihonshu barrel opening ceremony.
For Uniqlo’s founder, conquering America is personal
A Uniqlo store in New York. In recent years, Uniqlo’s affordable, well-made basic clothes have struck a chord, especially with younger American shoppers, fueling a rapid business expansion.
Japan's fractured politics could ensnarl Takaichi's economic plans
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, attends a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
Sho-time as dazzling Ohtani powers Dodgers into World Series with historic performance
Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai to form coalition government, report says
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai have agreed to form a coalition, paving the way for the country's first female prime minister, Kyodo reports.
What does Jimbocho think of its unexpected ‘cool’ status?
Tokyo's Jimbocho neighborhood is a haven for book lovers, its rows of secondhand bookstores spilling over with printed materials.
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Masanori Murakami became the first MLB player from Japan when he made his debut with the Giants on Sept 1, 1964.
As they wrestle for power, Japan’s political parties must remember their base
Rengo's head Tomoko Yoshino speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER