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Bill Emmott
For Bill Emmott's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 15, 2023
What Japan's commitment to deterrence will end up looking like
Japan’s government with its new strategy documents has broken ground with a public commitment to build up the country’s counterstrike and rapid mobilization capabilities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2021
Pakistan: The catalyst for the U.S. washout in Afghanistan
The biggest U.S. mistake after 9/11 was the failure to secure long-term support from the frontline states surrounding Afghanistan such as Iran, China, Russia and, above all, Pakistan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2021
The Tokyo Games will go on despite COVID-19
Ultimately, it will not be a COVID-19 crisis in Japan that determines the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, because there is no such crisis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2021
Herd immunity is closer than you think
When will the world have vaccinated 80% of all adults, the level presumed by scientists to produce herd immunity against COVID-19? Most people’s answer is 2023 or 2024, which suggests deep pessimism about the progress of vaccinations outside the rich world. That is also why pledges at the recent G7 summit to donate 1 billion doses to poor countries during this year and in 2022 look to some like generous game changers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2021
Whose post-pandemic century?
Asia's worst performers (in public-health terms) — such as the Philippines and Indonesia — have controlled the pandemic more effectively than Europe's biggest and wealthiest countries.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2020
How to make Japan great again
The new prime minister should declare that by 2030, Japan will be positioned to make the best possible use of its one and only natural resource — its people.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2020
The Japan that Shinzo Abe has left behind
Shinzo Abe’s sudden resignation (on health grounds) ends the tenure of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. The country’s most internationally recognized statesman since 1945, Abe has been, among other things, the world leader most keen on playing golf with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2020
Toward a 2021 Tokyo Olympics
By postponing the games, Abe has put Japan — and himself — at the center of the post-pandemic recovery effort.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2019
What Brexit reveals about the EU
The bloc's biggest problem is indifference, not Euroskepticism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2019
Springtime for nationalism?
The term 'populism' does not capture what is really at stake in national and regional elections around the world this year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2018
Xi's strong hand against Trump
Donald Trump's recently announced trade tariffs and upcoming summit with North Korea give China an unprecedented opportunity to prove its strength before the eyes of the world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2017
Populism versus prosperity
The battle that will define this century will pit long-term thinking against short-term thinking.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 14, 2016
The shape of Japan's foreign policy in the Trump era
It might seem promising that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama this month. But both events actually presage a potentially destabilizing time for Japan — and all of East Asia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2016
What will America's Berlusconi do?
Italy's experience with tycoon-turned-politician Silvio Berlusconi provides six clear lessons for Americans and the world on what to expect from Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2016
U.S. allies must prepare for a President Trump
Looking at the upcoming contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, America's friends and allies may want to hope for the best, but they need to prepare for the worst.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2016
U.S. can't afford to make the 'Berlusconi' mistake
The only way to avoid Berlusconi-level disaster in the U.S. is to continue criticizing Trump, exposing his lies and holding him to account for his words and actions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2016
The danger of oil dictators falling like dominos
This year promises to be interesting — and harrowing — if you happen to be a dictator clinging to power in an oil-exporting country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2015
The role of patriotism in the age of globalization
Mainstream parties must reclaim the mantle of patriotism and redefine the national interest accordingly. In today's world, the national interest lies in managing openness — not in throwing it away.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2015
Why we must push back in the South China Sea
Doing nothing, or making only isolated gestures to oppose China's sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, will simply hand Beijing a fait accompli.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 29, 2015
Shinzo Abe's pivot to Asia
Abe should use his speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II as an occasion to reinforce the image of Japan as a positive force in Asia.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on