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July 12, 2025
 

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Bobby Ghosh
Even if a solution for peace is found to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel, any transitional authority will need to reckon with the militant group's large footprint in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2024
A total 'de-Hamasification' of Gaza may be a bad idea
A peace plan needs to reckon with many difficult questions: Who will rebuild Gaza; who will pay for reconstruction and who will adjudicate any war crimes.
The Houthis benefit Iran because they command a large country with plenty of remote locations to fire missiles from and are in close proximity to some of the world’s main energy sources.
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2024
The Houthis are now Iran’s most potent proxy
For the wider world, responding to the growing Houthi menace will require much more than naval flotillas to the Red Sea.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog's claim all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023
No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas
Claiming all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2023
Iran wants to make a deal the U.S. must refuse
Khameini thinks he has the leverage for an agreement easing punishment while keeping Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The response should be sanctions, sanctions and more sanctions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2023
I saw America snatch defeat from victory in Iraq
Few of us who were on the ground couldn't imagine that the Iraq war could go so well, or the peace so badly.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2023
Ukraine must rewrite Russia’s narrative in the Global South
Ukraine has won the West’s support in the war against Russia. But to ensure victory, it will need the developing world’s, too.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2023
India’s BBC raid is just the Modi government's latest attack on the press
The West has indulged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he has coerced and subverted his country’s media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2023
Erdogan has undermined Turkey’s earthquake response
President Erdogan's paranoid policies against civil society have weakened the very institutions Turkey needs to deal with the devastating earthquake.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2022
The soccer world must protect Iran’s team
After losing to the United States in World Cup, Team Melli returns home to a hostile population and a vengeful regime.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2022
Expect more hostage diplomacy from a desperate Iran
Recent episodes involving foreigners should be a warning to Western governments that their citizens are an easy target for a regime facing mounting domestic and international pressure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2022
Rwanda deserves U.K. censure over handling of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero
The Biden administration is pushing back against President Kagame's treatment of u2018Hotel Rwanda' hero Paul Rusesabagina. Boris Johnson should do the same.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2022
Africa becomes collateral damage of Ukraine war
The continent's leaders have largely been reluctant to push back against Moscow, but their fence-sitting hasn't spared them from the invasion's fallout.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2022
The U.S. risks paying a high price for a nuclear deal with Iran
Removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's terrorist designation would buttress an already-dangerous organization.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2021
Why Iraqi Kurds are fleeing their peaceful homeland
Given that so many Iraqi Kurds are now seeking instead to escape from the region shows the extent to which hopes for economic and political opportunity in the post-Saddam Hussein era have evaporated.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2021
Iran drops the fig leaf of its nuclear fatwa
The decree was always more political than religious - designed to provide cover for whatever nuclear course was expedient for Tehran at any given time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2021
Biden can break from Trump and Obama on Iran
Biden has space to pursue an Iran policy that is neither a reaction to Trump's nor a straightforward continuation of Obama's.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2020
A dismal year everywhere was even worse for Iran
After a year in which the regime has failed on every other front, it will almost inevitably double down on its only other source of legitimacy: its visceral anti-Americanism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2020
Erdogan's political challengers are getting tougher
Neither investors nor the general public seem to be buying Erdogan's promise of a new economic era for Turkey.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2020
Iranian nuclear scientist killing will have fallout
The killing certainly has some of the hallmarks of a campaign of assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, attributed to Israel: four were killed between 2010 and 2012.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2020
Ethiopia’s prime minister trades his Nobel Peace Prize for civil war
We may be long past holding laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize to its lofty standards — the cruel cynicism of Henry Kissinger and open bigotry of Aung San Suu Kyi are just two instances of honorees behaving dishonorably — but Abiy Ahmed’s belly flop from the pedestal is nonetheless remarkable....
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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