For Antoni Slodkowski's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A Japanese former politician who campaigned to bring billions of dollars of investment from some of Japan’s top companies to Myanmar has urged Tokyo to endorse its military regime.
Akira Amari, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, has in recent years driven a policy push for Japan's economy to be less reliant on other countries.
The PM decided to shunt back the LDP race as he has struggled to solidify support in the party and opponents were likely to gather votes in the coming weeks, the Mainichi reports.
A Mainichi newspaper poll showed public support for Suga slid below 30% for the first time, to stand at a dismal 26%, while the Nikkei daily put his rating at 34%.
Japan had feared that the Games might spread COVID-19, introduce new variants and overwhelm the medical system. But the numbers from inside the Olympic "bubble" tell a different story.
While the athletes village and Olympic press center represent a huge, strict COVID-19 control zone, the residents of the capital are living life largely as normal.
Olympic boss Thomas Bach spoke for 13 minutes, about twice as long as his Japanese female host, Seiko Hashimoto, prompting a flood of criticism on social media.
Yamaguchi said the government was "confusing" the public by asking them to stay at home and imposing curbs while putting on the global sports showpiece.
“Adult understanding” investigated as a potential conflict of interest for the Japanese advertising giant.
In an interview, Ishiba said Tokyo should deepen ties with its Asian neighbors, including South Korea, amid growing tension between China and the United States.
