author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 13, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Clive Crook
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (center) attends a news conference at the Capitol on May 22 after the House narrowly passed a sweeping budget bill that some worry could add trillions to the country's deficit over the next decade.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2025
The U.S. is about to discover if deficits actually matter
It turns out that this pattern — the bigger the debt, the less likely politicians are to address it — is lurking in the data, and not just in the U.S.
While tariffs and value-added taxes seem similar, a VAT would be a more effective, long-term solution for boosting the U.S. economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2025
Europe’s VAT hurts the U.S.? Retaliate with a VAT.
Maybe misconceptions about tariffs and trade can be turned to America’s advantage.
U.S. President Donald Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden, along with their respective first ladies, Melania Trump and Dr. Jill Biden, share words during the Bidens' departure ceremony on the East Front of the Capitol on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025
Joe Biden’s abiding legacy will be Donald Trump
The question is how Democrats got to the point where more voters trust Trump — not just any Republican but Trump — to do a better job of running the country than Harris.
The massive Gemini fiasco unveils critical questions about artificial intelligence's role and accountability in decision-making.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2024
Google’s bad Gemini rollout did the world a favor
Part of the difficulty in grappling with AI’s full implications is the huge effort that has gone into devising models that express themselves like humans.
U.S. President Joe Biden announces new provisions in March 2022 requiring the government to buy more made-in-America goods.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2024
Biden doesn’t get why we need the WTO
What do Biden and Trump have in common? Protectionism. As a result, the 13th WTO ministerial conference underway in Abu Dhabi is doomed to fail.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2022
Want a better IRS? Simplify the tax code
The biggest problem facing the IRS isn't bad management or a lack of resources, but the metastasizing complexity of the tax rules it must administer.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2019
Britain's next great Brexit mistake
A short delay before the U.K. leaves the EU won't work — Brexit should be canceled.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2019
Where is the European Union's Brexit policy?
The U.K. has set a new standard for political paralysis — but the EU has little to boast about.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2017
Leaving the EU doesn't have to be a disaster
A friendly parting between the U.K. and EU is still possible, and in both sides' best interests.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2016
Why Trump might be good president
Expectations of Trump are so low in the minds of many Americans that small acts of civility and moderation will seem like remarkable achievements.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2016
The Brexit question that nobody has asked
Is Britain's less-than-full-hearted commitment to the European adventure best pursued as an increasingly anomalous member of a broken EU or as a concerned and friendly neighbor?
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2016
U.S. stance on Britain and the EU is hypocritical
U.S. President Barack Obama might at least pay the British the courtesy of understanding their distinctively American ideas about sovereignty.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2015
Europe's messiah complex
Britain's debate over its membership of the European Union is bound to end badly because whatever U.K. voters decide, they'll come to regret it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2015
Climate and the Volkswagen scandal
But there are several scandals swirling around Volkswagen's emissions malfeasance, and the most important may be European governments' passion for diesel over gasoline.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2015
What if the 2008 crisis comes around again?
The obstacles to effective remedies for a major economic crisis would be formidable, but more political than economic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2015
Stand back: China's bubble will burst
The bursting of China's stock-market bubble could conceivably deflate the myth that what Beijing commands of the economy shall be so. And who knows where that might lead.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2015
Britain's strange silence on Europe
Britain's election was supposed to be about the nation's future in the European Union, but the issue is being given short shrift by both Labour and the Conservatives.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2015
The poverty of American presidential politics
The time, effort and money that will be poured into the battle for the U.S. presidency are enormous, but the difference the outcome will make is limited.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2015
Feckless Europe kowtows to China on AIIB
Europe's decision to support the AIIB over U.S. objections reflects its own weakness more than America's.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2015
Criminals, frauds taught capitalists about trust
The history of markets is, in part, the history of lying, cheating and stealing — and efforts to fight commercial crime.
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.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
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.
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.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
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.

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

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER