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Damien Cave
For Damien Cave's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A replica of the Statue of Liberty in Taipei. There are markers all over Taiwan of its courtship of the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2024
Taiwan’s doubts about America are growing. That could be dangerous.
Will deepening skepticism about the United States as a trustworthy nation diminish Taiwan’s belief that it could fend off China?
A group of 79 soldiers at the U.S. Army’s jungle training school prepare to enter a river on the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Nov. 29. Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
U.S. military returns to the jungle, training for future threats
Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
A neighborhood destroyed by last week’s wildfire in Lahaina, on the island of Maui, Hawaii
WORLD
Aug 17, 2023
After Maui’s wildfire horror, residents search for a way forward
Maui's residents are trying to balance rebuilding the community and dealing with grief with the tourism work needed to support themselves.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2023
Modi and India’s diaspora: A complex love affair making global waves
Many Indian professionals overseas who cheer on India"s economic rise also fear Modi"s Hindu-supremacist policies will keep the country from standing as a democratic superpower.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2023
Beijing uses its more militarized coast guard like a navy
Beijing’s patrol vessels often resemble warships, and now other nations are trying to compete with tougher coast guards of their own.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 16, 2023
An island under threat asks when to share and when to fight
Guam’s original inhabitants, the Chamorro, again are being tested amid another round of encroachment by the U.S. military as it tries to thwart China"s expansionist ambitions.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2023
An anxious Asia arms for a war it hopes to prevent
Doubts about both China and the United States are driving an arms race in the Indo-Pacific with echoes of World War II and new levels of risk.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 20, 2023
How COVID’s bitter divisions tarnished a liberal icon
In a part of the world where coronavirus restrictions lingered, Jacinda Ardern struggled to get beyond her association with pandemic policy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 9, 2022
The world’s democracies ask: Why can’t America fix itself?
Conversations across continents reveal alarm over the United Statesu2019 direction, as it slides away from ideals it once pressed other nations to adopt.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 7, 2022
Taiwan’s bomb shelters: ‘A space for life. And a space for death.’
Preparing for war over hundreds of years has left a mark on the island, with its hundreds of bomb shelters. Some are being turned into cultural oases.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 21, 2022
How Taiwan’s ‘adorable’ and ambitious diplomacy aims to keep the island safe
Even as Chinau2019s threats on reunification grow more pointed, most recently at the Communist Party congress, Taiwan is working creatively to bolster its alliances.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Oct 10, 2022
Why strict but inconsistent gun laws did not keep Thailand safe
The murder of two dozen small children u2014 committed during nap time in colorful classrooms u2014 has horrified the nation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 12, 2022
With queen gone, former colonies find a moment to rethink lasting ties
Reconciling a seemingly benevolent queen with the often-cruel legacy of the British Empire is the conundrum at the heart of Britainu2019s post-imperial influence.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 12, 2022
Solomon Islands’ leader, a friend of China, gets an election delayed
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will face voters at what could be a more advantageous time for him, after the Solomon Islands hosts the Pacific Games.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2022
Why China is miles ahead in a Pacific race for influence
To many observers, the South Pacific today reveals what American decline looks like. Even as U.S. officials have tried to step up their game, they are still far behind.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 23, 2022
Australia’s ‘climate election’ finally arrived. Will it be enough?
The likelihood of a significant shift in Australiau2019s climate policy has suddenly increased after Anthony Albanese led the Labor Party to an election win.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2022
Australia’s new leader faces peril of winning as ‘not the other guy’
Anthony Albanese won the election with a campaign that was gaffe-prone and light on policy but promised a more decent form of politics, delivering a stark rejection of Scott Morrison.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 6, 2022
These are the cities in Ukraine facing Russian attacks
About two-thirds of the Ukrainian population of 44 million lived in the country's cities u2014 now those cities are the focus of Putin's assault.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 5, 2022
The war in Ukraine holds a warning for the world order
The multinational response to the invasion of Ukraine shows that liberalism has some life left. But the challenges posed by waning U.S. power and rising authoritarianism remain formidable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2021
How Asia, once a vaccination laggard, is revving up inoculations
Overall, most Asians trusted their governments to do the right thing and put the needs of the community over individual freedoms.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world