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Michael Crowley
For Michael Crowley's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
U.S. President Joe Biden makes a campaign stop at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2024
Providing both bombs and food, Biden puts himself in the middle of Gaza’s war
Biden's decision to send aid by air and sea represents a shift prompted by the growing humanitarian crisis. But it also raised uncomfortable questions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks after a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 23, 2023
A world leader on Ukraine, the U.S. is now isolated over Gaza
With the year drawing to a close, the United States finds itself diplomatically isolated and in a defensive crouch over the Israel-Hamas war.
Taliban security personnel in Kabul on Aug. 15. So far, U.S. President Joe Biden has not decided to restore any U.S. support to Afghanistan, despite the country's worsening humanitarian crisis.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023
Two years after exit, Biden resists calls for more Taliban contact
Some analysts and U.S. officials had clung to the hope that the Taliban had moderated since they last controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 14, 2023
Ukraine’s offensive could set stage for diplomacy with Russia, U.S. officials say
It is unclear how the officials will define success in the counteroffensive, which could last many months, or how its outcome might affect their approach.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 22, 2023
One of the most influential ambassadors in Washington isn’t one
Taiwan’s representative, Bi-khim Hsiao, calls herself a “cat warrior” walking a delicate diplomatic line. China calls her a troublemaker who could trigger a war.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 10, 2022
Blinken presses China’s top diplomat on Ukraine but stresses cooperation
As Washington works to shore up alliances with its Asian allies to constrain China, it is also trying to assemble a global effort to punish Moscow for its aggression in Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 19, 2022
Trump’s shadow looms over fading Iran nuclear talks
With no compromise in sight and Iran making steady progress toward nuclear capability, the Biden administration could soon face a stark choice.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 30, 2022
For NATO, Turkey is a disruptive ally
Within an alliance that operates by consensus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come to be seen as something of a stickup artist.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 14, 2022
Ukraine war ushers in ‘new era’ for U.S. abroad
The Russian invasion has bonded America to Europe more tightly than at any time since the Cold War and deepened U.S. ties with Asian allies.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 23, 2022
Putin insulated Russia’s economy. Will Biden’s sanctions hold him back in Ukraine?
The Biden administration might find it has to impose the absolute harshest sanctions — ones that would inflict suffering on many ordinary citizens — or look for a noneconomic option.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2022
Puzzle in Ukraine crisis: Where’s the U.S. ambassador?
Neither the Biden administration nor Ukraine's government is providing a clear explanation for a delay that career diplomats say would be baffling and inexcusable even in ordinary times
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 21, 2022
Biden strengthens his words on Ukraine after flustering European partners
The comments came a day after the president triggered alarm in European capitals with his suggestion of divisions among allies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2021
Biden backs Taiwan, but some call for a clearer warning to China
As China grows stronger and bolder, some experts want to end Washington's decades-long policy of “strategic ambiguity.”
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2021
Antony Blinken, without leaving U.S., tries to mend fences with allies abroad
As part of his effort to re-energize American alliances frayed by the Donald Trump years, Blinken has spoken with dozens of his counterparts around the world but has yet to leave the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2020
Biden picks Blinken, defender of global alliances, as top envoy
Antony J. Blinken, a defender of global alliances and one of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s closest foreign policy advisers, is expected to be nominated for secretary of state, a job in which he will try to coalesce skeptical international partners into a new competition with China, according to people close to the process
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2020
Joe Biden’s China journey
As Biden faces fierce campaign attacks from President Donald Trump, his language on China points to a drastic shift in thinking.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2008
Obama can't escape America's realpolitik
During the Democratic Party primary season, all those eons ago, Barack Obama deployed no more powerful line against Hillary Clinton than his insistence that "we can't just tell people what they want to hear. We need to tell them what they need to hear." More than just a catchy couplet, the phrase was a deadly arrow into the heart of Clintonism.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?