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July 19, 2025
 

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Omar Ashour
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2017
No end in sight for Syria's balance of terror
In a war with endlessly shifting priorities, conflicting aims, few credible commitments and plenty of foreign meddling, any ceasefire today is just as likely to be broken by violence tomorrow.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2016
The Islamic State group's European strategy
Europe needs its democracies to unite around a common strategy to defend against manifold security challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2015
Putin plays Syrian roulette
No solution for Islamic State and Syria can be achieved without a green light from Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2015
Mass death sentences now a part of life in Egypt
With its mass death sentences, Egypt's military regime is joining the ranks of Adolf Hitler's Nazis and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2015
What good is an Arab armed alliance?
Will an Arab military alliance leave the Middle East better or worse off, particularly given today's growing Sunni-Shiite divide?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2013
Egypt's new revolution endangers democracy
If the junta-led political process can somehow roll back from exclusion and media repression, Egypt may yet see a transition similar to Turkey's after 1997.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2012
Egypt's democratic dictator?
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first-ever elected civilian president, recently granted himself sweeping temporary powers in order, he claims, to attain the objectives of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2012
Coming to grips with Libya's jihadists
"They are armed and I am not going to fight a losing battle and kill my men over a demolished shrine," said Fawzi Abd al-'Aali, the former Libyan interior minister, before he "resigned" last August.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2012
Egypt's new old government
Egypt's first-ever freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, has appointed his first Cabinet, and guess what? It is crammed with officials from the old regime.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012
Libyan election another Arab Spring paradox
"We certainly did not expect the results, but ... our future is certainly better than our present and our past," said Sami al-Saadi, the former ideologue of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the founder of the political party al-Umma al-Wasat, which finished third in Central Tripoli during Libya's...
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2012
Who will triumph in Egypt?
Everything about Egypt's revolution has been unexpected, and the first-round results in the country's first-ever competitive presidential election are no different.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2012
What does Egypt's military leadership want?
"Whatever the majority in the People's Assembly, they are very welcome, because they won't have the ability to impose anything that the people don't want."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2012
Salafi challenge to an Egypt ruled without God
"We want democracy, but one constrained by God's laws. Ruling without God's laws is infidelity," Yasser Burhami, the second leading figure in the Salafi Call Society (SCS) and its most charismatic leader, recently said.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2011
Lack of leadership hobbles Egypt's revolution
The man who taught me to sacrifice my heart for Egypt is dead," said Vivian Magdi, mourning her fiancé. Michael Mosad was killed in the Maspiro area Oct. 9, when an armored vehicle hit him during a protest called to condemn an attack on an Egyptian Church in the southern Aswan region. The protest left...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2011
Hosni Mubarak's last laugh?
August 3, 2011, will be remembered as a historic day in Egypt. Former President Hosni Mubarak was put on public trial, together with his two sons and his ex-interior minister, General Habib el-Adly. The repercussions for Egypt, indeed for the entire Arab world, will be profound.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2011
Was killing him a mistake?
"He lived a hero, he died a martyr. . .if they killed one Osama, a thousand others will be born," says a comment on a Facebook group called "We are all Osama bin Laden." The group formed one hour after U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of the al-Qaida leader's death. The group already has around...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2011
The Gadhafis: like father, like son
LONDON — "The enemy of yesterday is the friend of today . . . . [I]t was a real war, but those brothers are free men now." Thus spoke Seif al-Islam Gadhafi in March 2010, referring to the leaders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an armed organization that had attempted to assassinate his...
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JSA’s 100th anniversary event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for sumo fans
Egyptian wrestler Osunaarashi has some fun with children during a special Japan Sumo Association event in 2017.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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Longform

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How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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