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Randy Thanthong-Knight
For Randy Thanthong-Knight's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Christmas lights decorate downtown Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, on Jan. 5. In Canada, a post-COVID explosion in foreign students has resulted in housing shortages and flawed academic programs being taught in strip malls.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Canada’s welcome for foreign students becomes 'trafficking’ nightmare
An open-door policy has caused rental prices to soar, soured the electorate on new arrivals, and allowed colleges to take advantage of young people.
India has abruptly canceled visa applications amid an escalating row with Canada. The latest move means most Canadians won’t be able to travel to India if they don’t already have a visa.
WORLD / Society
Sep 22, 2023
Travelers in limbo after India halts visas in Canada in growing row
The visa issuance suspension means most Canadians won’t be able to travel to India if they don’t already have a visa.
A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Canada, where Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in June 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023
India hits back at Canadian PM Trudeau, calling murder allegations ‘absurd’
The fraying ties center around Canada's Sikh population — one of the highest outside of India — and their demands for a separate homeland.
A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple is seen after the June killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023
Trudeau accuses India of involvement in Sikh leader’s murder
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was slain in June outside a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, raising tensions between Sikh separatists and the Indian government.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 19, 2023
Mass immigration experiment gives Canada an edge in global race for labor
A country that has about as many people as the state of California has added more than the population of San Francisco in immigrants over the past year.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2021
China's vaccine diplomacy drive falters as recipients turn to western shots
In the early days of COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, Chinese shots saved countless lives. But as the Western stranglehold on mRNA supplies loosens, a clear preference has emerged.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 4, 2021
Thai PM survives no-confidence vote amid party infighting
Coup leader-turned-premier Prayut still faces a youth-led protest movement that has been demanding his resignation for more than a year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2021
Thailand’s oil giant is going on a green spending spree
Thailand’s oil giant, whose sales account for about 10% of the nation’s economic output, is suddenly spending billions of dollars on electric vehicle and renewable energy companies and tilting its traditional businesses toward chemicals and plastics.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 8, 2021
Thailand’s full reopening in doubt with tenfold surge in COVID-19
The spread of the delta variant nationwide and low rate of vaccinations mean new cases and fatalities will continue to spike, according to health experts.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 1, 2021
Phuket opens for business in push to save vital tourism industry
Before the pandemic, tourism contributed about 20% of Thailand's gross domestic product — about double the global average.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 24, 2021
Thai protesters return as parliament eyes charter recast
It's the first time in six months that demonstrators descended on the Thai capital after two waves of COVID-19 outbreaks this year prevented any large gatherings.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 16, 2021
Phuket reopening plan offers model for Asia as travel bubbles burst
Tourism-reliant Thailand aims to allow quarantine-free entry for vaccinated travelers to its prime destination from July 1.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 21, 2021
Thai protesters plan return to streets as COVID-19 response fuels disquiet
More than a million Thais have joined a Facebook group to discuss ways to leave the country for good.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 7, 2021
Rice is keeping world’s food crisis from getting worse
Rice is the predominant source of nourishment each day for more than 3 billion people, and yet it hasn't rallied anything like other agricultural commodities.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 4, 2021
Not just India: Developing nations see explosive rise in COVID-19 cases
The reported spread in these handful of nations has been far more rapid, and signals the dangers of allowing the novel coronavirus to go uncontrolled.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 17, 2021
Thailand has three paths to recognizing same-sex partnerships
The country markets itself as a liberal destination for LGBTQ people, yet the nation still doesn't recognize same-sex unions. That could change as soon as this year.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 9, 2021
Thailand backs vaccine passport ahead of wider reopening
Thailand moved a step closer to issuing vaccine certificates, with a panel of officials backing the proposal seen as a major milestone toward allowing the tourism-reliant nation to fully reopen to foreign visitors.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2021
Vision of vaccinated tourists coming into focus in Thailand
Thailand’s tourism reopening plans are gaining momentum as authorities roll out a national inoculation program and look into coronavirus vaccine passports and quarantine waivers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 20, 2021
Thai prime minister survives no-confidence vote as protest looms
The no-confidence motion against the premier was rejected by 272 lawmakers, while 206 voted supported it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 3, 2021
Thailand revives prison terms for royal insults to stop protests
The fresh charges appear to be a tactical shift in a bid to silence the key leaders of the protests.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores