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Thitinan Pongsudhirak

For Thitinan Pongsudhirak's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 13, 2023

World should tip the scales in Myanmar’s civil war

With Myanmar's civil war having reached a stalemate, the international community should step in, recognize the civilian government and deliver weapons to its armed wing.

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 13, 2022

Polarized world means the end of ASEAN as we know it

Geopolitical shifts have exposed new divisions within ASEAN, and the group's continued relevance will depend on its ability to set more realistic goals.

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 4, 2022

Southeast Asia should prepare for a new cold war

The Soviet Union lost the Cold War, but China is now giving the West a run for its money in the sequel. And Southeast Asia will once again be a major theater.

COMMENTARY / World

May 8, 2016

A role reversal for Myanmar and Thailand

Rarely do next-door neighbors move as rapidly in opposite political directions as Thailand and Myanmar have in the last several years.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 12, 2011

Thai results challenge established regime

The thunderous results of Thailand's general election July 3 will seem familiar to anyone attuned to the political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa.

COMMENTARY / World

May 11, 2011

The Thai-Cambodian battle of the temples

The military skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia that have claimed more than two dozen lives, caused scores of injuries, and displaced tens of thousands of people since February are primarily attributable to domestic politics in both countries. Rooted in ancient enmities and the legacy of the colonial era, the fighting is damaging the entire region. So virulent is the dispute that even a short-term settlement will require third-party mediation. A secure peace will depend mainly on how the endgame to Thailand's domestic political crisis plays out in the coming months — and on Cambodia's willingness to stay out of this process.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 4, 2011

Paint Thailand yellow and red, with a caveat to compromise

BANGKOK — After three consecutive years of deadly street protests, Thailand has arrived at the point where it will need to hold new elections, as the current term of its national assembly expires next December.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 18, 2009

'Red shirts' are in retreat

BANGKOK — The defeat of the "red-shirt" protesters under the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has restored calm and order in the streets of Bangkok after a day of rioting that resulted in two deaths and scores of injuries. The red shirts have evidently lost the battle, but their war against what they see as gross injustices in Thai society between the haves and haves-not will continue as long as they are unrecognized and unaddressed.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 25, 2009

Thai pendulum swings to the Establishment

BANGKOK — Thailand's political pendulum has now swung all the way back to an era that existed before the rise of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2001. What transpired under Thaksin during 2001-2005 is being undone and redone. Whether the new Democrat Party-led government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva can maintain old-style, pre-2001 Thai politics will be the overarching theme of 2009.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 24, 2008

Bush legacy leaves U.S., Asia room to build

BANGKOK — In his last presidential visit to Asia, U.S. President George W. Bush laid out what he considered was his legacy for the region. But what he left out in his last major Asia policy speech, delivered earlier this month in Bangkok, was as revealing as what he underlined as his success.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 18, 2006

A test for Thai democracy

SINGAPORE -- One year after he was re-elected in a landslide, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been forced to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap election. Although his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party commands a 75 percent majority in the assembly, Thaksin is embattled.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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