author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 19, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Matthew Brooker
For Matthew Brooker's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Mainland Chinese student Zhou Hongxu arrives for a court hearing on suspicion that he attempted to develop a spy network for China in Taiwan in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023
Spies bring their China warnings in from the cold
The spy chiefs say Western nations need to safeguard technology innovation, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2023
The Olympics are a giant money sink. So what?
Staging the world’s greatest games is about way more than just making a profit
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2023
Manchester United looks immune to the banking crisis
The bidding war for Manchester United, a sporting institution, bears little connection to financial reality.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2022
An oligarch's yacht and 10,000 tons of China's love for Putin
Beijing surely had to have a hand in giving assurance that a Russian superyacht that sailed into Hong Kong waters was safe from confiscation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2022
Property crisis traps China into a market paradox
The effort to halt the spread of mortgage boycotts risks fueling the behavior officials are trying to prevent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2021
Manny Pacquiao isn’t the hero the Philippines needs
What's not to like about Pacquiao? There's plenty such as his lack of legislative accomplishments as a lawmaker and his support for President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2021
Hong Kong’s nonelection is momentous and meaningless
An 'election” devoid of genuine debate or competition is a momentous sign of the lack of genuine democracy Hong Kong can expect in the future. It is also meaningless.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2021
Is capitalism just a phase? China struggles with the math
Communist ideology declares that capitalism is just a stage in human society, and that party leaders are the architects of the future there to look beyond this phase.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2021
Art is sometimes in the eye of the accountant
Art as investment is a tricky business. Stocks and bonds have cash flows that can be projected and discounted to arrive at a theoretical value. Even commodities are subject to supply and demand curves. Art is altogether more nebulous.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2021
Hong Kong's old boys club is living on borrowed time
Blame Hong Kong's clubby world of family-controlled and male-dominated businesses. Close to a third of the city's 2,500-odd listed companies had no women on the board as of the end of 2020.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2021
Hong Kong is giving itself another identity crisis
In general, transparency is the friend of honesty, accountability and good governance. As in the political realm, Hong Kong is marching in the opposite direction
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2021
Hong Kong’s slum landlords put everyone at risk
Subdivided apartments — cubicles carved out of existing flats or buildings — are an emblem of the government's failure to tackle the city's housing shortage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2021
Will arrests keep Hong Kong out of the 'abyss’?
Let's be clear. The primary that authorities have labeled subversion is simply democratic politics as it has been conducted in Hong Kong for more than a decade.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2020
Hong Kong sees hope in Shenzhen tea leaves
China has issued a pilot reform plan to build Shenzhen into a economic demonstration area, and will push forward cooperation between it and Hong Kong to a higher level.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2020
What to expect if COVID-19 has you working from home
The biggest challenges to quarantined work may be mental and physical
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2019
Why this time turned out different for Hong Kong
Support from business and the potential financial damage to China help explain how protesters prevailed in their battle against the extradition bill.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
In a first, Japan doctors sue Google over negative reviews on firm's map app
One of the lawyers representing a group of doctors suing Google told a news conference that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek compensation but instead to raise awareness over various problems with the Google Maps system.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER