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Therese Raphael
For Therese Raphael's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2023
How the U.K. became a terrible place to be a doctor
The U.K. trains too few doctors and then rewards them with low pay and poor working conditions, causing many to look for jobs overseas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2023
Giving Ukraine missiles is the best and only real option
Britain leans into its role as leading Ukraine arms supplier.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2023
Georgia is a new front in Russia’s hybrid war
Vladimir Putin wants Georgia, a once staunch U.S. and European ally, firmly in his club of authoritarian states.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2023
Finally, a happy chapter in the post-Brexit era
The U.K. and the EU come up with an agreement both sides can live with — in principle. That alone is an achievement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2023
Sunak heads toward another Brexit cliff edge
A bill to scrap all EU laws retained in the U.K. at the end of the year risks more confusion and chaos.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2023
Britain needs some leveling up in its military
Worries mount over the British military falling behind as Vladimir Putin’s land war rages in Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2022
Rishi Sunak must detoxify Brexit to save himself
A thaw in U.K.-EU relations is the U.K. prime ministeru2019s best hope of political survival.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2022
U.K. Tories are finally ‘ready for Rishi.’ Is it too late?
The Tory psychodrama has paused for now, but Rishi Sunak has warned of an u201cexistential threatu201d to the party if it doesnu2019t change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2022
Truss’ exit leaves Conservatives at the last chance saloon
As Britainu2019s shortest-serving prime minister resigns, the first job for her successor will be to restore a sense of competence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2022
The U.K.’s masses descend on London to say goodbye
While it fits with a national stereotype, the orderly 30-hour, 7-km queue for the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II is about more than just lining up.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2022
Incoming British leader Liz Truss can’t escape Boris Johnson’s legacy
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson changed British politics, but he left his successor, Liz Truss, with a pile of problems.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2022
Can Liz Truss exceed low expectations? Thatcher did
The odds favor an early bounce for the U.K.'s Liz Truss and a steady decline. But donu2019t write her off yet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2022
Should Scotland be an independent country?
At least for now, a replay of Scotland's 2014 independence vote is the last thing the country needs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2022
McDonald’s exit from Russia ends what was a hopeful era
If the 1990 opening in Pushkin Square was a symbol of hope, McDonaldu2019s exit announcement is confirmation that Russia is now not just uninvestible, but intolerable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2022
Brexit made Boris Johnson. Now he has to face its costs.
The inflationary impact on the U.K. economy and the risks of de-globalization are worsening pressure on companies and consumers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2022
Is Wimbledon’s ban on Russians a double fault?
Banning players from Russia and Belarus does more to preserve the tennis tournament as a politics-free zone than support Ukraineu2019s war effort.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2022
Trying Putin for war crimes is no liberal fantasy
The International Criminal Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice are all investigating crimes committed in Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2022
Is Britain really the world’s least racist country?
This new U.K. report on racism is different, as the reactions show. It was commissioned with a clear objective to "change the narrativeu201d and "stop the sense of victimization.u201d
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2021
COVID-19 has changed socialized medicine in Britain forever
How did the U.K. make it through the past 20 months of COVID-19? The private sectoru2019s role in delivering publicly funded care needs to be acknowledged.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2021
Can vaccines get rid of long COVID?
The subject of long COVID has also been divisive, with social media full of both support groups and skeptics.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world