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Tom Allard
For Tom Allard's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2022
Marcos as Philippines president a boon for China but a setback for U.S.
The new leader has long-standing ties with China and is seeking a new deal over contested waters of the South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2022
Fall and rise: Marcos family back in power in the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s victory marks extraordinary comeback for a family once best known for widespread human rights abuses and the plunder of an estimated $10 billion.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 4, 2022
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could control hunt for family's wealth as Philippines president
If the front-runner triumphs in the May 9 election, he will wield broad powers over government agencies seeking to recover as much as $10 billion plundered by his namesake father.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 1, 2021
Beijing protested Indonesian drilling and military exercises in South China Sea
The unprecedented demand for oil and natural gas has elevated tensions between the two countries, but both have made attempts to play down the standoff.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2021
Tradition versus credibility: Inside the ASEAN meet that snubbed Myanmar
Southeast Asian ministers were divided between sticking to a tradition of non-interference and the need to retain credibility by sanctioning coup leader Min Aung Hlaing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2021
ASEAN appoints Brunei diplomat as envoy to Myanmar
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have appointed Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs, Erywan Yusof, as special envoy to Myanmar, the group said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2021
'Don't get sick': Indonesia's poor miss out on COVID-19 care
The pandemic has been a grinding descent toward poverty and hunger for many of the country's economically vulnerable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 26, 2021
ASEAN changed Myanmar statement on release of political detainees, sources say
Language on freeing political prisoners was unexpectedly watered down and did not contain a firm call for their release.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2021
Accounts differ after three brothers killed by Indonesian soldiers at Papuan health clinic
The United Nations and rights advocates say Indonesia's security forces are carrying out grave abuses.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2020
Vaccines, not spy planes: U.S. misfires in Indonesia
Not only has the United States not promised to help with vaccine supplies, it also shocked Indonesia officials by asking to land its spy planes in the country.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2020
Indonesia rejected U.S. request to host spy planes, officials say
U.S. officials made multiple approaches to Indonesia's defense and foreign ministers before Indonesia's president rebuffed the request, the officials said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 20, 2020
An endless first wave: How Indonesia failed to control the virus
Only last week Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s maritime minister and close confidant of the country’s president, touted herbal mangosteen juice as a coronavirus remedy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2019
Pushing the envelope: Money politics undermines democracy in Indonesia
Shanti Ramchand learned quickly what was expected when she began campaigning in Jakarta for Indonesia's national parliament; distribute envelopes of cash at a small campaign event, and give a motorcycle or an air-conditioning unit to the community leader.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 4, 2019
As Australia agonizes over accused mosque gunman, new clues of Tarrant's ties to far right groups emerge
From its clubhouses in Melbourne and Sydney, the Lads Society promotes drug-free living and exercise — and "white resistance" and Islamophobia, according to online statements and interviews with two of its leaders.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 11, 2019
Meth 'disaster' for Asia-Pacific region as seizures surge tenfold in Thailand
Seizures of high-purity crystal methamphetamine have surged more than tenfold in Thailand over the past two years, statistics show, a stark indicator of the growth in industrial-scale production of the stimulant in neighboring Myanmar.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 15, 2018
Crackdown and cash: Hun Sen's recipe for victory in Cambodian election
Drenched in sweat and more than an hour into a speech urging 16,000 garment factory workers to vote for the ruling party, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia revived the restless crowd by announcing that everyone would receive a cash gift.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 4, 2017
Seizing of Philippines city by Islamist militants a wake-up call for Southeast Asia
At the beginning of the battle that has raged for the past 12 days in Marawi City at the southern end of the Philippines, dozens of Islamist militants stormed its prison, overwhelming the guards.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 10, 2017
'Dollars and euros': How a Malaysian firm helped fund North Korea's leadership
Over the past two decades, North Korean-born Han Hun Il, the founding chief executive of a Malaysian conglomerate, funneled money to the leadership in Pyongyang, a North Korean defector, speaking out for the first time, has said.

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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