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Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 15, 2022

Hiding in plain sight, a Soviet-era air defense system arrives in Ukraine

Slovakia is transporting not only weapons from its own stocks into Ukraine. It is also sending military aid from many other countries.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 15, 2022

War brings new Iron Curtain down on Russia’s storied ballet stages

Ballet in Russia is something of a national pastime — a cultural jewel, but also the focus of intense emotion and close scrutiny by its discerning audiences.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 15, 2022

Why Elon Musk's Warren Buffett-like playbook won't work on Twitter

Musk's bid has been deemed too low by the market and too thin on financing details.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 15, 2022

Getting to know Japanese castles and picking out your favorites

The warmer weather has arrived and that provides a great opportunity to get out to some of Japan's many historical sites, starting with its castles.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 14, 2022

Ukraine war pushes Germans to change. They are wavering.

Few in Germany believed Putin would invade a sovereign European country, but the war has set off a cycle of soul-searching — and re-evaluating ties to Russia.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 14, 2022

Japan at crossroads as stage set for dramatic rethink of defense policy

While a push by Abe to dispel taboos over nuclear weapons is unlikely to come to fruition, he may have laid the foundation for a change to Japan's defense-oriented security strategy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2022

'Air worse than Beijing' isn't much of an insult anymore

China's progress in reducing pollution in its capital city justifies a little environmental optimism, if only the world would catch up.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2022

Australia sends a $7.5 billion cyber signal to China

The target of Canberra's new cybersecurity budget is clear, namely China — and it's also a savvy way to boost the nation's defenses.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 13, 2022

Johnson likely to survive party scandal as Tory lawmakers shrug off fine

Johnson's disregard for normal politics has been popular, helping him shrug off a slew of scandals throughout his career.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2022

We need better COVID-19 booster shots, not more of the same

There are 100 new Covid vaccines in development. One of them could offer better protection against omicron.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 9, 2022

Ukraine demands tough global response to train station strike that killed dozens

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike in Kramatorsk in the eastern region of Donetsk a deliberate attack on civilians.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2022

Confronting AI’s potential to create new chemical weapons

Although the immediate danger seems minimal, efforts are needed to safeguard machine-learning models used in chemical and drug discovery.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2022

Singapore and Malaysia reunite, if only for cake

People can finally move freely across the Singapore-Malaysia border. Rather than a big surge in spending, they're enjoying the small stuff with their families.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 6, 2022

With Japan still shut to travelers, it is out of sight and out of mind

Once a tourist hot spot before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan should join Asian neighbors in relaxing its border entry rules, lest it fade even further from global consciousness.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 6, 2022

Elon Musk’s Twitter investment could be bad news for free speech

Musk posted on Twitter, 'Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
A bump stock can be attached to a semiautomatic rifle to increase the firing rate.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 15, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court rejects federal ban on gun 'bump stocks'

Bump stocks use a semiautomatic's recoil to allow it to slide back and forth while "bumping" the shooter's trigger finger, resulting in rapid fire.
Palestinians hold Eid al-Adha prayers by the ruins of the Al-Rahma mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

Netanyahu denounces tactical pauses in Gaza fighting to allow in aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction underlined political tensions over the issue of aid coming into Gaza.
Members of the Australian swimming team for the 2024 Paris Olympics pose for a group photo after the Australian Swimming Trials in Brisbane on Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Jun 17, 2024

Australia coach calls worrying about Chinese doping scandal 'a waste of energy'

Rohan Taylor said it was not worth wasting time worrying about something they had no control over.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Switzerland on Sunday. The gathering brought together over 50 heads of state and government, excluding Russia, to work out a way toward a peace process for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2024

Why Ukraine isn’t ready for peace talks

It's no exaggeration to say that what happens in Ukraine matters to the world order. A rushed peace would stop the fighting, but by compromising the country's future.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 8.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Israel's Netanyahu disbands war cabinet as tensions rise over Lebanon

There have been weeks of increasing exchanges of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon.
More than 2,100 companies, or about 98% of listed firms whose financial year ends in March, are due to hold their AGMs during the coming two weeks, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2024

Activists’ proposals hit record high for Japan’s AGM season

A total of 45 companies received proposals as of June 7, according to data compiled by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K., during the launch of the party's 'Our Contract with You' general election manifesto in Merthyr Tydfil, U.K., on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Taking aim at U.K.'s Sunak, Nigel Farage pledges border control and tax cuts

Reform's policies are designed to suck support from Sunak's Conservatives, focusing on immigration, which has divided the governing party.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Amur Oblast region of Far East Russia on Sept. 13 .
COMMENTARY
Jun 18, 2024

Worry more about Putin’s visit than Kim’s dung balloons

Russia and North Korea, heavily sanctioned, have much to gain from each other and little to lose, reducing the leverage that the U.S. and its allies have over them.
An Israeli tank maneuvers inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Gaza's environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density, before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Society
Jun 18, 2024

Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage, U.N. says

Water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are now almost entirely defunct, the report found, with Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants shut down.
Staff lower the Chinese national flag in the Central Financial District in Hong Kong in March. Hong Kong is an established trading hub for raising capital while Singapore excels in private wealth management.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2024

Stop comparing Hong Kong to Singapore

Think of it this way: Hong Kong is where the Chinese can grow their wealth while Singapore is where they can preserve it.
Vladimir Putin is expected to continue using asymmetric tactics, such as covert operations, sabotage and cyberattacks, to destabilize Europe.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2024

Putin’s 'shadow war' against Europe is intensifying

Vladimir Putin is expected to continue using asymmetric tactics, such as covert operations, sabotage and cyberattacks, to destabilize Europe.
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte in Manila on Jan. 28, 2024. Duterte resigned from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday, the presidential palace said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Philippine vice president exits Marcos Cabinet as alliance collapses

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte resigning from two key posts might give her more power to go against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
For hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, heat is deadly. In the U.S., it takes more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or floods.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2024

Heat waves are deadlier than hurricanes. Make them ‘disasters.’

For hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, heat is deadly. In the U.S., it takes more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or floods.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2024

The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on

The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.
What often goes overlooked are the contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2024

The United States has forgotten its founders included Black men and women

What often goes overlooked are contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years