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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2021

It will take more than a summit to protect democracy

Democracy is slow and deliberative, process oriented and, as a result, capable of manipulation by special interests.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 12, 2021

‘The Shut Ins’: A poignant look at loneliness from four points of view

The individual voices of the characters shine in Katherine Brabon's novel, which delves into societal pressures and isolation in contemporary Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 11, 2021

What is happiness? These individuals appear to have found the answer.

Personal anecdotes suggest that happiness is a private pleasure, something that can be best enjoyed away from the chaos of the world outside.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2021

The end of free money

Rising inflation does not look to be a just a temporary problem, and supply bottlenecks are not the only cause.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2021

Confronting the Kremlin’s new hybrid war in Europe

Russia's recent aggressive moves have multiple objectives. But the Kremlin's greatest desire is to divide and weaken the European Union.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 8, 2021

Why any war with Taiwan is a huge gamble for China’s Xi

For all the talk of Chinese President Xi Jinping's desire to invade Taiwan, one counterpoint is often overlooked: The domestic risks involved in starting a potentially devastating war.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2021

China throws down the gauntlet on development aid

The West can't match China project for project. The fact that their resources are limited demands that Western governments be smarter and more efficient with development aid.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2021

‘Minamata Mandala’: An unfinished battle for accountability

Documentary film director Kazuo Hara chronicles the ongoing struggles of Minamata disease victims to hold the state responsible in one of Japan's worst cases of industrial pollution.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2021

What’s worst about omicron so far is the uncertainty

How should the world respond to omicron? We just have to wait as there is information that we don't yet have. And for many, the waiting itself is the problem.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2021

China’s tech regulators strike again

The Cyberspace Administration of China recently issued new draft guidelines that entail a host of restrictions on the collection and processing of data and its transfer across borders.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2021

Biden’s democracy summit is a South Asian diplomatic flub

As in many parts of the world, including in South Asia, the Biden's Summit for Democracy summit is likely to do more harm than good
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2021

Omicron is the price we pay for vaccine inequality

Amsterdam's main airport went into lockdown recently after 61 passengers on two flights from southern Africa tested positive for the new virus. Japan, Hong Kong and Israel have also reported cases.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 30, 2021

Scores hoping to enter Japan in limbo — again — after latest entry ban

The country's new entry measures — which together with Israel are among the world's most stringent — mean that from Tuesday all new visitors are barred from entry.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Nov 29, 2021

On shaky ground: Is Tokyo prepared for the ‘Big One’?

A powerful earthquake that shook the capital in October has fueled fresh fears of an impending temblor that could devastate the world's largest city.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 29, 2021

Indian farmers pressure Modi for more after forcing his retreat

The administration has previously said it will find it difficult to adopt a minimum support price for farm crops as it involves huge budgetary expenditure.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 26, 2021

A look behind the scenes with Godzilla, the ‘king of monsters’

Norman England's new book, 'Behind the Kaiju Curtain,' gives an insider's take on Japan's kaiju016b craftsmanship and monster movie-making.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 25, 2021

The superheroes from House of Slay are here to stay

How five fashion friends got a starring role fighting discrimination and hate in a new comic book series.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2021

Taliban turning Afghanistan into narco-terrorist state

Afghanistan accounts for 85% of the global acreage under opium cultivation, making the Taliban the world's largest drug cartel.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2021

U.S.-China arms talks may not include the nuclear kind

China is adamant that there is no need for it to join nuclear arms reduction talks. Beijing insists that the primary responsibility for such cuts rests on the U.S. and Russia.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Nov 19, 2021

China can’t censor away growing anger over athlete’s #MeToo accusation

Peng Shuai's case is the first #MeToo accusation leveled against someone within the highest ranks of power in China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2021

Russia’s Communist Party comeback

Amid all this silencing and persecution of anti-government voices, an unlikely group has survived and become the Kremlin's only real opposition: the Communist Party.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 17, 2021

On podcasts and radio, misleading COVID-19 talk goes unchecked

According to a survey, many young people primarily get their news through audio, trusting it more than print or video.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 17, 2021

After dust settles, son of late Philippine dictator emerges as presidential front-runner

Marcos's family is among the country's most famous dynasties and despite its fall from grace, has retained far-reaching and powerful connections.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2021

A test for Kishida as South Korea’s presidential hopeful calls for new partnership

A traditional Korean conservative, Yoon Seok-youl is a skeptic of North Korea who supports business and wants to lighten the regulatory burden so that it can innovate and flourish.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2021

Avoiding battle with daughter over vice presidency, Rodrigo Duterte to seek Senate seat

Sara Duterte-Carpio is set to contest two of the most powerful posts in a country where the family has built considerable political clout.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 13, 2021

China’s wildlife is a pandemic ‘waiting to happen,’ study finds

A comprehensive survey of viral pathogens has found wildlife species sold in China's wet markets harbor a range of diseases threatening humans and other animals.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2021

Diplomats dither while millions of people starve

Afghans are trapped between a radical Islamist group and a global community apparently content to sit back and let their aid-dependent country plunge into crisis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 11, 2021

‘The Doctor’ diagnoses society’s afflictions

Veteran actress Shinobu Otake takes on the role of Dr. Ruth Wolff, a Jewish physician, and tackles modern ills in a Japanese production of Robert Icke's latest work.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2021

China’s bid to join CPTPP: Neither serious nor sincere

China cannot believe it can abuse countries in pursuit of its national interests, defying international law, and then expect those same countries to offer it material benefits under the CPTPP.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2021

Hey, Elon: We made a $6 billion plan to end world hunger

In the coming decades, what we eat and how we grow it will change radically, and we need everyone onboard — the U.N. and Elon Musk alike — to fund the shift to sustainability.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami