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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2022

Ahead of key polls, India's ruling party revives Hindu-Muslim dispute

Hindus and Muslims have argued for decades for control over a religious site Mathura, echoing other quarrels between the two groups in India that have flared into deadly riots.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2022

How venture capital created the modern world

Rather than focusing on predictable returns, venture capitalists are in the business of betting on the future.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 29, 2022

Yu Shibuya: ‘Creating something from nothing requires a huge effort’

Yu Shibuya made the decision early on in his life to “rescue” modern Japanese culture from crass commercialism. He chose the theater as his weapon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2022

The second drone age is here and it’s a free-for-all

Drones have opened the door to weaponized artificial intelligence, algorithmic and robotic warfare and loosened human control over the deployment of lethal force.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2022

As tensions over the Ukraine worsen, is the West on the wrong track?

The Ukraine conflict is going to be fought in the realms of cyberspace, financial sanctions and the global energy front. This is where Russia can be made to feel pain.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2022

Can you afford to join the great resignation?

If you choose to quit your job simply because you've had enough and want a career break, you stand to lose far more than just your regular wage.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 27, 2022

Olympians face daunting final qualifying event: Staying healthy

'We are playing Russian roulette every single day,” said Brittany Bowe, an American speedskater.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2022

Stephen Breyer’s exit from U.S. top court tees up new clash between Biden and GOP

The next justice would reinforce the court's outnumbered liberal wing and potentially serve for decades but won't shift the ideological balance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2022

Technology and innovation are needed to battle climate change

Global emissions reduction is essential. But those efforts won't do enough to forestall a looming crisis in the polar regions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2022

Men are getting left behind in the jobs boom

During each recession for the last 40 years, a sizable number of men — more than women — have left the labor force and not come back.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 26, 2022

Clean and compliant: A metaverse with Chinese characteristics

Experts say the infancy of China's metaverse allows Beijing plenty of room to co-opt its development, which some China metaverse advocates fear will stunt its growth.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 25, 2022

Olympians face a daunting final qualifying event: staying healthy

With the Feb. 4 opening ceremony in their sights, athletes are cutting off contact with loved ones, changing the ways they train and ceasing all activities outside the realms of competition.
U.S. President Joe Biden enters the stage after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

Joe Biden begins a long and necessary goodbye

It took grace, maturity and generosity for Biden to bow out. A measure of resentment has also accompanied his exit.
Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pays her respect to a picture of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn as she receives a royal endorsement to become the 31st prime minister in Bangkok on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Thailand’s democracy is on shaky ground

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is in the middle of yet another political crisis. Citizens deserve better.
The 7-Eleven convenience store chain, a deeply ingrained part of modern Japanese life, faces a potential takeover by Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2024

A 7-Eleven buyout would stretch Japan’s appetite for M&A

The country’s convenience stores have become essential to daily life. That has many fearing the prospect of a foreign takeover.
The ability of Xi Jinping's government to control China's  industrial overcapacity crisis is limited, and stimulating domestic demand is difficult amid geopolitical tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Xi’s supply-side panacea has lost its magic

China’s excess capacity problem will have to fester until even its industry leaders call it quits. That may be some years away.
Jannik Sinner has been cleared to continue competing despite failing two doping tests this year.
TENNIS
Aug 22, 2024

Tennis players decry double standards after Jannik Sinner avoids doping ban

Some players have suggested that the Italian received preferential treatment.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
U.K. authorities have approved lecanemab, a novel Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai, making Britain the first country in Europe to greenlight the drug.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024

Britain OKs Eisai's novel Alzheimer's drug lecanemab

The United Kingdom is the first country in Europe to greenlight the drug.
An AI-driven smartphone application, jointly developed by a tech startup and researchers at Nihon University, purports to tell when cats feel pain. It was being demonstrated during a vet examination in Fujisawa on June 11.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2024

Japan should go big or go home on startups

As of last month, Japan had just 10 unicorns, according to Pitchbook data, compared to 714 in the U.S., 316 in China and 62 in India.
Traditionally seen as a cautionary tale of collapse due to overpopulation, recent research suggests that Easter Island's population was likely small and that they adapted to environmental challenges through innovative agricultural practices.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

Easter Island collapse gets the fresh look it deserves

Once viewed as a cautionary tale of overpopulation, recent research suggests Easter Island's population was small and adapted through innovative agriculture practices.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2024

Once allies, Ishiba, Kono and Koizumi set to battle for LDP president votes

The three, dubbed the "Koishikawa coalition" after kanji characters from each of their last names, will jostle for party member support in the Sept. 27 election.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives onstage Thursday to speak on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2024

Kamala Harris charts her vision for the United States

Harris’ speech capped a week featuring the Democratic Party’s brightest stars, showcasing a broad, diverse and inclusive party.
Despite changing attitudes toward office attire, with younger generations pushing for more casual dress codes, traditional views on professional attire persist.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2024

Shorts at the office? Go for it.

Despite changing attitudes toward office attire, with younger generations pushing for more casual dress codes, traditional views on professional attire persist.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius inspects Leopard II tanks that were due to be supplied to Ukraine at a military facility in Augustdorf, Germany, in February 2023.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2024

Ukraine has a Germany problem again. Here’s how to fix it.

Kyiv’s Kursk operation was aimed less at the battlefield than at Berlin and other allies.
Instead of secretly arming against the combined nuclear forces of China, Russia and North Korea, the U.S. must launch a global campaign to restart arms control.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2024

Why is the U.S. fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors?

Secret armaments or doctrinal shifts without public messaging will only make adversaries more paranoid and a full-on arms race all but inevitable.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024

Japan calls Chinese military aircraft incursion 'unacceptable' threat to safety

Officials are grappling with the rationale for and response to the entry into Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture.
A cardboard cutout of the Monkey King character, or Sun Wukong, from the Chinese action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong is displayed on the day of its launch in Beijing on Aug. 20.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2024

Black myth, Black samurai and gaming nationalism

While China has to date enjoyed success in mobile and PC gaming, those lucrative sectors carry relatively little prestige. That makes Wukong’s breakout a landmark event.
A U.S. Navy CMV-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Iwakuni allows deployment of U.S. Navy's Osprey

The mayor said the city judged that the aircraft will not have a large impact on the lives of people living near the base.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.

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