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JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 27, 2023

More tests show radiation levels of Fukushima seawater remain below limits

Tokyo hopes what it says is a transparent release of data will serve as a strong rebuttal to claims by Beijing that the discharge is dangerous.
At Beijing’s Jingshen Seafood Market, sales of Japanese maritime products are now banned — just as they are elsewhere in the country.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2023

China is about to get a lesson in the limits of economic coercion

Most governments in Asia are relying on science to guide their responses to the Fukushima water release.
Prime Minster Fumio Kishida talks with his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, as they arrive at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Jakarta on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2023

The ASEAN Summit gives us just more of the same

ASEAN needs to address problems internal divisions and maintain its role in the region.
Emperor Naruhito greets newly appointed reconstruction minister Shinako Tsuchiya during the attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday following Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2023

Kishida's Cabinet shuffle will make little difference

It will take more than new faces — and inexperienced ministers — to address the issues that bedevil the Kishida government and the country.
Several factors are pushing up Japan’s land prices: foreign tourism, a return of manufacturing to the country and the change in work practices after the COVID-19 pandemic.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2023

Rising land prices are a cause for celebration and concern

The government said real estate prices across Japan rose 1% from the preceding year, the first such national increase in over three decades.
Two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers escort the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during a transit mission in the Philippine Sea in April 2017.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2023

The South China Sea is a test for Japan

The maritime standoff between the Philippines and China risks breaking out into open conflict, one that could ensnare other countries, including Japan.
The ouster of the U.S. speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, sets a dangerous precedent and has implications for the country's national security and America's global leadership.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2023

U.S. political follies worry friends and delight foes

The removal of Kevin McCarthy as the Speaker of the House of Representatives is an unprecedented event in U.S. history.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, last November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 7, 2023

Biden says meeting with Xi in November is a 'possibility'

Washington and Beijing are edging closer to setting up a Biden-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco from Nov. 16-17.
Smoke plumes billow over Gaza City after Israeli airstrikes Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 13, 2023

Hamas mines depths of inhumanity. Israel must not do same.

There is the very real danger of a wider war. Netanyahu vowed “to change the Middle East,” a statement with ominous overtones.
Delegates arrive for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum to mark the initiatives 10th anniversary in Beijing on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2023

China aims to remake the world with its Belt and Road initiative

Infrastructure is key to the success of the developing world and the failure to help emerging economies meet this vital need will rightly tar the West.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber is escorted by South Korean F-35s during a joint military exercise over the Korean Peninsula that also involved Japan's Air-Self Defense Force.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2023

Japan, U.S. and South Korea patrol the skies together

The three countries have historically engaged in bilateral exercises with the United States, but this trilateral exercise in the air is a notable first.
The Self-Defense Forces face numerous obstacles in meeting their recruitment targets: Demographics, private-sector competition and image and morale issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2023

The SDF has a big problem: Filling its ranks

The Japanese government needs to take steps to address SDF recruitment challenges that put the nation's security at risk.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with entrepreneur Elon Musk during a chat session on the rewards and risks of artificial intelligence in London, earlier this month.
EDITORIALS
Nov 10, 2023

Can the world harness AI’s fire without getting burned?

Calls are increasing for governance of artificial intelligence, the world-changing tech that bears both major rewards and risks.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Woodside, California, on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2023

Biden-Xi meeting long on symbolism, short on substance

The Biden-Xi meeting aimed to set a floor under U.S.-China bilateral relations, but the results provided few grounds for optimism.
Helping Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s political fortunes is the Liberal Democratic Party’s inability to agree on a successor.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2023

Kishida is in trouble, but he’ll survive — for now

A Jiji Press survey released earlier this month put the Kishida Cabinet's approval at 21.3%, the lowest level since his inauguration in 2021.
Ethnic Ta'ang National Liberation Army fighters stand guard at a check point in the town of Namhkam in Myanmar's northern Shan state on Nov. 10.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2023

We must stop Myanmar’s descent into a failed state

Myanmar is at a crossroads and needs international support to prevent a collapse amid increased fighting.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel take part in a military drill involving a V-22 Osprey aircraft in June 2022.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2023

The Osprey crash has lessons for the U.S.-Japan alliance

The U.S. and Japan bungled the initial response to the crash of an Osprey aircraft in Japan. Both must learn to improve communication in the future.
The Dodgers officially introduced two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani during a news conference on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2023

Another extraordinary milestone for Shohei Ohtani

Dodgers secure baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani with record-breaking $700 million contract.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
Demonstrators rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Buffalo, New York, in February 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2023

It’s past time scientists admitted their COVID-19 mistakes

In 2019, 13% of Americans were distrustful enough to say they weren’t confident in scientists to act in the public’s best interest. Now it is 27%.
Daihatsu Motor President Soichiro Okudaira speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 20. 
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2023

Daihatsu scandal is a warning for Japan Inc.

Investigations indicate that improprieties at Daihatsu stretch as far back as 1989, indicating a profound problem with the company’s culture.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung falls after being stabbed in the neck with a knife during his visit to Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

Knife attack on opposition leader raises alarms in polarized South Korea

Politics of hatred is said to have become a norm, and tensions are unlikely to ease anytime soon as rival parties gear up for parliamentary elections in April.
The remains of a shopping district that caught fire in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, due to the New Year's Day earthquake
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2024

Japan ushers in a bruising beginning for 2024

Japan has learned from past disasters and mistakes and must continue to do so.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2024

Futenma moves forward, but local concerns must be addressed

Originally planned to have been finished by now, the base project is now anticipated to take over nine years to complete.
Guards raise Taiwan's national flag on the Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 16, 2024

China plays waiting game in run-up to Taiwan inauguration

China's muted response to the weekend victory by Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te may be the start of an uneasy four months before he takes office.
The Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo. In the wake of a political funding scandal, some are calling for the dissolution of the LDP's factions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 16, 2024

Eliminating factions isn’t the answer to the funding scandal

In the wake of a political funding scandal that has embroiled the LDP, some are calling for the dissolution of the party's factions. That would be a mistake.
The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, the eventual winner, casts his vote during the island's election in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2024

Taiwan's election and its potential impact on East Asian politics

China tried to interfere in the Taiwanese elections through the systematic use of "cognitive warfare," but failed.
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024

The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy

The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.
The precision landing made by the SLIM project is essential to establishing a manned base on the moon, which will depend on targeted supply missions.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2024

Successful moon landing prepares Japan for the future

Japan is now the fifth country to successfully land a probe on the moon, following the U.S., Russia, China and India.
People distribute bags of flour to Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on behalf of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in November. The agency has come under fire after a few of its employees were accused of supporting terrorism.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2024

Hold UNRWA accountable — but don’t harm those in need

Some 30,000 UNRWA employees serve 5 million people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, with 13,000 of them working in Gaza alone.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji