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Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 12, 2021

Europe’s region of rogues looks to be on more shaky ground

Central Europe has seen the abrupt resignation of one leader, a shock election defeat for another and tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flocking to the streets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2021

A Nobel to remind us there’s no peace without free speech

This year's prize celebrates more than just the outstanding work of its recipients. It acknowledges all those reporters who run risks daily keeping democracy and free speech alive.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2021

Duterte's successor likely to continue Philippines' democratic regression

Another top potential contender, Duterte's daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, is currently mayor of Davao. She seems to act with the same disregard for the law as her father.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2021

Kishida calls for new economic approach in first policy speech

Kishida on Friday vowed to transform the Japanese economy by implementing a “new model of capitalism,' identifying growth and the distribution of wealth as “mutually necessary.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2021

Pandora Papers show the rich will always find a way

For all the revelations about the shadow global financial system for the wealthy since the ICIJ's first revelations in 2013, it's striking how little has changed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2021

Supply chain trouble might be the Grinch that steals Christmas

Retailers find themselves in an unusual situation of having to struggle to keep up with demand as vaccinated people socialize more and begin to splash their cash.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2021

What’s behind Japan’s ambivalence about Kishida

Kishida has toed a cautious line on almost everything, raising questions about how he will actually deliver on his policies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2021

China’s record-setting incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ

Incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) by Chinese military aircraft have broken consecutive records in the past week, with 154 warplanes dispatched to Taiwan’s ADIZ over the past five days.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2021

‘Kishida Shock’ hits Japan's markets with investors wary of redistribution plans

The hashtag 'Kishida Shock” trended on Twitter, as the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was set to extend its losing streak to an eighth day.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 5, 2021

North Korea trades scorn for flattery to win benefits from Moon

While North Korea has frequently shifted between provocations and diplomatic overtures, Kim now appears to be trying to do both at the same time.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 4, 2021

Amid COVID-19 booster data dilemma, EU nations' plans diverge

The bloc's push towards boosters will stir the debate over rich nations' use of vaccines while poorer countries struggle to access supplies and inoculate their citizens.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 4, 2021

Creativity and collaboration flourish at the Japan Writers Conference

Being held online for its second year, the Japan Writers Conference helps budding artists with the practicalities of the creative process.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2021

The reason Biden’s agenda is in jeopardy

The sticking points holding up Biden's agenda are not the allegedly unreasonable stances of lawmakers or which chamber should go first, the problem is a lack of vision.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer known for his anti-science stances, lacks public health experience and has a history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine activism.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2024

RFK Jr.’s junk science will put every American at risk

His promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories could turn the government into an “accelerant for misinformation.”
Donald Trump, the then-Republican presidential candidate and now the president-elect, visits the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, in February. His appointments to key positions in his new administration show he is moving aggressively on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2024

Trump's mass deportation plan has its leaders in place

Even before Trump’s victory, Tom Homan, the former acting director for ICE, promised to "run the biggest deportation operation this country's ever seen.”
SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son (right) and Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, take part in a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2024

Masayoshi Son is trying to make up for past mistakes

SoftBank, once Nvidia’s top shareholder, dumped its stake — oops! — before the chipmaker became one of the most valuable companies in the world.
People arrive with flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Zhuhai Sports Center in the city of Zhuhai, in China's Guangdong province, on Nov. 13, two days after 35 people were killed when a man drove a car into a crowd.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2024

A mass killing tests China's crime narrative

A spate of random acts of violence is challenging the Communist Party's it-knows-best narrative.
Asian banks are shifting focus from trade financing to wealth management and capital markets to offset potential losses from U.S. tariffs and capitalize on growing regional and global wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

The wealthy will shield Asian banks from Trump tariffs

Asian banks are shifting focus from trade financing to wealth management and capital markets to offset potential losses from U.S. tariff.
Originally debuting on a coin purse, Hello Kitty became a national phenomenon in Japan and is now the second highest-grossing media franchise worldwide.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2024

Hello Kitty looks pretty at 50 (and is worth more than ever)

Kitty’s broad appeal, especially to adults, helped popularize the Japanese concept of kawaii (cuteness), which has since become a global trend.
Scientists worry that if H5N1 spreads through commercial pig farms, it could evolve into a form capable of causing a human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024

Bird flu in pigs is one step closer to endangering humans

Flu viruses have historically been transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs — either on farms or at agricultural fairs.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks while on stage with Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 21, 2024

U.S. government efficiency panel to use Supreme Court rulings for agency cuts

The panel will be led by Elon Musk, billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of biotech firm Roivant Sciences.
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal

The award of a contract to operate London’s Elizabeth Line to a consortium that includes the firm could help address concerns about its domestic growth potential.
While some theorize that U.S. President Joe Biden's authorization for missile strikes in Russia is an attempt to "Trump-proof" U.S. policy but the more likely intent is responsible statecraft, providing the president-elect with a stronger hand in upcoming geopolitical dealings.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2024

With U.S. missile approval, Trump inherits a stronger Ukraine

U.S. President Biden’s permission for Ukraine to use ATACMS was long overdue but by itself won’t make a decisive military difference.
Sony's potential acquisition of Kadokawa, the publisher behind Elden Ring, represents an opportunity to expand its intellectual property across gaming, anime and other media provided it learns from past failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2024

Like in Elden Ring, Sony must learn from its mistakes

The Japanese firm’s proposed deal for Kadokawa has great potential — if it can avoid getting stuck in the same mazes as before.
Amid a slowing economy, Beijing has avoided large-scale fiscal stimulus to prevent further debt buildup, focusing instead on modest measures to alleviate regional financial stress without adding new borrowing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 21, 2024

No, China doesn’t really have a debt crisis

Beijing is gun-shy about fiscal stimulus due to concerns more debt will build up. This thinking is muddled.
Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Donald Trump in Asheville in North Carolina in August.
WORLD
Nov 23, 2024

Trump taps Scott Bessent for U.S. Treasury

Bessent has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production.
Delegates applaud during a closing plenary meeting of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 24, 2024

Developing nations blast $300 billion COP29 climate deal as insufficient

The deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations.
Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of using its iconic intellectual properties to engage users while preparing for the inevitable transition to a successor console after the Nintendo Switch.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 24, 2024

Nintendo’s latest device, the Alarmo, is a $100 wake-up call

Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of leveraging its iconic IPs to engage users as it prepares for the successor to the Nintendo Switch.

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