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July 07, 2025
 

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, are welcomed upon their arrival at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2024

Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted

The two leader’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review recent achievements and to underscore the centrality of the Japan-South Korean partnership.
An attendee wears an Apple Vision Pro while holding the Apple iPhone 16 Pro during an event at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, on Monday. Apple introduced the latest version of its flagship device, the iPhone 16.
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2024

The genie is out of the bottle and headed for your phone

The touchscreen smartphone is now humankind's ubiquitous companion, and with each new product release, phone makers unveil new innovations.
Hashim Safieddine, a Shiite Muslim cleric and the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, speaks Wednesday during a funeral in Beirut for some of those killed after paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2024

Pager bombs just add more fuel to the Middle East fire

The tale that is emerging after the pager bombs is one that resembles a spy novel, a feat of derring-do by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
A Japanese Self-Defense Force jet was forced to fire flares recently as a warning to Russian aircraft that violated the country's airspace, highlighting how both China and Russia tried to test Japan’s leadership during a period of political transition.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2024

China tests Japan. Are its new leaders ready?

Most of China's moves require considerable planning. That means that the signals they sent were anticipated and approved by political decision-makers.
U.S. lawmakers and others speak at a news conference in Washington in March to voice their opposition to legislation cracking down on TikTok.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2024

China’s silence on U.S. Tiktok ban speaks volumes

Beijing's past actions suggest that protecting its national interests, including ByteDance's valuable algorithm, outweighs concerns about foreign investment.
If the Liberal Democratic Party does not perform well and loses seats in the coming election, Shigeru Ishiba’s tenure may be one of the shortest in modern Japanese political history.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba faces challenges from the opposition — and his own party

Ishiba needs to be ready for challenges coming from all directions: outside the country, from the opposition and from his own party.
People gather at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 others abducted.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2024

The never-ending tragedy in the Middle East grinds on

The red lines — both real and imagined — that once separated foes have been erased as the combatants inflict new and increasingly painful wounds upon each other.
Adapting to new information when faced with public health crises like COVID-19 is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024

The best answer science may have right now is ‘I don't know’

Acknowledging uncertainty and adapting to new information is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science.
A man looks at campaign posters for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday. Japan faces important challenges, but there is little reason to believe this election will bring about real change.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2024

Japan goes to vote, but it’s not clear why

To smooth over those tensions, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has begun to recast his positions on many policies, moving closer to the LDP mainstream.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, pose with other leaders for a group photo during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. The summit illustrated a collective dissatisfaction with the current global power structure dominated by the U.S.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2024

BRICS once again meet to complain and vent frustrations

While the summit gave the appearance of unity, there are significant differences in how member states perceive issues.
Leaders of Japan’s political parties pose for a group photo at the start of a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Oct. 12. Sunday’s Lower House election saw the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party take a drubbing.
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2024

The balance of power shifts in Japan’s politics

Despite the LDP's losses at polls, the recent election didn't exactly indicate popular support for an opposition-led government either.
It is difficult to know what Donald Trump will do in a second presidency. His campaign was filled with bold promises, but so too was his first.
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2024

Prepare for a bumpy ride in a second Trump term

It is difficult to know what Donald Trump will do in a second presidency. His campaign was filled with bold promises, but so too was his first.
Marco Rubio debates Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary race. The president-elect has named the senator from Florida as his prospective secretary of state.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2024

Trump’s Cabinet picks make clear his priorities. Allies get ready.

Trump claims a mandate — winning the popular vote and both Houses of Congress — but his margin of victory is smaller than he will admit.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai leaves Mong Kok police station after being released on bail in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

After years in a Hong Kong jail, Jimmy Lai has his say in court

The media mogul said his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily, represented the freedoms that people in the city valued.
Police officers remove a protest banner outside the West Kowloon Court following a sentencing hearing for 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2024

Paranoia and Beijing trump democracy in Hong Kong

Concerned nations must step up as China discards the promises it made when it regained control of Hong Kong. Anything less is a betrayal.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2024

Japan should prepare for tariff-loving Trump

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's focus on tariffs as a core economic strategy could disrupt global trade.
Protesters condemn South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law declaration and call for his resignation during a rally in Seoul on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2024

Yoon’s incoherent, incompetent coup defies logic and reason

Yoon’s lack of political acumen must not be allowed to tar all his policies.
People wave the flag of the Syrian National Coalition as they celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2024

The Syrians have a chance to be free. They need our help.

The future of Syria, and the wider Middle East, remains uncertain, however, and the ultimate outcome could be more threatening than that of the Assad era.
Yutaka Mataebara (second from left) dines with his managerial colleagues at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Japan Times.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024

Here's to Yutaka Mataebara, the 'iron man' of The Japan Times

Mataebara was a pillar of the JT: During his 44 years at the paper until he retired in 2006, he worked in a variety of departments, including as the editor in chief.
The French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier makes a port call in Singapore in May 2019. European governments were once reluctant to show their flags in ways that suggested a challenge to China, but recent joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific highlight support for the regional status quo.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2024

Europe’s militaries make their presence known in the Indo-Pacific

This new European presence reflects the understanding that Europe and Asia, once thought to be distant theaters, are in fact connected.
U.S. Steel workers who support the takeover by Nippon Steel rally outside the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2024

Rejecting the Nippon Steel bid is a slap in the face to Japan

Nippon Steel has not given up and continues to lobby U.S. officials and steelworkers, arguing the deal would grow U.S. Steel, protect jobs, and strengthen the industry.
People pray on the first day of the new year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Japan’s economy is set for modest growth in 2025 supported by wage increases and stimulus, but faces risks from political instability and global challenges.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2025

Hope for the economy in 2025, but dangers loom

Political uncertainty at home and a tumultuous international environment pose real risks for the nation’s economy.
The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored near the city of Granaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20. Sweden's foreign minister said last month that China had denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation of the ship linked to recently severed Baltic Sea cables.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2025

Be ready for the new Cold War, under the sea

In the South China Sea, a least one cable fault is reported in the waterway every few weeks; in other parts of the world it’s one incident a year.
Komeito Secretary-General Makoto Nishida (left) and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (center) hold talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2025

A moment of opportunity for Japan-China relations

While the outcome of the Japan-China meeting is important, it must not compromise Japan's national interests.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage with Vice President JD Vance after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States during the presidential inauguration in Washington on Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2025

Japan should prioritize free trade as it adapts to Trump’s policies

It is difficult, if not impossible, to know what Trump and his administration will do in specific situations. Words and documents are one thing, actions another.
Donald Trump’s rapid use of tariffs, disregard for conventional diplomacy and fixation on strength risk undermining the global economic order, isolating the U.S. and triggering widespread economic harm.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2025

The Trump test begins: Tariffs, power plays and economic risk

The speed with which the U.S. president reached for this tariff tool — against an ally no less — is proof that his threats are not empty words.
People protest at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s decision to effectively shut down the United States Agency for International Development.
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2025

Shutting USAID deprives the U.S. of a vital foreign policy tool

Trump's decision to suspend USAID is a blow to Japan, which has long valued aid as a stabilizing force.
U.S. Steel workers rally outside the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh in support of the takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel back in September.
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2025

The Nippon Steel deal’s lessons for the world

Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s stiff opposition to the deal may have created space, if not impetus, for President Donald Trump to resurrect the acquisition.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (front right), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (second left) and other officials and advisers attend talks in Riyadh on Tuesday where they met to discuss ways on ending the Ukraine war.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2025

America's allies get a rude awakening

U.S. allies are understandably confused and dismayed by the Trump administration’s statements and behavior.
China's recent naval exercises near Australia and New Zealand, though legal, highlight Beijing’s growing reach and willingness to test other nations' responses.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2025

China pushes the military envelope with power projections

This week, Chinese ships conducted military exercises, including live-fire drills, in waters near Australia and New Zealand. While legal, the moves expose its hypocrisy.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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