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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2021

Psychedelic drugs will follow pot’s path to legalization

What distinguishes the movement to legalize psychedelics is that it is substantially more elite than the movement surrounding pot, a drug that crosses economic and cultural lines.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 21, 2021

The ‘wake’ structures that you can use to expand on your reasoning

The terms 'wake da,' 'wake dewa nai,' 'wake ga nai' and 'wake ni wa ikanai' help with giving reasons u2026 like maybe reasons why you don't want to cancel a major international event?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2021

Don't be the next $5 million hacker payday

Often all it takes is an oblivious worker clicking a tainted e-mail link, or an IT department getting momentarily lazy about computer-system hygiene.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2021

Israel faces greater dangers than Hamas

The mob violence between Jews and Arabs should not be underestimated: It represents a watershed in the history of Israel.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2021

Get a COVID-19 shot, win $1 million

How can more Americans be persuaded to get their shots? Insights from behavioral economics can help.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
May 19, 2021

Hideki Matsuyama sympathetic with Olympic virus concerns

The Masters champion, though eager to compete in the Tokyo Games, is focused on winning more major tournaments after his triumph at Augusta National.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2021

Lessons from Britain: The old way of politicking no longer applies

The recent remarkable electoral events in the U.K. have big implications for British politics. But they also contain important lessons that should be of interest everywhere in the world where politicians and political parties seek the support of voters under modern conditions, Japan very much included....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 17, 2021

Japan leads the 'middle powers' in shaping Asia's future

Arguably, no middle power in Asia is as important as Japan, which, as a leading source of infrastructure investments, also enjoys tremendous good will in the region.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2021

How to be smart about taxes on Bitcoin

Lots of crypto investors might be tempted to hide their heads in the tax-planning sand, and it's easy to see why. The tax issues are complex.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2021

Regulators may be doing Alibaba a favor after all

Of great concern is that this core business once again contributed all of the operating profit because the rest of Alibaba's divisions remain a drag on earnings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 15, 2021

Can Japan say 'no' to China and 'yes' to political activism?

Japanese media reports a tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, with domestic brands dependent on Chinese money and a local populace that may not take action.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2021

CEOs criticize Japan’s slow vaccine push, saying growth at risk

While Japan has fared better during the pandemic compared with its Western peers, executives fear that the pace of inoculations will have an impact on potential recovery.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 13, 2021

Foreign sumo fans finding ways to make voices heard

When sumo goes through a crisis the voices calling loudest for needed change and the protection of rikishi are often those from abroad.
Prime Minsiter Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet disapproval rises to 44%

It was the highest level since the launch of Ishiba's administration in October last year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025

Opposition set to step up offensive against Ishiba

Ishiba, already hurt by low public support, has found himself in a bind ahead of this summer's Upper House election as the scandal shakes his image as a "clean politician."
U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, marked by betrayal and disregard for relationships, has weakened America’s global alliances, prompting countries to consider alternative allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2025

America is surrounded by enemies — that it created

This is not just a Trump problem; America’s whole reputation is shot.
A protest called "America, wake up" is held in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on March 8, days after U.S. President Donald Trump paused American military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2025

Ukraine needs U.S. weapons — but it needs intelligence more

The problem is that, on issue after issue, Trump changes course on a whim.
Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai wins reelection bid as turnout dips

Voter turnout was 31.93%, down from 38.99% in the previous election four years ago.
Instead of spending billions to resurrect woolly mammoths, we could focus on preserving endangered species, saving ecosystems, and securing biodiversity for the future.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2025

Got $10 billion? Don’t blow it cloning a woolly mammoth.

Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering startup valued at $10 billion, has raised $435 million to "de-extinct” the woolly mammoth.
There seems to be a preference for similarly educated and similarly earning spouses in modern marriages, reflecting a trend that prioritizes parity over "marrying up."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2025

What really changed the marriage market

The internet connects us with so many potential mates that our puny human brains can’t handle it.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025

Why ousting Ishiba could be a tricky task

Passing a no-confidence motion could result in the dissolution of the Lower House within 10 days, triggering another election the opposition might lose.
Shohei Ohtani gets a kiss from his dog Decoy at a game in August 2024. The Japanese slugger-pitcher’s return to his country to kick off the Major League Baseball season has sparked immense excitement, highlighting his unparalleled career and symbolic role as a national hero.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2025

Superstar Shohei Ohtani for prime minister

He’s unavoidable in Japan: His face adorns ads for cosmetics, mattresses, English conversation schools and, most recently, convenience store rice balls.
U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops aboard the USS Wasp in Yokosuka, Japan, in May 2019. The shifting global security landscape has sparked discussions in many countries, including Japan, about developing nuclear weapons in response to changing U.S. commitments.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2025

Changing U.S. commitments spark nuclear armament debates, including in Japan

Given Japan's unique history in 1945, it will take more than fear or harsh rhetoric to push the country into considering the development of nuclear weapons.
A soldier stands guard at a railway station in the Sibi district of southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan, on March 12 as part of a security operation after militants hijacked a passenger train the previous day.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025

Pakistan’s economy is back. But so is terrorism.

The disconnect between the grim drumbeat of terror attacks on the country’s margins and the positive economic news from its heartland is startling.
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's assertion that U.S. aid cuts to programs including PEPFAR and USAID in Africa aren't causing harm is not true. Children and others are already dying as a result.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025

Musk says aid cuts haven’t killed anyone. That's not true.

In South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, the efforts by Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump are already leading children to die.
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2025

Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description

The lastest scandal comes amid broader concerns over the LDP's misuse of political funds, further damaging Prime Minister Ishiba’s reputation.
Protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in 2016.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025

Jury finds Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages

The verdict was a major blow to the environmental organization.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben Gvir shake hands as the government approves Netanyahu's proposal to reappoint Ben Gvir as minister of National Security on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

Netanyahu tightens grip on divided Israel with return to war

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, with more demonstrations in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu gather near the city's police headquarters on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

Turkey's opposition dubs Istanbul mayor's detention a 'coup'

Popular two-term Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is being held on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group.

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