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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2021

FDR had the Great Depression, but Biden has big data

But the similarities end there. The economic challenges Biden is facing are very different from the ones FDR grappled with, and his approach is necessarily unique.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2021

Who’s afraid of the big bad economic boom?

The revival is likely to be very impressive. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for the world expansion to 6%.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2021

COVID-19 isn’t over, and the next wave may be worse

While we're increasingly talking about the coronavirus in the past tense, the worst may still be ahead of us. Infections worldwide rose 47% during March from a lull in late February.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 6, 2021

Georgia voting debate reaches the Masters and Augusta National

Golfers preparing for the year's first major treaded carefully around the recent uproar over state legislation that critics say restricts voting rights in Georgia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2021

What’s better in a pandemic: federalism or a central state?

How, in a pandemic, do you balance regional autonomy and flexible local responses with national coordination and coherence?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2021

Japan is finding it harder to stay quiet on China’s abuse of Uyghurs

Public awareness of the issue is growing in the country, spurred in part by the work of Uyghur activists, and that is increasing pressure on the government to take action.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2021

Let’s cut capitalism some slack

Rapid digitization, especially in emerging markets, will compensate for decompression.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 30, 2021

National consensus needed on the role of Self-Defense Forces in emergencies

While the SDF provide invaluable assistance in times of natural disaster, their potential role in large-scale international crises still needs to be examined.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2021

Fear and reprisals: How Nissan crushed its Ghosn probe whistleblower

The firm's former top lawyer says he endured retaliation, demotions and surveillance of his family after questioning the integrity of the investigation.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2021

Vaccine minister says inoculation pace to accelerate in May

Taro Kono said he expected to be able to get 10 million doses of vaccines each week in May but that the Olympics are not a factor in his scheduling.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2021

Prince Harry fits right in as a Silicon Valley executive

Harry is far from the first royal to trade the palace for the boardroom.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2021

Will the U.S. end its ambiguity over Taiwan?

Tokyo should think seriously about Japan's options to deal with a Taiwan contingency.
Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have dealt a blow to U.S. credibility and the greenback. It’s a bigger leap to project the currency's demise.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2025

King dollar’s reign looks secure — for now

The greenback survived Trump's first term at the pinnacle and will likely endure his second.
The most common reason for disapproving of the Ishiba Cabinet was that it is not promising, given by 28.9%, followed by distrust of the prime minister at 21.3% and a lack of leadership at 19.8%.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval sinks to 23.1% in new poll

The figure was down 4.8 percentage points from the previous month.
The U.S. Justice Department and a group of states sued Google in 2023, arguing the company illegally monopolized three separate markets related to the technology used for online display advertising: ad servers, exchanges and networks.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 18, 2025

Google loses key antitrust case over ad tech practices

Google has lost a key antitrust case over its ad tech dominance, as a judge found it used exclusionary tactics that hurt rivals, publishers, and consumers.
A 2024 survey by a think tank in Tokyo found that Japanese adults are exercising less, with 69.8% of respondents saying they engaged in some kind of physical activity at least once a year, the first reading below 70% since 2006.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 18, 2025

Japanese people are exercising less, survey shows

The proportion of people exercising at least once a year peaked at 76% in 2010 before a gradual downtrend started, a Tokyo-based think tank that did the survey found.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on before a luncheon with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Washington Thursday. Hegseth shared information on forthcoming U.S. airstrikes on Yemen in a private Signal chat group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, The New York Times reported Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2025

Pentagon chief shared sensitive Yemen war plans in second Signal chat

A U.S. official at the Pentagon questioned how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could keep his job after the latest news.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (third from left) flanked by several members of his Cabinet in Magelang, Central Java, on Oct. 25, 2024. Prabowo's first six months in power have triggered alarm bells for activists worried about a return to the country's authoritarian roots.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 21, 2025

'Pandora's box': Alarm bells ring in Indonesia over rising military role

The developments have critics anxious that the country could hark back to the days of dictator Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for decades.
More than half of Japan's population may suffer from pollen allergies, with hay fever dubbed the nation’s "national disease" and blamed for being a drag on the economy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2025

Did I fall victim to Japan’s stealth productivity killer?

Hay fever has been dubbed Japan’s "national disease” and blamed as a major drag on productivity.
Next year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., will test whether America — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2025

The White House just kicked a World Cup own-goal

Next year’s FIFA World Cup will test whether the U.S. — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
A U.S. judge’s ruling against Google’s ad tech business marks a rare antitrust case with a clear remedy, threatening a key revenue stream and signaling a potential shift in the digital advertising landscape.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2025

Google’s money-printing machine can be easily dismantled

On Thursday, a district court judge handed down a ruling that threatens to dismantle part of that money-printing machine.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters during the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

'Disruptor' Hegseth's unsettled Pentagon starts turning against him

U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth accused former advisers of turning against him following news he texted sensitive U.S. military plans to his wife, brother, attorney and others.
Members of the clergy celebrate Mass in memory of Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, in La Paz, Bolivia, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

A conclave to test Pope Francis’ legacy

Francis unraveled many knots after his elevation in March 2013, leaving the question of whether he did enough to secure his legacy now that he’s passed.
People walk past the venue for the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, on April 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

China ramps up charm offensive toward Taiwan alongside pressure, study shows

The number of Taiwanese attending state-supported business events in China last year is 3% higher than 2023, a Taiwan-based nongovernmental organization says.
A protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing's United Front Work Department is charged with managing relations with overseas Chinese, including in Hong Kong, with the aim of mobilizing society to achieve the government's goals.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2025

China’s catch-22: Rapid growth with tight social control

The Chinese government is locked in the contradictory goals of pursuing economic growth while maintaining strong social control through its United Front Work Department.
Amid trade war uncertainty, central bankers, including Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, are leaning toward cautious policies, with some signaling potential rate cuts while awaiting the fallout from U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

Rate cuts anyone? Anyone? Ferris Bueller’s tariff lesson

The collective sense of "we don't know” will give way to either hiking or easing. In Asia, the bias appears to favor the latter.
Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward is expected to be the top pick in the NFL draft on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 24, 2025

Titans expected to take QB Cam Ward with top pick of NFL draft

Ward threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns for Miami last season.

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