Search - politics

 
 
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest in October 2021. Modern autocrats focus on manipulating public opinion while gradually weakening the democratic institutions from which they claim legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2023

No, the world's democracies are not 'backsliding'

Fears that we're turning the clock back on democracy are inaccurate — and unhelpful for dealing with new shades of authoritarianism.
A portion of a Microsoft data center that supports the Pentagon, and is next door to a bitcoin mine operated by Chinese-owned Bit Origin, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sept. 29. Aside from the intelligence-gathering concerns over Chinese bitcoin mines in the U.S., the energy sucking facilities can also put immense pressure on power grids.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2023

Across U.S., Chinese bitcoin mines draw national security scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in because of its proximity to a nuclear missile base. Other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Japan opposition seeks law on Unification Church asset protection

Despite differing views on method, the CDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai want to prevent the organization's money being deliberately moved overseas.
South Korea's Aegis-equipped destroyer Yulgok Yi I (right), the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (top), the Aegis-equipped USS Shoup destroyer (bottom center), the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga destroyer (left) and the South Korean Navy's Cheonji (center) sail in formation during a joint maritime drill in international waters southeast of South Korea's Jeju Island on Oct. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 17, 2023

Military deterrence alone will not dissuade China, experts warn

Governments must be proactive in pressing for diplomatic solutions, as a focus on military power won't make the world safer, analysts say.
Chinese civil servants and employees of state-linked enterprises are facing tighter constraints on private travel abroad and scrutiny of their foreign connections.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

China tightens curbs on foreign travel by bankers and state workers

Individuals' accounts varied but were consistent in describing heightened scrutiny of overseas travel even after China reopened borders in January.
Palestinian refugees flee to Rafah, in southern Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Japan must uphold humanitarianism in the Middle East

War cries from Israel and Hamas must be met with appeals for the defense of human life, a position Japan has historically held.
Troy Sutton, a virologist at Pennsylvania State University, on July 25, 2023. Sutton says that health officials referred to the public controversy over the lab leak theory in advising him to pursue different experiments.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 18, 2023

Lab leak fight casts chill over virology research

While some believe practices such as gain-of-function research could fend off the next pandemic, others worry that they are more likely to start one.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2023

Defense minister’s miscue is an opening for the opposition

Can a single statement by the defense minister really disrupt the Japanese political landscape? For better or worse, it can.
Tourists enjoy the sunset at Bali's Canggu beach in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 19, 2023

In Bali, 'sea-sun-sand' tourists threaten ancient rainforest

The island seeks to limit visitors without scaring off too many job-creating visitors with exorbitant taxes.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
Demonstrators march against the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians outside Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2023

Is silence on Israel support for Hamas?

One of the current problems with the Israel-Hamas debate is that a failure to condemn some wrongs is often taken as approval.
Kioxia Holdings has approached Japan Investment Corp. about making a capital infusion to support its merger with Western Digital and strengthen the combined company’s financial base, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2023

Kioxia has approached JIC to back Western Digital deal: sources

Kioxia’s lenders are working toward submitting a commitment letter as soon as possible to help facilitate the agreement.
Palestinians inspect destruction from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, on Thursday. The Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel, has brought a new outpouring of support in the Arab world for the Palestinian quest for a state.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2023

Passion for Palestinian cause had faded, but Gaza violence reignited it

The Israeli bombardment of Gaza brought a new outpouring of support in the Arab world for the Palestinian quest for a state.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi attends the Cairo international summit for peace in the Middle East on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Egypt is courted on all sides as pivotal to Gaza refugees’ fate

With ties to Israel and a border with Gaza, Cairo is becoming key to the fate of many refugees and aid for the besieged territory’s 2 million residents.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waves to supporters upon his return from a self-imposed exile in London, in Lahore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Exiled former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif arrives home for comeback bid

Pakistan is facing multiple crises ahead of a January election, with Sharif's fiercely popular opponent languishing in jail.
A man tries to start his car after Israeli airstrikes at the Nuseirat Market in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 24, 2023

How the Israel-Hamas war imperils action against global warming

The conflict complicates already fragile global diplomacy ahead of crucial climate talks.
New Zealand's blindside flanker Shannon Frizell (left) takes part in a training session in Rueil-Malmaison, France, on Tuesday ahead of the Rugby World Cup final.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 25, 2023

New Zealand and South Africa take ultimate rivalry to grandest stage

The rich history of this 102-year-old matchup has seen political turmoil, countless bruising battles, a previous World Cup final and even a 0-0 draw.
Then-Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attends the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2023

Chinese defense chief’s ouster opens door to better military ties with U.S.

Although questions remain over Li Shangfu’s fate, his firing has opened an avenue for resuming high-level military talks with the U.S.
People react as Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

Israel increasingly isolated as fury grows over Gaza bombardment

Israelis see the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in context not of their treatment of Palestinians but as an extension of anti-Semitic assaults over centuries.
A woman walks past newly unveiled lettering that references the Oct. 29 Itaewon crush in Seoul. A more fully developed memorial was later built to commemorate the event and the more than 150 people who lost their lives.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / Longform
Oct 27, 2023

One year on, Itaewon's scars remain

A year on from the Itaewon crush, foot traffic in the Seoul neighborhood is picking back up. But what the future of the area is still in doubt.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (center) and state officials visit Anitkabir, mausoleum of Turkish Republic's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in Ankara on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2023

Gaza overshadows Turkey's centenary as Erdogan pledges support

Daylong events honored the republic's secular founder whose transformation of the overwhelmingly Muslim nation created long-standing divisions.
A rally in support of Israel is held in Tokyo on Oct. 11 during which participants, including Israelis living in Japan, demanded the immediate release of all hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023

A primer on the Israel-Hamas war


Japan's image of Israel is shallow and distorted, as many people fail to understand the existential threat that Hamas' aggression poses.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2023

BOJ’s Ueda gets reality check on yen in march to normalization

The yen unexpectedly weakened after the central bank loosened its grip on bond yields Tuesday.
Petr Aven in Moscow to attend Russia Business week in in 2018
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 1, 2023

Squeezed by sanctions, some oligarchs head home to Putin's Russia

The penalties have destroyed the standing of many wealthy Russians abroad who remained silent or avoided direct criticism of Putin over the war.
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (center) is right to insist that economic security is linked to national power and determines the fate of the nation. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023

Economic security demands attention and defies simple explanation

A global challenge: Resilience and innovation are key strategies in the pursuit of economic security.
A serviceman, wearing prosthetic legs, walks past Ukrainian flags symbolizing fallen soldiers on the Independence Square in Kyiv, on Oct. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2023

'When will it end?': Ukrainians turn to psychics for war forecasts

Military forecasts by Ukraine's most popular soothsayers rack up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok.
With a year left until the 2024 presidential election, Arab and Muslim American support for U.S. President Joe Biden threatens to plummet over his Middle East policy — a factor that could even swing certain states.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

Muslim anguish over Gaza holds electoral risks for Biden

While Muslims account for a small fraction of the U.S. population, the election could swing on votes in a few close races.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses an emergency session on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations headquarters on Oct. 27.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2023

Where’s the United Nations in all this? Oh, right, nowhere.

In times of crisis, the United Nations turns into a Babel in which everybody distrusts everybody else and finding common ground becomes impossible.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2023

Many evangelicals see Israel-Hamas war as part of a prophecy

The bloodshed in Israel is seen by some as a sign of Second Coming of Christ, a worldview held by significant number of evangelical Christians.
A woman visits the grave of a soldier on the anniversary of his death at a cemetery in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2023

‘I am dreaming it will stop’: A deadlocked war tests Ukrainian morale

Morale is faltering as Ukraine’s army remains tied-up and amid fears that allied weaponry supplies will begin to dwindle, polls and interviews show.

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