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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2001

U.K. politics interferes with euro issue

LONDON -- It is a subject that most pragmatic politicians in Britain, including the prime minister and the front-runner for the leadership of the Conservative opposition, would prefer to ignore. Since the Tories were led toward electoral defeat in June by their obsession about Europe, the political establishment...
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 12, 2001

Playing politics is no game

It's a pity for the 24 Americans being detained on Hainan island in China that their little contretemps with the Chinese air force didn't take place a month ago, before the International Olympic Committee inspectors paid a visit to Beijing to check on its bid for the 2008 Games.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2001

The best politics money can buy

The deportation of fugitive French businessman Alfred Sirven from the Philippines throws a twist into the trial of Mr. Roland Dumas, the former French foreign minister and head of the Constitutional Court. Mr. Sirven is alleged to be the missing link in the scheme to use funds from Elf-Aquitaine, the...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2000

Science and politics expected to clash at COP6

Scientists agree that the Earth's atmosphere is getting warmer. There is consensus too that this warming will be the paramount environmental threat in the next century, as predictions see oceans swallowing beaches, tropical diseases spreading north and more species facing extinction.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2000

Kawada sees victory as step to changing politics

Etsuko Kawada, winner of Sunday's House of Representatives by-election in Tokyo's No. 21 single-seat constituency, said Monday she felt a great sense of mission in being elected at a time of strong public distrust in politics.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2000

Continue irresponsible politics or vote for my party: Ozawa

A series of apparent setbacks in the political arena have not dented the aspirations of the Liberal Party to shake the foundations of the system, according to its maverick leader, Ichiro Ozawa.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2000

Sakurauchi to retire from politics

Former House of Representatives speaker and Liberal Democratic Party member Yoshio Sakurauchi has decided to retire from politics after complying with a request that he not be listed on the ballot for the upcoming Lower House election.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 1999

Less-than-inspiring politics

The extraordinary Diet session that ended Thursday brought to the fore the simmering discord within the tripartite ruling coalition. The Liberal Party threatened to quit the coalition because a bill to slim down the Lower House, which was one of the conditions for the party's joining the coalition, was...
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 1999

Ending the politics of money

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has done the right thing in overriding objections from his own party to the ban on donations to individual politicians from firms and other interest groups. His decision, first unveiled in a meeting with opposition party heads Wednesday, paves the way for the enactment of...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 1999

The politics of love and hate

LONDON -- Here we are on the second anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, and neither her life nor her death seems as momentous as it did this time last year. Does this mean she really was just a media phenomenon, ephemeral, superficial, appearing and disappearing in our lives without consequence?...
COMMUNITY
May 5, 1999

Allies' 'fair' tribunal betrayed ignorance of wartime politics

A former court interpreter at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East said he believes the Allied trial was fair and legitimate, but the proceedings reflected their ignorance of Japan's wartime politics.
JAPAN
May 4, 1999

Allies' 'fair' tribunal betrayed ignorance of wartime politics

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2023

Ashiya's new mayor stands out in a local politics dominated by old men

Ryosuke Takashima has grabbed headlines since becoming the youngest city chief ever elected in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2023

The West must offer the 'Global South' a new deal

Countries in Africa, Asia and South America should support Ukraine against Putin. But the West could help by being less hypocritical.
A Palestinian girl searches the remains of a house in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, that was destroyed during the recent Israeli-Hamas fighting on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

What's next after Hamas' deadly border raid?

The attack on Israel mirrors that of the Yom Kippur War. As in 1973, Israel has much soul-searching to do, but the outcome could differ considerably.
Australia had the chance to embrace reconciliation with its First Nations peoples in the Voice referendum. Voters chose division instead.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2023

Ignorance sank Australia’s Indigenous Voice referendum

Australia had the choice to embrace reconciliation with its First Nations peoples. Misinformation, dirty politics and apathy prevailed instead.
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023

Has Japan mastered sitting?

Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, the eventual winner, casts his vote during the island's election in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2024

Taiwan's election and its potential impact on East Asian politics

China tried to interfere in the Taiwanese elections through the systematic use of "cognitive warfare," but failed.
The assembly line at a production facility for Nio, a maker of electric cars, in Hefei, China, on Dec. 4. U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered an investigation into auto software that could track U.S. drivers, part of a broader effort to stop electric vehicle imports from China.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Mar 2, 2024

The politics and economics behind Biden's China car espionage probe

The U.S. leader's saber-rattling as another opportunity to demonstrate he is tough on China, experts say.
Supporters await the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a campaign event in Hyderabad on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 16, 2024

Data dump exposes the fuzzy lines between money and politics in India

Reading between the lines of the spreadsheets full of names poses questions about the intersection of government and business in India.
For some fundamentalist Christians, Donald Trump is seen as divine instrument even though his behavior seems at odds with their religious values.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2024

What fundamentalist Christians see in Trump

Navigating the paradox that is the intersection of fundamentalism and politics in America.
Mainland Chinese tourists on a converted car ferry in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on April 19, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

Business-first Hong Kong now comes with a catch: Beijing politics

The former British colony is hewing closer to mainland China, blurring distinctions that once cemented the city’s status as mostly free from Chinese politics.
A Liberal Democratic Party fundraising event in Tokyo in 2023
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 31, 2024

Why Japanese politics can't quit fundraising parties

To succeed in Japanese politics, it’s long been said that a politician must have, among other things, a fat purse.
Sanzo K. Matsunaga’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel “Bari Sanko” centers on two men involved in an office hiking club. One is into dangerous off-path trekking, the other is more of a by-the-book conformist.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 2024

Akutagawa winner ‘Bari Sanko’ takes office politics to the mountains

Though the plot takes time to get going, Sanzo K. Matsunaga’s novel takes a nuanced look at the implications of being an independent thinker in Japan’s corporate culture.
Donald Trump is joined on stage by former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign event in Duluth, Georgia, on Oct. 23.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2024

When the leftists embrace the far right

Do these political migrations reflect a mere opportunistic betrayal of principles or is something more complicated going on?
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024

Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics

Average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October, while figures for X were down over that time.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's provocative rhetoric targeting Panama, Greenland and Canada underscores his preference for bold power plays over traditional rules-based diplomacy.
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2025

Trump’s trash talk revives the worst of world politics

Trump's provocative rhetoric targeting Panama, Greenland and Canada underscores his preference for bold power plays over traditional rules-based diplomacy.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump took a hard line against China. As Trump takes office again, this confrontation is likely to continue and potentially escalate over issues such as Taiwan and economic security interests.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 20, 2025

Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations

Since Trump's first term, China has shown its willingness to use aggressive economic measures in its confrontation with the U.S., setting the stage for a potential escalation.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as his defense chief, Pete Hegseth, speaks about the midair crash between a passenger jet and U.S. Army helicopter on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2025

Trump’s Pentagon sheds no-politics image in a major reversal

In a break with his predecessors, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has become a major driver in Trump’s agenda.
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a howitzer toward Russian troops, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Jan. 11.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2025

Ukraine's politics warms up as U.S. focuses on war's endgame

In the past week, one Ukrainian political camp has accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team of caring more about elections than the war.

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