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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 5, 2020

Trust and truth go hand in hand in a troubled year

COVID-19's most visible symbol is the mask, but 85 of 100 doctors surveyed by Shukan Gendai say masks are unnecessary in open outdoor spaces.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2020

Surge of white nationalism in U.S. echoes historical pattern, scholars say

The first Black woman is on a major party presidential ticket, Americans of all races are showing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement and at the same time white nationalists are ramping up recruiting efforts and public activism.
COMMENTARY / World / Post-Coronavirus Briefing
Sep 4, 2020

Neither U.S. nor China will lead post-coronavirus order

The age of the two economic superpowers, which have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war, could be over.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2020

Rest of Asia will miss Abe more than Japan will

Asian democracies will have to hope that Japan continues down the path Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 4, 2020

U.N. experts decry Hong Kong security law in letter to China

The 'open letter' reflected a detailed legal analysis of the national security law imposed in Hong Kong on June 30.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2020

The 1995 Okinawa rape that shook U.S.-Japan ties

Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 4, 1995, a 12-year-old girl was abducted, beaten and raped in the village of Kin, Okinawa Prefecture, by three U.S. servicemen — two marines and a naval medic.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2020

U.S. and China should seek a truce in tech cold war

In the absence of shared global norms on how data flows should be governed, domestic policymakers everywhere are developing their own 'patches” to regulate data and protect national security and their citizens' privacy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2020

U.S. expats can’t renounce their citizenship fast enough

The swearing in of new citizens often makes news in the U.S., especially if it happens in unusual circumstances such as one party’s national convention. Much less reported are the many citizenship renunciations by Americans, and the travails leading up to these life decisions. Almost all those giving...
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 2, 2020

Trump visits Wisconsin, not to urge racial healing but to back police

U.S. President Donald Trump defied requests to stay away and visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, not to urge racial healing after a white officer shot a Black man in the back but to express support for law enforcement in a city rocked by civil unrest.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2020

Our weird pandemic spending ways could change soon

There's been a lot of talk about the U.S. experiencing a K-shaped recovery, with large companies and the rich recovering while smaller companies and lower-paid service workers struggle. But this divide also shows up in the way Americans are shopping.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2020

Who says Iran is impervious to pressure?

Critics of the Trump administration’s sanctions campaign against Iran have long argued that the Islamic Republic is impervious to pressure. This claim never had a strong foundation: After all, extreme duress — prolonged diplomatic isolation, coupled with crippling economic sanctions — forced Tehran’s...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2020

India paid the price of lockdown for little reward

The troubles keep piling up for India, feted not long ago as a would-be commercial superpower. Economic data show the country is in far worse shape than previously thought, while it has overtaken Mexico to become the world’s third-largest tally of coronavirus cases. It will take the South Asian giant...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2020

How to end America's loneliness epidemic

Making people more economically secure is the first step to ending the 'intimacy apocalypse.'
Reader Mail
Aug 31, 2020

Nuclear waste disposal is a matter of environmental concern

It has been reported that the town of Suttsu in Hokkaido is considering applying for a two-year “literature research” into the possibility of storing high-level radioactive nuclear waste. A maximum of ¥2 billion in subsidies will be granted by the central government.
Reader Mail
Aug 31, 2020

Japanese connections with Indian languages

I came across the old July 6, 2008, opinion piece “Was the Japanese language influenced by Tamil? The war goes on,” and my view is that it’s not just Tamil, but the Japanese language is structurally (i.e grammar and expressions) very similar to Indian languages like Bengali. Now Bengali being a...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2020

After Abe’s exit, who should lead Japan?

On Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his intention to resign.
The candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race at a joint news conference on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2025

LDP candidates focus on reform as presidential vote approaches

Losing two national elections in the past year has made reform a top concern for the party.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday after the alliance held urgent talks about a Russian jet incursion over Estonia last week.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2025

NATO warns Russia to stop 'escalatory' actions after Estonian airspace violation

Estonia said three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes before NATO Italian fighter jets escorted them out last week.
The United Nations Security Council holds a ministerial meeting on Ukraine during the U.N. General Assembly at the body's headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2025

The U.S. assault on the U.N. rests on a tragic misunderstanding

The Trump administration views the U.N. as a useless, woke cesspool. Instead, it reflects the world as it is, assembled to “save humanity from hell.”
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi addresses a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, alongside candidates vying to become the Liberal Democratic Party's next president. The ruling party’s leadership race officially kicked off on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 24, 2025

An identity crisis is haunting Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party

Dismal performances have the LDP clinging to power as a minority in both houses of parliament, and in search of its fifth leader in as many years
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses members of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. At a climate summit hosted by Guterres on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 7%-10% from its peak by 2035.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 25, 2025

Beijing takes the lead with new climate plans amid Washington’s denial

China's reduction target marked the first time the world's biggest emitter pledged a cut in emissions, rather than just limiting their growth.
Jack Ma’s return to Alibaba gives him a chance to boost the pay and benefits of delivery people, a move that would align with Beijing’s economic goals and help the company navigate regulatory and competitive pressures.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2025

Welcome back Jack Ma. Don’t forget the little guys.

Alibaba’s Ele.me stands to benefit from improving the pay and welfare of its hardworking delivery drivers.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover takes a selfie on July 23, with the rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls visible to the left. The feature is of interest to scientists studying signs of ancient microscopic life on the Red Planet.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2025

Crucial evidence about life on Mars is stuck — on Mars

To actually see what’s inside potential Martian life, scientists would need to bring samples back to Earth to study — a project NASA launched but has struggled to complete.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a march near the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday, during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2025

Turning the tide back toward peace in the Middle East

The 2025 United Nations General Assembly opened with a major step toward implementing a two-state solution.
China is reshaping the global energy landscape by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy investments across the Global South, creating jobs and long-term influence on a scale comparable to the Marshall Plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2025

China is winning its power play for the Global South

Beijing’s green energy projects are bringing jobs, growth and cheap electricity to the developing world.
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates in Nagoya on Friday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 28, 2025

On defense and foreign policy, LDP candidates largely align — except where they don’t

From nuanced differences in how to bolster Japan’s defenses to the importance of relations with the U.S., each candidate’s views could result in significantly different policies.
The Trump administration’s new fees and proposed changes to the H-1B visa system risk undermining 
the country’s college-to-work pipeline for foreign STEM graduates, potentially damaging American competitiveness.  
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2025

The H-1B visa reset will crush America’s college pipeline

The Department of Homeland Security says it’s moving to a weighted selection process that would "favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens.”
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi at a debate at the Japan National Press Club with other candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency on Sept. 24
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 29, 2025

Takaichi moots U.S. tariff deal do-over when asked about $550 billion pledge

The woman who could become Japan’s next prime minister raises questions about the agreement.

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