Search - editorials

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 28, 2019

After months of setbacks, Theresa May's Brexit deal starts to fall into place

Wednesday night's votes in Parliament suggest that Prime Minister Theresa May is closer to leading Britain out of the European Union with a Brexit deal than at any other point since her negotiations with Brussels began. Instead of another humiliating defeat, Parliament told her to stay the course. Crucially,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2019

May's Brexit deal hinges on just one man

It's not Jeremy Corbyn, for all his calls for another referendum.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2019

Brexit Britain is left choking on Nissan's exhaust fumes

Nissan's decision to back out of a big U.K. investment may not be the last of its type.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2019

Where is the European Union's Brexit policy?

The U.K. has set a new standard for political paralysis — but the EU has little to boast about.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2019

May's humbling offers a glimmer of hope

There was not much meaningful about Tuesday's Brexit vote, but at least the prime minister is now finally promising to build consensus.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 8, 2018

Korean wartime labor rulings spark debate

The 2017 South Korean film, "The Battleship Island," has yet to receive a theatrical release in Japan, even though it's set on Hashima, more commonly known as Gunkanjima, a former mining complex off the coast of Kyushu and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Given the current diplomatic tensions between Japan...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2018

Theresa May really has reaped what she sowed

The British prime minister's effort to sideline parliament has failed and now it's hard to tell who's at the wheel of Brexit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2018

Three odd points about Abe's tax hike

Raising the consumption tax could once again hurt the economy more than help it.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2018

Trump is just a symptom of America's illness

Trump isn't a root cause of American crisis. He is a symptom of pre-existing conditions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2018

The empires strike back

If Russia and Turkey are born-again democratic empires in the modern era, what about Japan?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2018

Two contradictory proverbs

Few people in Japan are optimistic about the outcome of the Korean talks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2018

How central banks should and shouldn't tackle global warming

Monitoring the impact of climate change is sensible, but tipping the scales is dangerous.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2018

NRA's blunders fueled the gun-safety marches

The gun lobby created the movement that threatens to swamp it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2017

Europe is tiring of Anglo-American lectures

Following Brexit and Trump, the Anglo-Saxon world's intellectual leadership is on the wane in Europe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Oct 12, 2017

Motosada Zumoto and the origins of The Japan Times

A 10-minute walk from JR Sapporo Station brings one to a small, white clock tower in the city center. The 13-meter-high Western timepiece is an iconic image of the city and Hokkaido.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2017

'Great Again' is Trump's magic Twitter mantra

U.S. President Donald Trump's favorite phrase never seems to lose its power on the Twittersphere.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2017

Quieting down the language of war

Cool heads and clarity need to prevail to prevent an escalation in the North Korea crisis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2017

The tragedy of India's partition, 70 years on

The India-Pakistan border is a 70-year-old scar that will not heal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2017

U.S. will pay for Trump's global unpopularity

Being seen as unreliable and 'arrogant, intolerant and dangerous' by a majority of respondents from 37 countries around the world could have concrete policy consequences for U.S. President Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2017

Theresa May's biggest mistake

U.K. voters threw out the script. Let that be a lesson.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 22, 2017

Chinese state-run newspaper applauds nation's anti-espionage push after report CIA sources were killed

A controversial state-run Chinese newspaper praised the country's anti-espionage activities in an editorial Monday, just a day after The New York Times reported that Beijing had allegedly killed or imprisoned more than a dozen CIA sources between 2010 and 2012.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Apr 22, 2017

Tsubasa Watanabe: Model mixes punk with fashion on the runways of New York

At her first test shoot in Los Angeles, Tsubasa Watanabe was surprised by the outfit the photographer was asking her to wear: Hanging from the fingers of his outstretched hand was a pair of thong underwear.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2017

Leaving the EU doesn't have to be a disaster

A friendly parting between the U.K. and EU is still possible, and in both sides' best interests.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2017

Stalking terror from Molenbeek to Birmingham

The Birmingham connection to the March 22 attack in the heart of London isn't a big surprise. A report released this month called it one of Britain's terrorist capitals.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2017

Did America's top diplomat inadvertently offer China a 'new great power relationship'?

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's use of phrases and language commonly employed by China's Communist Party during his first trip to the country as top diplomat has left some regional experts wondering if he may have inadvertently endorsed Beijing's push for a new "great power relationship."
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2017

Ambitious curriculum guidelines

The education ministry's proposed curriculum guidelines for elementary and junior high schools may be overly ambitious.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 4, 2017

Chinese official says U.S. should stop using Dalai Lama to stir up trouble

The United States should stop using the Dalai Lama to create trouble for China, a senior Chinese official in charge of Tibet affairs told an influential state-run newspaper.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2017

How space could trigger an economic crisis

The World Economic Forum's annual assessment of global risks, published this month, rates extreme weather events as the most likely risk to the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2016

Italy's was just the latest stupid referendum

Like David Cameron's Brexit fiasco, this didn't have to happen.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2016

Lower House panel clears casino bill; opposition walks out in protest

The Lower House committee debating the casino legalization bill votes to send it to the Upper House as opposition lawmakers storm out in protest.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji