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JAPAN / Politics
Sep 14, 2020

Japan's next leader: How Yoshihide Suga beat the odds to succeed Shinzo Abe

The current chief Cabinet secretary won by a landslide in the party poll, all but guaranteeing his spot at the top.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2020

Brave new words hint at a less democratic future

As China tightens its grip on Hong Kong, its vocabulary of hurt national feelings and threat is turning up in the territory.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2020

The 'Iron Wall,' the 'prince' and the 'military geek': A look at the trio vying to lead Japan

Shigeru Ishiba, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida are aiming to become party president — and by default, the nation's next prime minister — in the Sept. 14 election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Post-Coronavirus Briefing
Sep 6, 2020

A supersurveillance society and its impact on democracy

The coronavirus pandemic has given rise to stronger authoritarianism, populism and nationalism, threatening to harm rights-based systems.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2020

Who succeeds Abe’s foreign policy?

Under his diplomatic doctrine, Abe dramatically improved relations with the United States while outstanding issues with Russia and North Korea remained unsolved.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2020

Ruling LDP to skip rank-and-file votes in party election for Abe's successor

The choice to vote using an emergency process is widely expected to benefit front-runner Yoshihide Suga while disadvantaging rival Shigeru Ishiba.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2020

All you need to know about how Abe’s successor will be chosen

The choice is neither up to the Japanese people, nor is it something to be decided in the Diet. Instead, the decision rests solely within the LDP.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 27, 2020

Trump looks past U.S. law separating presidency and campaign

U.S. President Donald Trump has freely blended his campaign with the federal government during this week’s Republican convention, staging a series of events pushing the limits of laws prohibiting government employees from engaging in politics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 25, 2020

Japan's take on a most unconventional Democratic convention

The reaction in Tokyo was mostly even-handed, if a little less enthusiastic than the coverage in the U.S. media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2020

Lee Teng-hui: An icon of Asian democracy

Perhaps one day, China will be able to join the rest of the world in acknowledging the extraordinary work of Taiwan's former president.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2020

The upside of a new cold war with China

Competition with the Soviet Union brought out the best in American democracy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2020

Don't expect a U.S.-China detente anytime soon

Trump's China policy is about domestic politics, and it has shown some success.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2020

Joe Biden was rescued by black voters. Now he has to excite them

African American supporters have been urging him to offer concrete solutions, and they say not being Donald Trump isn't enough.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2020

Overlooked no more: 'Malay first' Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin takes the reins in Malaysia

Long overshadowed by colorful contemporaries, the man who emerged from a week of turmoil as Malaysia's new prime minister on Sunday is a publicity-shy picture of conservatism.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2020

The Kawai scandal and the race to succeed Shinzo Abe

Hiroshima-based Liberal Democratic Party Diet member Anri Kawai admitted in January to receiving ¥150 million from LDP headquarters prior to the July 2019 Upper House election. Kawai, a novice in national politics, is also the wife of disgraced former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who was forced...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 30, 2020

Stiff Little Fingers' 'Inflammable Material' is still the definitive political punk album 40 years later

Stiff Little Fingers bring 'Inflammable Material' to Tokyo for two shows, letting fans hear the album, which deals with Northern Ireland's 'troubles,' in its entirety.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2020

What won't happen in the world in 2020

The international situation may provide Tokyo with more challenges than opportunities this year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2020

Putin's latest obsession: Rewriting World War II

Russia's leader believes the narrative is shifting in ways that make the Soviet Union a villain.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 30, 2019

Christianity Today's split with Trump highlights deeper issue in white evangelical America

After evangelical publication Christianity Today published a blistering editorial on what it called U.S. President Donald Trump's "grossly immoral character," some church leaders and the president himself denounced the criticism as elitist and out of touch.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2019

How socialism and the left wing failed in Japan

Three decades ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Malta Summit signified the end of the Cold War and the defeat of left-wing forces, including the socialists and communists.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Commentary
Dec 5, 2019

LDP statesman Yasuhiro Nakasone helped shape postwar Japan from the top down

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who died at 101 on Nov. 29, will undoubtedly be remembered as a giant in Japan's political history.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2019

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a political titan who spanned eras, dies at 101

The enduring statesman, who bolstered the military alliance with the U.S. and privatized the Japanese National Railways, led Japan onto the world stage in the 1980s.
WORLD / Society
Nov 20, 2019

Men in U.K. and U.S. seen growing less comfortable with female leaders

Less than 50 percent of American men would be "very comfortable" with a female head of government, according to a survey published on Tuesday that found men in Britain and the United States growing less comfortable with women in positions of power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2019

Abe shows his command over LDP in reshuffle

Abe demonstrated that he is clearly in the driver's seat, posturing his allies for advancement in the LDP ranks, keeping bandwagoners contained and edging out rivals altogether.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2019

Protests in 1969 Tokyo and today's Hong Kong

The Hong Kong authorities cannot simply continue their wack-a-mole game against the protestors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 2, 2019

Is populism finally coming to Japan?

The success of leftist party Reiwa Shinsengumi marks a turning point in Japanese politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 30, 2019

Diving into the world of political performance at Aichi Triennale

The political function of art is a perennial question in the field of aesthetics. In classical Athens, Plato argued that art as a form of imitation was limited in its ability to communicate knowledge about political life. In contrast, Aristotle saw this mimetic gap as a space for imagining new political...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 25, 2019

The real policy challenges facing Japan

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must place priority on resolving several major policy challenges confronting Japan before he tries to revise the Constitution.

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