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May 04, 2025
 

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Mainland Chinese student Zhou Hongxu arrives for a court hearing on suspicion that he attempted to develop a spy network for China in Taiwan in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023

Spies bring their China warnings in from the cold

The spy chiefs say Western nations need to safeguard technology innovation, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take part in a news conference in September 2021 in the lead-up to the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2023

Takaichi makes another play to become the next PM

With the creation of a new study group, Cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi aims to build support for her bid for the top political job.
Japan’s public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of such facilities in Tokyo alone dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2023

Japan seeks digital detox with return to ‘way of the sauna’

Public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of sentō baths in Tokyo dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as foreign secretary, a shock return to government for a man who previously led the country and whose legacy is defined for calling the Brexit referendum.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Sunak’s gamble on former U.K. leader Cameron is an act of desperation

The return of the former prime minister creates an unprecedented imbalance at the summit of U.K. power.
Iran has conducted numerous proxy attacks against the Israelis, as well as U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, seeking to determine what a response might look like.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2023

What the U.S. should do about Iran

Iran has conducting attacks against against Israeli and U.S. forces, seeking to determine what a response will look like.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in San Francisco on Tuesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' week.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Biden and Xi must not forget North Korea

China is still the first stop on the road to managing the arms race with North Korea and the growing danger that tensions could lead to conflict.
Palestinians flee northern Gaza on Sunday as Israeli tanks roll deeper into the enclave amid the ongoing conflict. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Where is outrage against Hamas over Gaza’s death toll?

Palestinian deaths weren’t a bug in Hamas' plan but an essential part of it.
Professional groups may lobby for regulations to control artificial intelligence and steer it toward labor-augmenting uses rather than labor-replacing ones.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Managing the AI backlash: Lessons from the past

The history of professional guilds in Europe provides clues as to how workers may react to AI-caused disruptions.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2023

'Offensive' and 'defensive' diplomacy: Managing ties with China

Since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, in October last year, Beijing has been seeking to maintain a balance.
The U.S.-China relationship faces challenges arising from the two countries' economic interdependence and geopolitical competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2023

Navigating a successful U.S.-China diplomatic reset

International cooperation is needed to ensure a U.S.-China reset and political posturing must not be allowed create long-term instability or conflict.
Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain and the last thing it needs is oil-rich Saudi Arabia buying into the league.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

The last thing cricket needs is Saudi money

Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain. A partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia would lead to a certain defeat.
The risk of unsecure nuclear weapons or a vengeful leader such as Vladimir Putin going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the world must prepare for the worst-case scenario. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Preparing for a Russian nuclear meltdown

The risk of “loose nukes” or a vengeful leader going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the chances are not zero.
Elon Musk
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2023

Backlash spreads over Musk’s endorsement of antisemitic post

Large advertisers have pulled ads from Elon Musk's social media site X and the White House has chastised the billionaire.
Bonobos groom each other at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 18, 2023

Good neighbors: Bonobo study offers clues into early human alliances

Human society is founded on our ability to cooperate with others beyond our immediate family and social groups, and the same may be said about bonobos.
Eom Dong-hwan, South Korea's minister for its defense acquisition program and administration, speaks at a ceremony marking Poland's receiving of its first delivery of South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers in Gdynia, Poland, in December 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2023

South Korea’s defense ambitions can be met by tech

Decades of facing down North Korea has forced Seoul to slowly build its own arms-producing capabilities instead of relying heavily on the U.S.
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023

Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact

Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Democratic congressional leaders at the White House in January.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2023

Why Democrats are 'ride or die' for Biden

Joe Biden has been unwilling to shift the responsibility for defending democracy to other shoulders. A lot of Democrats are uneasy with that.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
Sam Altman, then-CEO of OpenAI, attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2023

The AI safety debate after OpenAI CEO's ouster

It's important to align technology with human interests as AI systems are more likely to lower than raise existential risks.
Lai Ching-te (left), Taiwanese presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim (right), former Taiwan representative to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 21, 2023

Taiwan poll about whether to embrace China or not, front-runner says

Taiwan has to choose whether the island keeps moving forward on the road to democracy or "walks into the embrace of China," Lai Ching-te said.
OpenAI said it fired chairman Sam Altman after it concluded that he was not candid with the company's board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2023

Profit, not progress, animates the tech world

Reliable sources said Altman's firing came amid difference in views about the speed at which OpenAI should push its artificial intelligence.
An Israeli soldier patrols near the border fence that separates the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2023

There is only one way forward in Gaza

War in Gaza has galvanized calls for a long-term resolution, which must involve Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election, visits the southern border in Edinburg, Texas, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2023

Can Japan risk a Trump reelection?

A fundamental risk accompanying Donald Trump’s reelection is the doubts it would raise about American leadership in the world.
Hamas fighters take part in a military parade in Gaza in July to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2023

Israel's historical role in the rise of Hamas

The complicated relationship between Israel and Hamas with the the "Frankenstein" Jewish state help create
Actor Joaquin Phoenix (left), actress Vanessa Kirby and director Ridley Scott arrive for the U.K. premiere of the movie "Napoleon" in London on Nov. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2023

Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ and our need for historical heroes

The new movie Napoleon' reignites the debate on the role of great individuals in history
Researchers eager to be hailed as the next world-changing genius may cut corners they shouldn’t — and that reflects badly on science.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2023

Science hype and celebrity culture make a bad pair

There is a broad problem of questionable research results being published in prestigious journals, with some prioritizing sensational findings.
Microsoft's artificial intelligence prospects just got a boost from Sam Altman's return to his CEO role at OpenAI.
COMMENTARY
Nov 23, 2023

Altman’s comeback is a strategic triumph for Microsoft

Sam Altman's termination and swift rehiring will shift the dynamics at OpenAI.
The European Union finds itself at a crossroads of balancing national borders, economic autonomy and liberal values.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2023

The geopolitics of EU enlargement

The European bloc appears to be moving toward radical reinvention.
Pro-Palestinian supporters gather in a show of solidarity at the National Monument in Jakarta on Nov. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2023

Asia’s Muslims grow weary of the West’s double standards

Indonesia and Malaysia have long taken a strong pro-Palestinian stance and neither has diplomatic ties with Israel.
The question of when a person dies is a scientific and moral issue with far-reaching implications in the area of organ transplants, among others.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

When does science say we die?

Debates about when a human being dies are yet unresolved, with profound implications for the medical profession and areas such as organ transplants.
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
Woman says archbishop of Tokyo ignored her pleas after priest allegedly raped her
In a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Tokie Tanaka, 64, details her allegations of sexual abuse against a Catholic priest.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.
Inflation and high hotel prices curtail Golden Week travels
Travelers in front of a flight information panel in a departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 26
Japan’s ‘tabi’ sock mecca runs on thread and memories
A seamstress at Kineya Tabi sews together split-toe "tabi" socks, once a major industry for the town of Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture.
Despite shifts in Japan's political landscape, constitutional revision still far off
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been a staunch advocate for constitutional reform.
'Ukiyo-e in Play' showcases traditional art carved anew
The Adachi Institute has been working on creating brand new ukiyo-e prints in collaboration with contemporary artists such as Yayoi Kusama, whose “Mt. Fuji in Seven Colours: When life boundlessly flares up to the universe” (2014) can be seen on display at “Ukiyo-e in Play.”
Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

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