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JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2022

Kishida Cabinet approval slips below 30% for first time in Jiji poll

The approval rate hit the worst level since Kishida launched his Cabinet in October last year and even fell below the lowest figure for his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2022

Struggling Rakuten may need to phone a friend for help with mobile bet

Hiroshi Mikitani isn't as rich as he used to be — and is losing money rapidly on his bet on mobile. The smart play may be to find a partner with deeper pockets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 12, 2022

Nepotism and Japan's political dynasties

The appointment of Fumio Kishida's son as an executive secretary in the Prime Minister's Office has prompted a backlash and is raising questions about nepotism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2022

Putin’s response to Crimea bridge attack shows how much it hurt

The severe damage done to the Kerch bridge, a symbolic and logistically important link with Russia exposes a leader who is under pressure from all sides.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2022

Don’t cancel your colonoscopy just yet

Data from a large trial on colonoscopies appears to cast doubt over the benefits of the colon cancer screen. But it's a lot more complicated.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2022

The biggest threat to democracy and peace is thuggishness

The operating system of any functioning society is civility, and thuggishness is the virus that makes it crash.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2022

The Saudi-Russian oil axis snubs the West with production cuts

Coming weeks before the U.S. midterm elections, many also see the move to cut oil production as a personal attack on President Joe Biden.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 6, 2022

Abe’s mixed legacy haunts the Kishida administration and the nation

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's mixed legacies will significantly impact the policies of the current administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2022

Russia’s war hawks are no longer marching in lockstep

The loss of the strategic city of Lyman to Ukrainian forces has prompted a level of finger-pointing among Putin's military partners that threatens his hold on power.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 6, 2022

Taiwan foresees more Chinese coercion and intimidation in Xi's next term

Beijing's once-in-five years leadership reshuffle is set for the Communist Party congress that starts Oct. 16, where Xi is poised to break with precedent and secure a third leadership term.
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.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the opening session of the Global Food Security Summit in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

The economy, stupid? Sunak's 'only' chance of re-election

Several resets have failed to claw back support from a resurgent Labour opposition, meaning his party's fortunes hinge on a British economic recovery.
Analysts say that the election of brash Argentine upstart Javier Milei shows that an anti-incumbent trend over the past decade is becoming a fixture.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

Fed-up voters put Latin American leaders on thin ice

From Chile to Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, voters have simply opted to boot out the government of the day in favor of someone new.
Terry Gou, Foxconn founder and then-presidential candidate (left), former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou (center), Hou Yu-ih presidential candidate of the main opposition Kuomintang attend a news conference in Taipei on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 25, 2023

Taiwan opposition cracks apart, and invites the cameras in

The split over a proposed joint ticket bolsters the governing party candidate’s chances in the coming presidential election. That won’t please Beijing.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at an event in June.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

London’s mayor tries to unite a city divided by war in Gaza

The fighting between Israel and Hamas is shaking Muslim and Jewish people, who have lived side-by-side in London for generations.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2023

International law, warts and all, is still better than no law

However imperfect, international law makes life for many people less nasty, brutish and short than it would otherwise be
A supporter of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party, waves the island's flag outside the Central Election Commission office in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

Taiwan draws clear U.S.-versus-China battle lines in key election

The collapse of the opposition alliance makes Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stated goal of voluntary unification with Taiwan more remote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) meets soldiers at undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 27, 2023

Netanyahu's two-front war against Hamas and politics

The Israeli prime minister is conducting a two-front war, one against Hamas and the other for his own political survival.
An advertisement for Lai Ching-te, whose presidential campaign was the target of an audio deepfake, in Taipei on Nov. 14. Ahead of a presidential election in January, Taiwanese fact checkers and watchdogs say they are ready for Beijing. But they are still worried.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2023

Can Taiwan continue to fight off Chinese disinformation?

Ahead of a presidential election in January, Taiwanese fact checkers and watchdogs say they are ready for Beijing. But they are still worried.
South Korean and U.S. soldiers stand guard next to the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission building on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2023

South Korea’s lessons for Ukraine’s reconstruction

Ukraine needs ironclad security guarantees, specifically NATO membership and the collective security that ensures.
Mourners at a funeral on Nov. 19 carry the body of a Palestinian shot dead earlier during a raid by Israeli forces on a refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2023

While Gaza burns, the West Bank is at a boiling point

Mideast violence spreads beyond Gaza into the West Bank causing the U.S. to take a stand against extremist Israeli settlers.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, speaks during a news conference in Kyiv in Nov. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

Zelenskyy faces manpower dilemma in Ukraine’s stalled offensive

Both sides have recruitment issues almost two years into the war
COP28 has kicked off in Dubai amid division, as there is no firm commitment from developed nations to help out less financially secure countries. 
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2023

The Global South has lost faith in COP28

The Global South, which bears the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to emissions, is frustrated.
Activists dressed up like CEOs take part in a fake banquet near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday where they feign the celebration of company profits over climate responsibility.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2023

We already know what will happen at COP28

It’s beyond time to ask whether the COP gatherings work as they should. After all, we’ve had nearly three decades of summits
Israeli troops gather on the border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the 7th day of a truce with Hamas.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2023

The Gaza cease-fire is a major military victory for Hamas

Military cease-fires and delays such as between Israel and Hamas always favor weaker defenders in a conflict.
U.S. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in her chambers at the Supreme Court in Washington in 2003.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2023

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, dies at 93

The court said in a statement that O'Connor died in Phoenix of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.
Buyouts by management and controlling parties have surged this year in Japan, with the total value now set to pass ¥1 trillion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 3, 2023

Being a listed company in Japan is losing its luster

Japan's corporate landscape is shifting as companies opt for management buyouts.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes