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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2022

Putin’s Ukraine war forces ugly bargains on food and fuel

The war in Ukraine has laid bare the world's addiction to freely flowing fuel and grain. Disrupted supplies and surging prices will force the have-nots into desperate choices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2022

The U.K.’s fast-paced crisis of financial confidence was years in the making

Friday's mini-budget has become a flash point for not just investors' short-term concerns, but has given sharp focus to their long-held fears about the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s war has come home to Russia

The “partial mobilization” of reservists may have sowed unrest, but by deepening the engagement of ordinary Russians, it will sharpen the conflict for both Russia and Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2022

The holes in America’s China-style industrial policy

Washington is too focused on shutting out Chinese parts for EV batteries, which will ultimately hold the U.S. back from expanding its own supply chain.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 26, 2022

With drills and fighter jets, German defense minister seeks stronger Indo-Pacific ties

Building on the monthslong dispatch of a frigate to the Indo-Pacific last year, Germany is set to deploy three fighter jets to Japan for joint training with the ASDF.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 26, 2022

Iranians protest for 10th night, defying judiciary warning

At least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the Islamic Republic's security forces, according to an official toll.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2022

Giorgia Meloni's far-right triumphs in Italy vote

Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neofascist roots, has never held office but looks set to form Italy's most far-right government since the fall of Mussolini.
CULTURE / Longform
Sep 26, 2022

Big in China, but can the party last for Japan’s artists?

Overseas artists can make a splash in China — provided they abide by the rules.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2022

Pakistan could have averted its climate catastrophe

Decades of corruption and underinvestment have led to massive flooding in Pakistan. Only significant expenditure can avoid another disaster.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2022

Far-right eyes historic victory as Italy votes

Led by one-time Mussolini supporter Giorgia Meloni, the Brothers of Italy party is leading polls.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 25, 2022

Iran protesters return to streets, defying deadly crackdown

The protests entered their ninth night after the death of a woman in morality police custody, despite a crackdown by security forces in which at least 41 people are believed to have died.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 25, 2022

Ukraine fights to reclaim territory as Russia holds annexation referendums

The referendums — which are expected to culminate in the annexation of an area larger than Portugal — have raised alarm in Western nations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 25, 2022

The ‘small, human touches’ bringing British scones to Tokyo

Buckingham Palace served as the inspiration for Michael Williamson's authentic scones.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 24, 2022

'Time is up': Countries trapped in climate crisis raise alarm at U.N.

During the gathering of world leaders at the U.N. this week, Vanuatu urged the world to focus on combating global warming by calling for a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 24, 2022

Ukraine war comes home to Russians as Putin imposes draft

A day after Putin announced a call-up that could sweep 300,000 civilians into military service, the Russian leader's escalation of the war effort was reverberating across the country.
Taiwan officials have repeatedly warned that China is trying to sway voters toward candidates seeking closer ties with Beijing, whose government has framed the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between "peace and war."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Chinese forces neared Taiwan to 'intimidate' voters before elections

Taiwan's military drove away four attempts by Chinese forces to approach the island's sensitive contiguous zone last month, Taiwan security officials said, in what they see as a ramped-up Chinese campaign to "intimidate" voters before key elections.
Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar addresses an anti-Israel rally in Gaza City in May 2021.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2023

Can the governments that grew Hamas destroy it?

This is a war in which Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and E.U., need only survive to win.
Israeli soldiers light candles to mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah near the country's border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

Israelis want Hamas crushed despite Gaza casualties and U.N. rebuke

They consider the ongoing offensive — and the "terrible" cost that comes with it — as necessary in wiping out an existential threat, polls indicate.
Toranosuke Katayama is a photographer who's photo assignments lead him to become a soba researcher with 70 publications on the cuisine.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 22, 2023

Toranosuke Katayama: ‘Soba is about saving history and identity’

A photographer who chose to document soba for a book soon found himself drawn into the deeper world of the buckwheat noodle.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023

Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda

Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Eddie Jones at a news conference after being named as Japan rugby head coach in Tokyo on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 14, 2023

No guilt for Eddie Jones after taking Japan job

Jones quit his native Australia after leading them to a dismal showing at the Rugby World Cup.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 15, 2023

Why should any city want to host a world expo?

The projected budget for the 2025 Osaka Expo has nearly doubled and netizens and opposition politicians are calling for a cancellation.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, who took office in April, has been considered a skeptic of negative interest rates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2023

One small step for BOJ. One giant leap for the yen.

Japan can hold off on undoing negative interest rates
A woman who is against the proposed new constitution holds up a banner as she reacts to results of the referendum on a new Chilean constitution, in Santiago on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

Weary Chileans reject second proposed constitution

With 99% of votes counted in the referendum, 56% rejected the text while 44% backed the document.
Researchers prepare to conduct a mapping survey of a reforested area on a hillside near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 18, 2023

In Thailand, drones help solve forest carbon capture riddle

Drones are part of an increasingly sophisticated arsenal used by scientists to understand forests and their role in the battle against climate change.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a United States House of Representatives hearing on antisemitism in American campuses on Dec. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. campus antisemitism debate muddles nuances of free speech

The debate on antisemitism in U.S. campuses doesn’t lend itself to easy answers. What is free speech and what harmful conduct is down to context.
Koo Yeon-kyung, the eldest daughter of LG's former chairperson Koo Bon-moo, at her home in Seoul on Oct. 3. The death of Koo Bon-moo in 2018 without a will sparked a power struggle within the Koo family and LG over the inheritance of his estimated $1.5 billion fortune — including his 11% stake in the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023

Family split at LG tests corporate succession in South Korea

Wife and daughters of late chairman accuse adopted son and other executives of deception to steal their inheritance to bolster his claim to the company.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Hanoi on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

Everyone is trying to woo Vietnam. Why Hanoi’s ‘bamboo policy’ works.

It makes sense to court Vietnam, one of the region’s most dynamic economies. This year, it is expected to post about 5% growth, better than many others.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have conducted an escalating series of attacks against merchant shipping in the region using drones, ballistic missiles and commandos on helicopters and speedboats. 
COMMENTARY
Dec 20, 2023

U.S.-led naval force might not end Houthi ship attacks

U.S. Navy commands Operation Prosperity Guardian, a global coalition formed to counter the Iranian-backed Houthis.

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