Search - opinion

 
 
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2024

Once allies, Ishiba, Kono and Koizumi set to battle for LDP president votes

The three, dubbed the "Koishikawa coalition" after kanji characters from each of their last names, will jostle for party member support in the Sept. 27 election.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives onstage Thursday to speak on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2024

Kamala Harris charts her vision for the United States

Harris’ speech capped a week featuring the Democratic Party’s brightest stars, showcasing a broad, diverse and inclusive party.
Despite changing attitudes toward office attire, with younger generations pushing for more casual dress codes, traditional views on professional attire persist.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2024

Shorts at the office? Go for it.

Despite changing attitudes toward office attire, with younger generations pushing for more casual dress codes, traditional views on professional attire persist.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius inspects Leopard II tanks that were due to be supplied to Ukraine at a military facility in Augustdorf, Germany, in February 2023.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2024

Ukraine has a Germany problem again. Here’s how to fix it.

Kyiv’s Kursk operation was aimed less at the battlefield than at Berlin and other allies.
Instead of secretly arming against the combined nuclear forces of China, Russia and North Korea, the U.S. must launch a global campaign to restart arms control.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2024

Why is the U.S. fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors?

Secret armaments or doctrinal shifts without public messaging will only make adversaries more paranoid and a full-on arms race all but inevitable.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024

Japan calls Chinese military aircraft incursion 'unacceptable' threat to safety

Officials are grappling with the rationale for and response to the entry into Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture.
A cardboard cutout of the Monkey King character, or Sun Wukong, from the Chinese action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong is displayed on the day of its launch in Beijing on Aug. 20.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2024

Black myth, Black samurai and gaming nationalism

While China has to date enjoyed success in mobile and PC gaming, those lucrative sectors carry relatively little prestige. That makes Wukong’s breakout a landmark event.
A U.S. Navy CMV-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Iwakuni allows deployment of U.S. Navy's Osprey

The mayor said the city judged that the aircraft will not have a large impact on the lives of people living near the base.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
Since arriving in Japan, Adrian Bianco has dedicated himself to exploring the country’s many subcultures at the website sabukaru.online.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 30, 2024

Adrian Bianco: ‘Leaving your comfort zone keeps you alive’

Upon relocating in Tokyo after a stint with the Vice empire in Germany, Adrian Bianco has explored Asia's underground via his website Sabukaru Online.
Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of now-shuttered Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, leaves the district court in Hong Kong on Thursday after he was found guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Hong Kong editors convicted of sedition in blow to press freedom

Local news outlets in Hong Kong already self-censor to survive and some foreign news organizations have left or moved out staff.
Sahra Wagenknecht (center), the leader of left-wing party BSW, stands on stage with members after being sprayed with red paint during a campaign event for the upcoming state elections, in Erfurt, eastern Germany, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin rocks German politics

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, also calls for an end to the government's support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.
A protester against the arrest of Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, near the French Embassy in Moscow on Aug. 25
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2024

Telegram’s hands-off approach to content faces a reckoning

The policies of Telegram, a popular social media platform, have allowed abuses to proliferate.
The challenge for Australia’s Indigenous communities that dot a harsh, sprawling landmass is how to mesh their thousands of years of cultural traditions that guide everyday life with today’s economic realities.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2024

60,000 years of history is facing economic reality

Both big business and governments have a role to play to improve the lives of Australia’s First Nations citizens.
A man raises his arms in front of burning wooden pallets on Sunday as protesters block Tel Aviv's Ayalon highway during an antigovernment rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza since October.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Hostage deaths prompt angry Israelis to push Netanyahu’s red lines

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested to demand a truce with Hamas.
Cars are assembled at a Maruti Suzuki manufacturing plant in Manesar, India, in September 2023. Suzuki is one of the success stories for Japanese manufacturers trying to establish joint ventures in India, having become a household name in the country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024

For Japanese companies in India, local staff are an invaluable resource

The roots of Japanese investment in India go far back, to 1958, when the latter became the first country to receive official development assistance from Japan.
Despite current limitations, the progression toward practical humanoid robots is anticipated, driven by advancements in technology and artificial intelligence.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 1, 2024

The future of robots is coming on two legs

Unlike traditional robots, which have already transformed industries with their transport capabilities, bipedal robots are still in the early stages of deployment.
For a billionaire with a mission to prevent climate change, “He greened the energy policy of the world’s fourth-biggest economy (Japan),” would make a hell of an epitaph for Mike Cannon-Brookes. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024

An activist investor could green Japan for $700 million

For a billionaire with a mission to prevent climate change, "Greened the energy policy of the world’s fourth-biggest economy” would make a hell of an epitaph.
The shutdown of Elon Musk's X has drawn parallels with authoritarian regimes, damaging Brazil’s international reputation and raising concerns about judicial overreach.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

Shutting off Elon Musk won't help Brazil's democracy

While regulating hate speech is complex, the approach by Brazil's Supreme Court might be excessive and counterproductive.
Osaka is set to open Grand Green Osaka in the city’s Umekita area. It is a sprawling redevelopment that combines a park with mixed-use skyscrapers and is part of a push to rejuvenate the merchant city.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2024

Japan’s second city can finally make Tokyo jealous

For the first time in years, Osaka has something that will make Tokyoites jealous. It might also serve as a symbol of the merchant city’s push for a comeback.
Held annually in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom is the world's largest gaming convention, meaning it attracts attendees and exhibitors from near and far.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Sep 7, 2024

Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios

"Nothing beats seeing players' faces as they play our game in person, and getting to ask them directly about their experience, both positive and negative.”
Red Square in Moscow. According to U.S. authorities, the Kremlin used an elaborate scheme to use American influencers to spread propaganda.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

Russia used a fake investor to dupe influencers, U.S. says

U.S. authorities have highlighted what they say is an elaborate scheme by the Russian government to spread propaganda.
The world’s largest system of hydroelectric power has been on standby since late 2022, when droughts drained the reservoirs that feed it. China's torrential downpours of the past few months are switching that immense machine back on.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2024

A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid

The world’s largest hydroelectric system, located in China, has been dormant since late 2022 due to droughts, but recent heavy rains are now reviving its operations.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 7, 2024

U.S. opposition to Nippon Steel deal 'very unsettling,' PM hopeful Ishiba says

Some experts say blocking the deal could undermine U.S.-Japan cooperation on national security, and put the lie to the notion of "ally shoring."
Attorney General Merrick Garland sits between Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, in Washington on Sept. 4. Federal prosecutors say Russia secretly paid the American company Tenet Media to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Russia secretly worms its way into America’s conservative media

The latest indictment reflects the growing sophistication of the Kremlin’s long-standing efforts to shape American public opinion and advance its geopolitical goals.
California has ambitious climate policies. But the state should shift more green energy-related costs from electricity bills to taxes to promote fairness and sustainability.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

California's crushing power bills challenge its climate goals

California is incredible, but making it livable, what with its droughts, floods, fault-lines and wildfires, has never been cheap.
While nuclear weapons are difficult to use without catastrophic consequences, Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric aims to frighten Ukraine's allies into halting arms support.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

How to read Putin’s next nuclear threat

Historical analogies show that nuclear threats rarely succeed, but Russia’s signals of desperation should not be ignored.
Firefighters extinguish a car after recent shelling by Ukrainian forces in Belgorod, Russia. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that talks are impossible, Ukraine’s ability to impose costs on Russia could eventually push him toward negotiations. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 9, 2024

How to make the most of the Kursk gambit

Both nations are unlikely to achieve total military victory, and the conflict will likely be resolved through negotiations.
Signage in the spin room ahead of the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

What to watch for during the Harris-Trump presidential debate

Most opinion polls show Kamala Harris to be slightly ahead nationally and in the majority of battleground states, but Donald Trump is close behind.
With the world's democracies and authoritarian regimes watching, the U.S. election on Nov. 5 will have global implications.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

The choice confronting American voters

Republicans and Democrats differ significantly on the role of government in society, a divide that the U.S. Supreme Court used to mediate.

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