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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 7, 2022

Three years out, the verdict is still out on ‘Peak Japan’

The real test is yet to come. In the most optimistic telling, Japan turns its liabilities — a declining population in particular — into assets.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 7, 2022

Five things to know about the LDP going into election

The LDP is enjoying a wide approval margin over the opposition, with nearly a 35-point lead over its nearest competitor, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 7, 2022

Putin and COVID-19 may help Kishida keep Japan’s top job for years

Kishida's tough stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and cautious virus response have swung previously skeptical voters behind the former foreign minister.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2022

Rwanda deserves U.K. censure over handling of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero

The Biden administration is pushing back against President Kagame's treatment of u2018Hotel Rwanda' hero Paul Rusesabagina. Boris Johnson should do the same.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2022

Banking could go the way of news publishing

Tech giants pose a far bigger challenge to brick-and-mortar lenders than fintech startups that don't have the scale of platform businesses.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2022

U.K.'s Boris Johnson to face Tory leadership vote as 'partygate' angers MPs

Uncertainty over Johnson's future comes as Britons grapple with soaring energy bills and the highest inflation in four decades.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2022

Omicron is turning out to be a weak vaccine

Unvaccinated people who got COVID-19 last winter have little protection from reinfection, and even vaccinated people might be vulnerable after only a few months.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 4, 2022

Thousands swept up as Kremlin clamps down on war criticism

The arrests are a stark gauge of how Russia has intensified repression of critics. At least 50 people now face yearslong prison sentences.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2022

Long COVID takes toll as Japan patients seek answers

There are still a lot of unknowns about long COVID, including what exactly causes it and how best to treat it. But the scale of the problem alone is alarming.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2022

Beaming Queen Elizabeth waves to jubilee crowds, but will miss Friday service

The 96-year-old monarch appeared alongside her family, but the palace later said she had experienced a recurrence of mobility problems and some discomfort.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2022

South Korea eyes China with growing concern

China's territorial assertiveness and bullying are becoming harder for South Korea to ignore.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 2, 2022

The U.S. is sending advanced weapons to Ukraine. But conditions apply.

There is no question that the decision to give Ukraine the weapons they have requested for weeks marked a major escalation in the kind of military aid that Washington is providing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2022

With 100 million refugees, the migrant crisis has barely begun

War and famine will make millions more take flight. And then comes climate change. How will the world cope?
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 1, 2022

Biden agrees to provide Ukraine with longer range missiles

The U.S. is providing Ukraine with high mobility artillery rocket systems after Ukraine gave 'assurances' they will not use the missiles to strike inside Russia.
This Israeli Army handout released on April 18 shows Israeli soldiers conducting operations in the Gaza Strip against Hamas militants.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2024

Freeing hostages matters more than destroying Hamas

After a joint plea from the US and 17 other nations focusing on Hamas, Israel should lean into a deal.
Despite being a major player in industries like technology and manufacturing, South Korea's defense exports have historically lagged behind.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024

South Korea’s cheap weapons still won’t sell themselves

Despite being a major player in industries like technology and manufacturing, South Korea's defense exports have historically lagged behind.
Studies have observed that patients eventually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis initially complain of common issues like anxiety, fatigue or bladder problems. Researcher may be on the road to developing a simple test that can definitively tell a patient if they have the disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2024

This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough

Researchers have found evidence that neurons are being damaged years before the disease makes itself known.
A pack of dietary supplements designated by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical as a functional food.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2024

Japan panel reviewing 'functional foods' label system

The system has been criticized for leaving it entirely up to functional food makers to guarantee the safety of their products.
Demonstrators rally against a controversial "foreign influence" bill, which Brussels warns would undermine Georgia's aspirations to join the European Union, in Tbilisi early on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2024

Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at Georgia pro-EU protesters

Riot police beat and arrested scores of people protesting against a bill that critics say resembles Russian legislation used to silence dissent.
The root cause of yen weakness lies in the U.S., not Japan, with the currency falling to its weakest since around 1990.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 1, 2024

Japan should leave its currency bazooka at home

The root cause of yen weakness lies in the U.S., not Japan. That makes the latter's options very limited.
We don't know how much damage these polymers do to our health. But we can make significant inroads on litter and emissions to tackle this issue head-on.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2024

Plastic pollution is a growing problem. Here are some ideas on how to solve it.

International cooperation and proactive measures are needed to mitigate the harmful effects of plastics.
Manahel al-Otaibi wears western clothes in the Saudi capital Riyadh in September 2019. Human rights groups have denounced an 11-year prison term recently handed down by a counterterrorism court to the Saudi fitness instructor and women's rights activist.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2024

Saudi Arabia cracks down on online speech, jailing critics for decades

Fitness influencer Manahel al-Otaibi was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison after criticizing male guardianship laws and women's dress requirements.
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, which allowed customers to grab grocery items from a shelf and walk out of the store, is reportedly being phased out of its grocery stores.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2024

Amazon's AI stores seemed too magical. And they were.

There are plenty more examples of companies that have failed to mention humans pulling the levers behind supposedly cutting-edge AI technology.
Forever Young, ridden by jockey Ryusei Sakai, runs during the UAE Derby in Dubai on March 30.
MORE SPORTS
May 3, 2024

Contenders prepare for 150th running of Kentucky Derby

Japanese-bred Forever Young, which starts from the 11th post, is a 10-1 contender.
Diane Severin Nguyen’s film, “In Her Time (Iris’s Version),” 2023-24, about a young actress struggling with her role in a (fictional) movie about the Nanjing Massacre, is on display at the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Artificial intelligence and the "rhetoric around gender and authenticity” were themes in this year's show.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The winner-take-all economy is ruining art, too

The value of art is not just a matter of taste. To appeal to collectors, artists require the approval of the establishment.
Tokyo stands alone in the Group of Seven. Far from shutting down polluting fuel plants, it’s opening them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The dog ate Japan’s plan to phase out coal power

Under the country’s current strategic energy plan, coal will still account for about 19% of generation in 2030.
British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Labour's Claire Ward embrace after Ward was elected as East Midlands Mayor in Mansfield, England, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2024

Labour mayoral wins cap triumphant election run for U.K.'s Keir Starmer

The results dashed any hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had of reassuring Tories anxious about the possibility of a general election wipe out.
While a new Alzheimer’s test offers hope for early intervention, it also raises complex ethical and practical questions about its implementation and potential impact on individuals' lives.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2024

Do you really want to find out if you'll get Alzheimer's?

Would you want to know there’s something going wrong in your brain — even if there’s no cure?
A man maneuvers media equipment following an Israeli police raid on an Al Jazeera de facto office at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD
May 6, 2024

Israel raids Al Jazeera’s offices after banning broadcaster

Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and access to its website are now blocked throughout Israel.
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino (left) poses with ex-President Ricardo Martinelli during the general election, in Panama City in this photo released Sunday. Mulino was named the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Ex-minister Jose Raul Mulino wins Panama presidential race

Jose Raul Mulino, the protege of a graft-convicted former head of state, was declared Panama's president-elect after elections Sunday.

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