Search - commentary

 
Menu
Search
 
August 30, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
3,805 results
Sort by: Relevance Newest Oldest
After adjusting your search parameters, press Enter on your keyboard or click on the red magnifying glass to run your query again.
Shohei Ohtani's success symbolizes a broader resurgence in Japanese sports, with contributing factors including increased investment in sports, modern coaching techniques and a generational shift in mindset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2024

What baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s success says about Japan

The phenom has had what many are calling the greatest season ever. But his success is also a story of change in his home country.
An Israeli soldier stands next to the remains of an Iranian Emad ballistic missile at a military base in southern Israel on Monday, days after Iran launched a massive missile attack on the Jewish state.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2024

A dangerous dance for Israel and Iran

Israel and Iran are in a precarious position, with Israel coping with reduced inviolability after the Hamas attack and Iran trying to maintain its regional influence.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a debate with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Japan to ‘seriously consider’ U.N. nuke ban treaty observer status, Ishiba says

Japan, the sole country to be attacked with nuclear weapons, has faced criticism for not participating in some form in the treaty.
A man searches through the rubble of a wrecked house in the Turkish town of Cankiri after a strong earthquake hit central Turkey in June 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2024

Earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters will shape our future cities

The progress of Antakya’s renewal bears watching. However it proceeds, there will be lessons to learn.
A truck drives through a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in South Daytona, Florida, on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 10, 2024

Hurricane Milton shows there’s no ‘normal’ storm season

It may be hard to believe, but about a month ago, people were calling this year’s hurricane season a bust.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's cutting of the federal funds rate from 5.3% to a range of 4.75-5%, its first monetary-easing cycle in over four years, has provided China with greater flexibility to stimulate its struggling economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024

What U.S. interest-rate cuts mean for China

The Fed's easing cycle means lower debt burdens and higher liquidity, allowing countries to cut rates without fearing excessive capital outflows.
Outrageous stories about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump online were widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation and sow confusion ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

'Stolen satire' feeds U.S. election misinformation

False claims are being widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation.
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are announced in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 9. They are, as seen on the display screen, David Baker (left), of the University of Washington; Demis Hassabis (center) and John M. Jumper (right), both from Google DeepMind, U.K.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2024

Google's DeepMind Nobel Prize showcases AI’s medical potential

Google’s AlphaFold tool is already widely used by pharmaceutical researchers searching for groundbreaking new medicines.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024

Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny

Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Each year, millions of tons of trash and other pollutants enter the world's oceans, creating scenes like this one in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Multinationals must stop flow of ocean waste in Global South

The world's oceans are being suffocated by millions of tons of waste, especially in the Global South. The corporations responsible need to clean up their mess.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto (right) talks with the country's outgoing leader, Joko Widodo, after the latter delivered the annual State of the Nation Address in Jakarta on Aug. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Indonesia’s new president will keep the world guessing

Eliminating hunger is one thing — ensuring the economy is able to provide enough jobs for young people as they graduate from school and university is quite another.
A billboard displaying pro-Russian slogans in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. The billboard reads: "We are the one people. We are together with Russia."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Like in magic, Moscow is playing a game of distraction

Defying common sense, the Kremlin continues to proclaim with a straight face that its attack on Ukraine was an act of self-defense.
In his July Republican Party acceptance speech, Donald Trump vowed to launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Who wants to buy the miracle tonic of mass deportation?

Donald Trump's mass deportation plan could result in thousands of deaths, tear families apart, and devastate communities.
Adapting to new information when faced with public health crises like COVID-19 is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024

The best answer science may have right now is ‘I don't know’

Acknowledging uncertainty and adapting to new information is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science.
With a significant need for renewable energy investment in developing countries, China can help drive the adoption of global green infrastructure and technology. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2024

China’s overcapacity can help transition the world

A collaborative effort between the U.S. and China on clean energy initiatives could significantly accelerate the global transition to green technologies.
Giving schoolchildren a tablet with personalized, adaptive software to use for one hour a day in school can significantly boost learning, as a widespread program in Malawi has shown.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024

Tablets in schools can dramatically improve learning

Much richer countries can also learn from an innovative program in Malawi in which children use a tablet for one hour a day in class, boosting their education.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Sept. 25 where he called for changes to rules on the use of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

Putin's nuclear doctrine isn't his worst threat

These kinds of signals should be seen as weapons in and of themselves, which makes it vital to distinguish between what’s real and feigned.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

The yen pays the price for a timid Bank of Japan

Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth and production under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024

Beijing’s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners

China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS business forum in Moscow on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

The rise of BRICS and the emerging multipolar world

The diversity among BRICS members presents challenges in forming a unified agenda, especially given differing political systems and goals.
Workers picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility during a strike in Renton, Washington, on Oct. 3.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2024

Time for unions to join the 21st-century economy

Automation stands to make U.S. ports and transportation of goods cheaper and more efficient. And it is easy to see why unions oppose it.
A battery charge technology display at the Engie pavilion at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday. Japan's EV market share remains significantly lower than in other countries, with only 2.2% of cars sold being battery EVs, compared to 18% in France and 25% in China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

Japan hopes electric cars are just a bad dream

Automakers face many setbacks in electrification, but Japan uniquely argues that the shift is not only logistically challenging but fundamentally misconceived.
The emotional impact of constant news about wars and disasters is weighing heavily on many in the younger generations, causing them to seek ways to cope with their distress and anxiety.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Is the apocalypse making you too anxious to work?

A poll reveals that a significant portion of the Gen Z and millennial generations feel unable to function at work due to distress over current events.
Since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, Manchester City has gone from a middling team to winning six of the last seven Premier League titles, an unprecedented success in over 130 years of English soccer.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Soccer needs to avoid a tyranny of the rich

A dispute between the Premier League and Manchester City has both sides claiming victory.
Having learned from the experience of losing in the last election and from actions taken by similar movements elsewhere, another Trump administration would be far more effective at wielding — and maintaining — power.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Why another Trump term would be worse than the first

A political movement with autocratic tendencies often becomes more ruthless and effective after experiencing electoral defeat.
ASEAN leaders pose for a group photo during the 21st ASEAN-India Summit in Vientiane on Oct. 10. U.S. President Joe Biden was notably absent once again from this years ASEAN gathering.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

The U.S. risks irrelevance in Asia

While the Biden administration has boosted U.S. influence in the short term, the long-term outlook for Washington is one of increasing irrelevance in Asia.
A sculpture representing Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, located on the grounds of a park in Budapest
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

Who was Bitcoin’s Satoshi? I need to know and so do you.

It’s only natural, and even healthy, to be curious about who could have created more than $1 trillion in market capitalization.
China's strategic government support has enabled it to lead in the production and supply chains for renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

What happens when China becomes the green tech superpower?

What should be of more concern is the “soft power” that Beijing will acquire by mastering the green tech sector.
Fernando Valenzuela speaks during a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in July 2019.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 23, 2024

Los Angeles Dodgers icon Fernando Valenzuela dead at 63

The Mexican pitcher played 17 seasons in MLB for six clubs but was best remembered for his time with the Dodgers.
An apartment building damaged by a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Oct. 1
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2024

Selling out Ukraine casts shame on the West

This war started because Moscow refuses to tolerate a successful democratic, independent neighbor, which also remains the chief impediment to ending it.
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.
Jesse Kirkwood: ‘Languages are entire cultural universes with all sorts of baggage’
Jesse Kirkwood is part of a vibrant field of translators who have nurtured what might be called a “post-Murakami era of Japanese literature and translation,” one book at a time.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER