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March 18, 2025
 

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One problem with assessments of China’s economic health is that they tend to treat China like a “normal” modern economy, and assume that policy tools familiar to Western economies are similarly useful.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

China’s economy has not peaked

What happens to the world economy and global geopolitics in 2025 will depend significantly on China. But prevailing assessments of its economic health are deeply flawed.
A train passes over downtown Kuala Lumpur
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

ASEAN's second renaissance is now

The bloc’s economies, despite varying political landscapes, rank among the world’s most dynamic.
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Mogami-class frigate, featuring stealth capability, is anchored at the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture in September 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Japan's security assistance does not match its ambitions

ODA remains central to Japan’s contribution to regional security, with a focus primarily on nonmilitary means, including providing nonlethal equipment to law enforcement.
Just over a year ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated their historic summit at Camp David, but Yoon's controversial policies and martial law attempt have undermined that progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Yoon's impeachment widens East Asia fault lines

leadership changes in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington add to the instability, raising concerns about the future of this critical alliance.
Latin America has seen a rise of sophisticated, transnational organized crime driving violence, human trafficking and corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Cartels are conglomerating. Governments must too.

Latin America has seen a rise of sophisticated, transnational organized crime driving violence, human trafficking and corruption.
Protesters hold placards reading "Arrest Insurrectionist Yoon Suk Yeol!" during a demonstration near the presidential residence in Seoul on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2024

Yoon’s martial law order divides South Korea and may alter foreign policy direction

South Korea’s vibrant civil society also fuels a divided citizenry, evident in protests for and against Yoon’s declaration.
The U.S.-China relationship will be better served by collaboration, not acrimony. The moment for better ties could come next year when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

The Trump-Xi bromance has a chance in 2025

It was a smart move by the U.S. president-elect to invite Xi to his inauguration, but future attempts need to be more than just empty gestures to make a real difference.
A Ukrainian tank is stationed near a sign that reads, "Pokrovsk," in the country's Donetsk region, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Europe needs to swiftly fulfill its aid pledges to Ukraine

Europe has committed significant aid to Ukraine, but delays in delivery, especially in military support, are hindering Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape address a news conference in Sydney on Dec. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Australia shows how smart diplomacy is done

Recent deals reflect the laser focus the Australian government is devoting to its closest neighbors and a bureaucratic reorganization that translates into action.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of semiconductor company Micron, addresses Semicon India 2023, India’s annual semiconductor conference, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat state. India is trying to boost domestic chip production, a strategic move for its industrial growth and economic security.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

India’s budding chip industry: A cause for cautious optimism

Amid the global "chip war," India has entered the fray as it tries to become a semiconductor leader, a move welcomed by those diversifying supply chains away from China.
Nissan and Honda may be nearing a merger to address Nissan's struggles, forming a second major hub in Japan's auto industry to rival Toyota.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2024

A Honda-Nissan merger is a slow-moving savior

Nissan is struggling — burning through cash and with billions of dollars of debt due in a little over a year.
While ByteDance faces a possible TikTok ban in the U.S. and China targets Nvidia, tensions escalate, posing risks for global tech companies caught in the conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

From TikTok to Nvidia, the tech war is getting uglier

While ByteDance faces a possible TikTok ban in the U.S. and China targets Nvidia, tensions escalate, posing risks for global tech companies caught in the conflict.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump clash with police while storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2024

Will the guardrails of U.S. democracy hold?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump continues to express admiration for authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Joe Biden’s four years as president, the U.S. outperformed virtually every other advanced economy in terms of output, employment and productivity growth.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2024

An economic requiem for the Biden administration

Now that the outgoing U.S. president’s term is about to expire, an elegy is in order for his administration's economic achievements, failures and missed opportunities.
A pedestrian shares the sidewalk with a food delivery robot in Los Angeles.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2024

The world needs a pro-human AI agenda

It is both technically feasible and socially desirable to have AI that complements workers, improves our information ecosystem, and strengthens democracy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 5, 2025

'Guernica' is always with us

How do we account for the past year, almost nine decades after "Guernica," when all the boundaries of horror have been pulverized?
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, despite its likely legal failure, could still serve as a political strategy to appear tough on immigration while highlighting systemic obstacles to comprehensive reform.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024

Why Trump can’t just end birthright citizenship

Donald Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship faces major legal obstacles, as the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to everyone born on U.S. soil.
Greenpeace activists protest next to a fake whale's tail in front of the Japanese Embassy in Berlin in 2010. The real motivation behind Japan's whaling may lie in asserting its maritime sovereignty, as the country defends its exclusive economic zone amid territorial disputes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2024

For Japan, whaling is intertwined with maritime sovereignty

While Japan has an undeniable culture surrounding seafood, the current generation of people do not show much interest in whale meat.
China’s solar industry is seeking to emulate OPEC’s cartel model, but differences in technological innovation, market dynamics and centralized control by Beijing complicate such efforts.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024

An OPEC for solar power isn’t going to work

Geological advantages are perpetual, but technological advantages can quickly become obsolete.
Protesters behead a statue of Saddam Hussein's predecessor, Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979, in Baghdad's al-Mansur district in May 2003, erasing one of the last symbols of the Baath Party's 35-year regime.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2024

Can lessons from Iraq's regime change be applied in Syria?

If regional tensions escalate, disruptions to energy supplies could impact global markets, including Japan, which remains disengaged despite the mounting crisis.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, casts his vote during an impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul Dec.14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

A race to the Blue House or the jail house

Since the end of martial law in 1987, there have been eight democratically elected presidents — and all but two of those have either been impeached or imprisoned.
Film festivals around the world are giving space to AI-generated cinematic experiences, with Venice and Cannes among the heavy hitters with sections dedicated to "immersive" works, including those made using virtual and augmented reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 23, 2024

Asia’s film industry should balance AI with human creativity

AI is revolutionizing cinema. Japan and Asia as a whole are well-positioned to harness technology to empower storytelling while retaining film's essentially human nature.
Some of the same mistakes made during COVID-19 can be seen in the U.S. government's response to H5N1, which started in poultry before a new variant began infecting the nation’s dairy cows.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

Another pandemic is inevitable, and the U.S. isn't ready

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to lead the nation’s top public health agencies also don’t inspire confidence.
Here we go again, a Christmas marked by legal battles, evolving traditions, commercial influence, and debates over greetings.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

There is no war on Christmas. There are many.

As usual, our holiday cornucopia overfloweth with litigation.
People's Bank of China Gov. Pan Gongsheng meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing in April.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

What will happen to China’s economy in 2025?

Economic activity in China has been relatively weak since the COVID-19 crisis. This was not unexpected, at least not at first.
A woman who was displaced by a flood shells cowpeas as she sits outside her shelter in Banki, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, in October.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 6, 2025

The uphill battle against poverty

After the pandemic years, when tens of millions of people were pushed into poverty, the need for a renewed effort is obvious.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 3, 2025

AI has not yet destroyed democracy

The worst predictions about AI disrupting the democratic process were not borne out in 2024.
As the march of AI accelerates, a new requirement has become apparent: The next breakthroughs will consume colossal quantities of energy.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 3, 2025

We need energy for AI, and AI for energy

AI guzzles electricity — a single ChatGPT query requires 10 times as much as a conventional web search.
The current focus on autonomous vehicles has obscured something else: AI has already de-skilled driving as a profession.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 2, 2025

Our AI near-future

We can look forward to many years of instability as AI technology continues to make rapid progress.
A Netflix advertisement for the Christmas Day NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers at a railway station in Munich on Nov. 10
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 24, 2024

Christmas Day games on Netflix to help NFL expand global reach

Two games will be available to almost all of Netflix's more than 270 million international subscribers.
Private clubs quietly open in Tokyo for free-spending Chinese businesspeople
Sources say a hui suo — a private club, which in Japan caters mainly to Chinese businesspeople — will soon open on the upper floors of the Moutai Building in the Ginza district of Tokyo.
Tokyo pub hit with first-ever closure order for illegal street tables
One pub in Tokyo's Shimbashi district received more than 60 warnings from law enforcement for setting up tables on the street, blocking the way for traffic.
Mount Fuji hikers to be charged ¥4,000 on all trails
Tourists gather at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida Trail for hikers climbing Mount Fuji, ahead of its reopening for the season in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in June 2024.
Geely billionaire goes on a cost-cutting spree to catch rivals
Cars at the Geely Auto production base in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province on Feb. 16
Japan to extend financial aid to more people moving out of Tokyo
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) speaks to officials of Miyada in Nagano Prefecture on Saturday during his visit to the village.
At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights
Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.
In Tokyo, Dodgers get taste of the Shohei Ohtani experience
Shohei Ohtani greets manager Dave Roberts before the team's game against the Tigers at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
Private clubs quietly open in Tokyo for free-spending Chinese businesspeople
Sources say a hui suo — a private club, which in Japan caters mainly to Chinese businesspeople — will soon open on the upper floors of the Moutai Building in the Ginza district of Tokyo.
Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art
Artist Adrian Steckeweh 3-D prints otherworldly clothes and accessories for himself, in a way augmenting his reality with tangible objects.

Podcast

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

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin

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