Search - opinion

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2023

Ukraine’s allies are working through the consequences of the long war ahead

A mood of resolve exhibited at a German security conference over the weekend was underpinned by a deep concern about the future, and not just on the battlefields.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2023

Amid renewed interest in nuclear fusion, Japan’s research reaches critical stage

The nation is helping to pave the way for a cutting-edge project in France, but international cooperation is moving toward competition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2023

India’s BBC raid is just the Modi government's latest attack on the press

The West has indulged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he has coerced and subverted his country’s media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2023

Sunak heads toward another Brexit cliff edge

A bill to scrap all EU laws retained in the U.K. at the end of the year risks more confusion and chaos.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 16, 2023

How a fog of questions over a spy balloon and UFOs fed a diplomatic crisis

U.S. officials now suspect that the balloon was sent to spy on bases in Guam and Hawaii, and that other downed objects were not surveillance machines.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 16, 2023

U.S. could face debt-ceiling crisis this summer without deal

If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government will be unable to pay its obligations fully.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2023

Some simple words to power up your conversations in Japanese

Japanese conjunctions, what's their function? Well, they can make your conversations go a lot smoother for one thing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 15, 2023

What Kazuo Ueda’s past says about the BOJ’s future

Japan’s new central bank boss, Kazuo Ueda, is being likened to a wise old policy 'owl' rather than a 'dove' or a 'hawk.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2023

We’re not even close to running out of green minerals

A U.S. Geological Survey suggests concerns over the securing of materials needed to shift to cleaner energy such as lithium, cobalt, copper and others may be overblown.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 13, 2023

Britain’s cherished NHS wrestles with its ‘reform or die’ moment

Programs and studies are focusing on finding ways to reduce the burden on the NHS by keeping people out of its overstretched hospitals.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2023

The U.S. needs five times as many child psychiatrists

American kids are struggling with mental anxiety and other issues and there are too few trained adults available to help them.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 13, 2023

Mikaela Shiffrin leads call for winter sports sustainability change

U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin led calls for ski chiefs to change their approach to sustainability in a bid to make winter sports justifiable to a public ever more aware of climate change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Feb 11, 2023

Oil rebound more likely this year as $100 a barrel possible, OPEC sources say

Oil may resume its rally in 2023 as Chinese demand recovers after COVID-19 curbs were scrapped and lack of investment limits growth in supply.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2023

Japan's debt time bomb to complicate BOJ's exit from dovish policies

A flurry of big spending packages and ballooning social welfare costs for a rapidly aging population have left Japan with a debt pile 263% the size of its economy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2023

How Finland, Sweden and NATO should deal with Turkey

NATO should wait until the Turkish elections pass in May. Then, if necessary, change the rules for membership.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2023

Marcos takes relations with Japan to new heights

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits Japan in order to cement a more comprehensive relationship — particularly in the realm security.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2023

Erdogan has undermined Turkey’s earthquake response

President Erdogan's paranoid policies against civil society have weakened the very institutions Turkey needs to deal with the devastating earthquake.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2023

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son may have one big bet left

The Vision Funds are almost exhausted, so the company will be looking for something else to buy in order to boost returns.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2023

North Korea’s failing foreign policy

Pyongyang’s nuclear program has yet to increase the country’s international standing, improve its security or enhance its ability to extract concessions from Tokyo, Seoul or Washington.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2023

Vladimir Putin's favorite entrepreneur specializes in war

The support that the leader of the Wagner mercenary group enjoys in invasion-era Russia reflects Vladimir Putin’s unusual idea of private enterprise.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2023

Raises for retail workers won't protect them from automation

Increasing wages at Walmart and its competitors is a positive move, but automation is reducing jobs and the hours staff are needed.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2023

LDP flips on LGBTQ bill after gaffe by Kishida aide

The party will prepare to submit a bill encouraging understanding of LGBTQ issues, seeking to repair the damage from the former aide's discriminatory comments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 6, 2023

Japan-South Korea talks fail to inspire hope of breakthrough

Senior diplomats from Japan and South Korea make limited progress in wartime labor talks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2023

AI is improving faster than most humans realize

Technologies such as ChatGPT will profoundly change the economy and other aspects of life, but they are getting better so quickly that it’s impossible to say how.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2023

What are the prospects for a cross-strait detente?

Taiwan and China both seem keen to dial down tensions while the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang could well win the island’s 2024 presidential election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 4, 2023

'Beijing’s Global Media Offensive': China's fight to win influence around the world

Author Joshua Kurlantzick's up-to-date and rigorously footnoted new book details the country's efforts to write its own narrative and sway minds through media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2023

‘Blood batteries’ drive America’s frantic EV ambitions

In its quest to secure the raw materials needed to make electric vehicles, the U.S. is turning to some questionable places.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Feb 3, 2023

Japan Times 1923: Doubtful news agency claims Tokyo English dailies favor cause of Japanese war office

With a change of editors at the top of The Japan Times, other publications call out a newly detected 'pro military' stance from the newspaper — and the paper responds on the front page.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?