Search - opinion

 
 
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2023

U.S. and South Korea to hold 'tabletop' exercises on nuclear threats next month

Talks by the two countries' defense chiefs came amid rising public support in Seoul for developing its own nuclear weapons after North Korea’s record-breaking flurry of missile tests.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2023

A George Jetson world will start with parcels — not people

Before air taxis start taking passengers, the technology will be tested in moving freight before the public accepts their everyday use.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2023

The 2% target: Central banks' inflation touchstone faces post-pandemic reckoning

By announcing an inflation goal, central bankers feel they build credibility for themselves and focus the planning of households and firms in ways that help keep inflation controlled.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2023

Japan eyes lifting South Korean export controls as Seoul works to improve ties, report says

Any move would come amid ongoing talks over a new plan to resolve the issue of wartime labor and as concerns mount over the increasingly tense regional security environment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 28, 2023

Translations and books about Japan for your 2023 reading list

From Osamu Dazai to Yu Miri, the year ahead promises of trove of books about Japan and newly translated literature.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 27, 2023

Begging Japanese companies to hike wages is not the answer

Japan’s prime minister is asking employers to pay workers more. He should make the market do that instead.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2023

Bet you didn't know you needed a sleep coach

Getting quality sleep is starting to look like a competitive sport in today's health-obsessed society.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jan 27, 2023

Erdogan thrusts NATO expansion issue into Turkey's tense election campaign

Facing his biggest political test in two decades in power, Erdogan took a stance that has proven effective before — criticizing perceived Islamophobia in Europe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 27, 2023

Kuroda’s head-fakes make the unthinkable plausible

Skepticism about the Bank of Japan’s intentions is clouding Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's last months on the job.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2023

The world ignores Myanmar’s plight at its peril

Nearly two years on from a brutal military coup, the country has slid into civil war. A failed state in the heart of Asia benefits no one.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 25, 2023

The growing comprehension gap that isolates Japan

Japan's central bank governor and the market are talking at cross-purposes. It shows a country that’s both badly understood and a poor communicator.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2023

The coming El Nino could be a glimpse of a grim future

A temporary spike in temperatures next year because of the El Nino weather pattern might motivate the world to curb carbon emissions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2023

‘Woke’ is a political term with a long and complicated history

The idea of wokeism has been used by both Black and White Americans to fight injustice since the early 1900s.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2023

Troubleshooter Chris Hipkins faces a tough road as New Zealand PM

Hipkins built a reputation for competence in tackling COVID-19, though he acknowledges some mistakes and faces a tough battle to retain power in an October general election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2023

U.K. election results pose mixed questions for Sunak and Starmer

The prime minister narrowly avoided an unprecedented defeat last week. His opponent in the battle for No. 10 was served a policy warning.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 21, 2023

Most Asians in U.S., even those of Chinese descent, see China negatively

Only about 4 in 10 Chinese Americans see China in a positive light, with 15% holding a very unfavorable view of the country, more than the rates for India (10%), Vietnam (5%) and Japan (4%).
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 21, 2023

Sunak avoids wipeout in key local elections

By-elections were seen as an indicator of the two main parties' prospects at a time when voters are struggling with high inflation, strikes and rising mortgage rates.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 20, 2023

Why Zelenskyy's diplomacy is a key factor in Ukraine's efforts to win war

The leader's counteroffensive came at a critical time, sandwiched between two summits — the Group of Seven summit in May and a NATO summit earlier this month.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2023

What should America make of Trump’s mad power grab plan?

Former U.S. President Donald is campaigning on a pledge to remake the office, concentrating more power in the Oval Office.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2023

'Deeply hurt': Anti-trans hostility rises in Japan

Disinformation 'linking transgender women to sexual violence in public spaces' is being 'disseminated extremely widely,' the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation warned earlier this year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 18, 2023

Putin’s pre-election budget set to become more costly after mutiny

Analysts expect changes to go far beyond the price of fortifying positions previously manned by an estimated 50,000 Wagner fighters.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2023

AI is helping create the chips that design AI chips

The human role in artificial intelligence development is slowly being handed over to machines and algorithms.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 18, 2023

Next Commonwealth Games host pulls out over cost concerns

The Australian Olympic Committee, which had spoken of the 2026 Games as a 'runway' for hosting the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, said it was 'an enormous disappointment' for the athletes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2023

Does Mark Zuckerberg even want Threads to replace Twitter?

Meta is going to have a hard time engaging users if posts lack wit, personality and a taste of the real world.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 17, 2023

Messi hailed as 'America's No. 10' during flashy and wet Inter Miami unveiling

The former Barcelona great opted to join Miami after his contract with French club Paris Saint-Germain expired last month.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 16, 2023

She's 47, anorexic and wants help dying. Canada will soon allow it.

An expansion of criteria will allow some Canadians whose sole underlying condition is mental illness to choose medically assisted death.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2023

Why can’t the Republicans quit Donald Trump?

Republican presidential candidates are preaching the same message — but Trumpism without Trump isn’t selling.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023

Japan eyes surveillance radar deployment to remote island in Pacific

While Japan has beefed up its forces on the western side of the Nansei island chain, the Pacific side remains a 'blank area' not covered sufficiently by surveillance activities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 14, 2023

Rakuten is hanging on. It should consider hanging up

Rakuten is selling whatever it can to plug a hole in its finances caused by a misadventure into mobile.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2023

Scratch a tech bro and you’ll find a naked ape

The fitness antics of Silicon Valley titans suggest that 21st-century business leadership is as much about displaying physical dominance as it is about showing foresight.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.