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July 04, 2025
 

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THE YEAR AHEAD

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 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?
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 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.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington on Nov. 13.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2024
Will the second Trump boom go bust?
Trump is inheriting a strong economy, but he faces a more challenging economic landscape than he did in his first term.
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.
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.
A thermal power plant at an undisclosed location in Ukraine that was damaged during a missile attack amid Russia's invasion
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 27, 2024
When Russia fights the wrong enemy
The longer the war in Ukraine continues, the weaker Russia will become, leading many to wonder when it will decide to staunch its losses.
Children walk past shelters at a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in the Nahr al-Bared area of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 9.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 25, 2024
Will stability rise from the Middle East rubble?
If done well, focusing on ending ongoing conflicts and building a basis for stability and security will reestablish a foundation for peacemaking.
Members meet for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on July 17. Between the carnage in the Middle East and a permanent member of the Security Council waging a war of aggression against its neighbor, there is ample reason to doubt that a consensus on U.N. reform is reachable.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2023
The outlook for multilateralism in 2024
What matters most in the coming year is whether global issues can still be addressed simultaneously and in unison.
Republicans have been extraordinarily successful in shaping the electoral battlefield to their advantage and depicting U.S. President Joe Biden as too old.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 30, 2023
American anxiety builds ahead of 2024 vote
The outcome of next year's election may hinge on the economic outlook, which in turn will partly depend on how the Middle East conflict evolves.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power, he inherited a China that was enjoying prosperity, but also succumbing to gilded-age excesses.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2023
The moral of the China story
Even if China is no longer “winning,” it would be short-sighted to dismiss its recent experience as irrelevant.
The Dvorak Dreams project leveraged AI to retrieve, synthesize and extend the legacy of an earlier cultural pioneer.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 28, 2023
The AI question we should be asking
Artists working with AI can map out a path for the technology’s role across society more broadly.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank as he holds his position near to the town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 28, 2023
The battles Ukraine has already won
Many of the nation's key victories began long before Russia’s latest assault.
Next year, U.S. President Joe Biden will seek a mandate to govern into his mid-80s. His likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, is only three years younger.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 27, 2023
Making or breaking democracy
As 2024 approaches, one milestone looms menacingly on the horizon: The U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping after a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21. China has refused to push back against the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, in the hopes that the war would weaken the United States and NATO.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 11, 2023
Europe’s Chinese new year
The last year has solidified China’s status as one of the most salient foreign-policy challenges facing Europe. But it has been a long time coming.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 10, 2023
Testing times ahead for Beijing
Will China's ideological doubling down on the state over the market continue to impede its overall economic growth performance?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 9, 2023
Bracing for the silver tsunami
Low fertility rates — in the absence of increased immigration — will reduce the working-age population, in turn lowering household consumption and economic growth.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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