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Noah Feldman
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2018
Democracy needs the press as an 'opposition party'
We need to remember that a free press preserves democracy mostly by allowing for the expression of alternative points of view.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2018
Pros and cons of Trump's randomness
A key feature of a nonprincipled, fast-alternating foreign policy is that no one knows exactly what you are going to do next.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2018
China faces the downsides of dictatorship
The period of term-limited presidents corresponded with unprecedented growth. Now Xi Jinping is changing the rules
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2018
Even a final, irreversible deal can be broken
Japan and South Korea are wrangling again over an apology for 'comfort women.' That tells us something about international law.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2018
What Tillerson didn't admit: The U.S. has no leverage
From North Korea to China to Russia and the Middle East, American objectives are clear — and the Trump administration has no credible road map to achieve them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2018
Imagine a Palestinian movement led by Gandhi
Renouncing violence would go a long way toward reviving negotiations with Israel.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2017
When the 'Arab Street' and its protests come to Sweden
Anti-Jewish violence spreads to liberal Europe, where Muslim immigrants enjoy the freedom to protest.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2017
Manafort indictment begins complicated story
Democrats who are getting revved up for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to follow the money from Russia to the Trump campaign shouldn't get too excited yet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2017
How a 1929 dispute frames the Temple Mount conflict
The holy site has been the symbolic flashpoint of the broader Israeli-Arab struggle since at least 1929.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2017
Turkey's slide toward dictatorship
President Erdogan uses a permanent 'state of emergency' to destroy Turkish democracy
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2017
China aiming for a regional empire
The American obsession with President Donald Trump and the investigation into untoward Russian influence is distracting us from China's bid to displace the United States when it comes to global leadership. The latest major step is the "Belt and Road" initiative, which officially kicked off this week....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2017
Comey memo of Trump request describes a high crime
Right around now, the president is probably asking himself whether firing the FBI director was the right decision. And if he isn't, he should be.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2017
Seoul gets the impeachment process right
The removal from office of South Korean President Park Geun-hye is a remarkable outcome for a relatively new democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2017
Appeals court tells Trump it won't back down
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholding a nationwide freeze on Donald Trump's immigration executive order is a powerful rebuff to the administration — and to the president personally.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2017
Foreign policy surprises won't serve U.S. interests
If Trump really wants to make America great again, he's going to have to change his foreign policy approach. Shaking up the world is going to make America weaker and poorer.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2017
Trump's court pick conservative but not extremist
Democrats should think hard before trying to depict Neil Gorsuch as a radical conservative — a bruising confirmation fight could push him in the wrong direction.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2017
Dangerous uncertainty surrounds Taiwan Strait
The world's most dangerous flash point got much more dangerous last Wednesday when China sent its lone aircraft carrier into the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan scrambled fighter jets in response. This is how accidental wars start: provocation and counter-provocation in an environment with too much uncertainty....
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2017
Will Washington and Beijing's cool war heat up?
The big question for 2017 is whether the U.S. and China will let their troubled relationship unravel further.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2016
Blame British Empire for U.S. Electoral College
The accident of British colonial charters gave rise to America's electoral college system — and the great difficulty of amending it.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2016
When losers concede, democracy gets a boost
The tradition of concession helps ensure the continuity of government and offers a legitimating assist to democracy itself.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan