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Noah Feldman
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2016
One path to leadership in China is now closed
Instead of sharing power across factions as his two predecessors did, Xi Jinping is consolidating power for himself.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2016
Erdogan's judicial purge threatens rule of law
A purged judiciary can be expected to function as a rubber stamp for the government.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2016
Sex versus gender in the U.S. bathroom case
North Carolina and the federal government have sharply different ideas about the acceptance of transgender people. But what about the legal stakes?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2016
Dangerous new uses for state eavesdropping
It's one thing for the U.S. government to intercept communications with foreigners for intelligence-gathering purposes. But it's quite another to use those intercepts as evidence at trial.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2016
Russia's withdrawal is a win for Islamic State
By declaring victory before Assad has really confronted the Sunni militant group, Putin is saying that Russia is perfectly willing for Islamic State to remain in existence indefinitely.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2016
U.S. can afford to side with Iran over Saudis
The U.S. and Iran are once again plausible strategic allies after a decades-long estrangement — to the dismay of Saudi Arabia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2016
The Islamic State group learns from the past
The Iraqi government's fight with Islamic State is just getting started.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2015
Obama and the limits of executive power
The failure of U.S. President Barack Obama to achieve three major goals in 2015 highlights the limits of presidential power.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2015
Terrorists with assault rifles rewrite the script
The San Bernardino massacure has erased the conceptual line distinguishing domestic mass shootings from acts of Islamic terrorism in the minds of Americans.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015
One God for Christians, Muslims and Jews?
If Christians and Muslims don't worship the same God, then neither do Christians and Jews.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015
Japan's married-name law isn't just about names
The Supreme Court's ruling on surnames raises a fascinating question: How much should a constitution reflect the distinctive values of a society and how much should it express universal rights?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2015
Yuan move good for China's politics
President Xi Jinping will now have to demonstrate that China's unique system of governance can produce the degree of stability and predictability in transition that characterizes the other regimes in the elite currency reserve group.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2015
China warning Taiwan voters on independence
As China expands its regional military influence, its interest in keeping Taiwan from straying toward independence is greater than ever.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2015
Putin's play: setting up Assad to sell him out
Vladimir Putin is looking for leverage with the West, and Syria is one place where Russia could help the U.S. and Europe achieve a necessary objective — an end to the civil war.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 8, 2015
Beijing sending mixed signals with its military
There are risks associated with a U.S. containment policy aimed at China. But the risks associated with non-containment are greater.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2015
Oil is Islamic State's lifeblood
A key to defeating the Islamic State militant group is preventing it from gaining control of lucrative oil fields.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2015
How IS pushes Egypt toward chaos
The Egyptian government should be very careful about attempting to associate Islamic State terror with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2015
Why Islamic State makes the Taliban nervous
The Taliban want to avoid a situation in which, having won their long war against the U.S. and its Afghan puppet regime, they have to fight another civil war against an Islamic State offshoot.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2015
It's alright for Japan to fudge the Constitution
A constitution must be interpreted pragmatically, to serve the nation's interests and help it avoid existential threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2015
Blame George W. Bush for the rise of Tehran
Iran's rise wouldn't have been possible had not the U.S. invaded the regional power that did the most to contain it: Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

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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