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December 24, 2024
 

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Michael O'Hanlon
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2021
America, Japan and how best to defend Taiwan
The most important form of preparation is in fact not military at all; it is, rather, to mitigate the developed world's economic dependence on key commodities and components made in China.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2019
The Senkaku paradox
The U.S. and its allies must prevent local military crises from escalating into great power wars.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2014
Why the world shouldn't write off Iraq's army
There is little reason to think that the Iraqi army that the U.S. trained and equipped was professionally incompetent or unable to fight Islamic State forces recently. It simply chose not to fight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2012
'Picking' a winner in Afghanistan
American debates over the war in Afghanistan tend to focus on how fast we can get our troops home and whether we can work with President Hamid Karzai's government to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. But at least as important to whether the country will hold together, and whether a return of the...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2005
On the precipice in Iraq
WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2005
Put everything on the table
WASHINGTON -- North Korea's return to six-party negotiations in Beijing has been accompanied by greater civility and seriousness than many expected. Further, the frequent and direct bilateral contacts that have taken place between the U.S. and North Korean delegations -- a softening of the Bush administration's...
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2005
Push North Korea toward real reform
WASHINGTON -- As Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill returns to Northeast Asia for talks with U.S. allies on North Korea's nuclear program, the future of negotiations to resolve this terrifying matter has never been bleaker.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2005
Put a lid on rising Sino-Japanese tensions
WASHINGTON -- Relations between Japan and China, the two great powers of Northeast Asia, have in recent months sunk to their worst levels at least since Tiananmen Square in 1989. This past weekend's anti-Japanese riots in China were unprecedented in the modern era, but they were only the latest in a...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2005
The right thing is not permanent tax cuts
WASHINGTON -- Since his re-election, President George W. Bush has emphasized the need for U.S. fiscal responsibility. He has pledged to halve the enormous federal budget deficit in his second term. He has vowed to put social security on a sound, long-term footing. And he has just submitted a 2006 budget...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2004
Neocon lessons for Democrats
WASHINGTON -- As Democrats comb the 2004 election results for lessons, one should be obvious: we need bolder, newer ideas, particularly in this post-9/11 world in the realm of foreign policy. Just as neocons have provided much of the spark and intellectual energy behind modern-day Republicanism, Democrats...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2004
Afghanistan three years on
WASHINGTON -- Three years after the Bush administration led a remarkably quick and bold military operation to overthrow the Taliban regime, how are things going in Afghanistan? The short answer is that there has been considerable progress. But that is largely because things were so bad under the Taliban,...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2004
No long-term gains against terror yet
WASHINGTON -- So which U.S. President George W. Bush was right? The one who said Aug. 30, the day the Republican National Convention started, that the war on terror might not be winnable, or the Bush who showed up the rest of the week and asserted that victory would be ours?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2004
No rush on some 9/11 panel proposals
WASHINGTON -- The recent 9/11 Commission report is without a doubt one of the most thorough, most important and best studies by any such independent group in recent decades in the United States. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and now President George W. Bush, as well as much of the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2004
New approach needed in six-party talks
WASHINGTON -- As the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear program resume late this month, the outlook for success remains as poor as ever. The Bush administration continues to take a firm stand, insisting on complete, verifiable and irreversible North Korean nuclear disarmament before any discussions...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2004
Japanese troops might be of more benefit elsewhere
WASHINGTON -- After much difficult deliberation and debate, the Koizumi government has decided to send several hundred Japanese troops to the U.S.-led stabilization operation in Iraq. They will be working alongside roughly another 25,000 foreign troops, including just over 10,000 Brits and 3,000 South...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2003
Cutting a deal with Hussein makes sense
WASHINGTON -- The capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should, in and of itself, make a major difference in the U.S.-led operation to bring peace and stability to Iraq. But it is also important to seize this opportunity and go even further. As unpalatable as it may sound, we should consider...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2003
Sensible plan for South Korea
WASHINGTON -- Even those who admire U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rarely consider his diplomatic skills among his strongest suits. Capable of being charming and engaging in person, he tends to come across less well when sniping at allies across oceans over the chief foreign policy issues...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2003
U.S. mission remains on track in Iraq
WASHINGTON -- How can we really determine if the Iraq mission is going well? Pessimists worry about recent truck bombings and political assassinations, ongoing serious crime problems, sustained attacks against U.S. forces, and high unemployment together with slow progress at improving the Iraqi standard...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2003
U.S. must offer more, demand more
WASHINGTON -- It was predictable that the six-nation talks last week in Beijing over how to handle the North Korean nuclear crisis would fail to achieve substantive results. Hardliners will argue this proves that diplomacy with the Stalinist North Korean regime can't work. In fact, what it really shows...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003
War notes for the leaders in Pyongyang
WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as the heavy global workload and overcommitment of the U.S. armed forces has become apparent, some have asked if the United States could handle a major crisis or a war in Korea these days.
How Bashar Assad's inner circle fled Syria after his fall
Syrians step on posters of Bashar Assad and his father, Hafez Assad, in Homs, Syria, on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
North Korea aiding Russia where it needs it most, Canadian general says
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.

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