author

 
Menu
Search
 
December 23, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Michael Sutton
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2021
Canberra's enthusiasm for conflict with Beijing should be concerning
The French claimed the Australian decision to renege on the submarine deal was a betrayal. But the decision, which was motivated by fears of China becoming an equal, was very Australian.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2021
Here we go again: China’s wrong turn in population policy
The cost of population aging are not a problem for China. It is a budgetary issue, not a demographic one.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2016
Let's be frank: Britain's future is not in Europe
Those who put their faith and trust in the European Union will also ultimately find that it is an illusion.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2015
Mongolia's 'third neighbor'
The Economic Partnership Agreement signed by Japan and Mongolia last month is of strategic importance with regard to Mongolia's mineral deposits, especially coal, as Japan contemplates an energy mix that is less dependent on nuclear power.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2013
Lack of U.S. vision hurts TPP
If President Barack Obama is really shopping for a legacy, then he should widen his gaze and look to the global stage. There is no need to rush the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2013
Secretive trade talks aren't in the public interest
Both Japan and Australia need to inform the public as to what agreement may or may not have been reached secretly during current trade negotiations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2013
War with China is not inevitable, so tread carefully
America's path plus China's immature ambitions threaten Japan's future. Japanese constitutional change would just add to uncertainty in the region.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 18, 2013
The 'Afraid of China Club' beckons, though free farm trade is still a farce
Given the regional paranoia concerning China's regional ambitions, the Trans-Pacific Partnership could realistically be called the 'Afraid of China Club.'
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2011
The greater evil is to expect an Asia-Pacific war
Now that the war in Afghanistan appears to be reaching an end, President Barack Obama has indicated that the United States will shift focus toward the Asia-Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2011
Reconstruction and healing must precede entry into TPP
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is strategically significant for U.S. re-engagement with East Asia and is a concrete response to the perception of U.S. decline in the region in light of Chinese economic power and regional ambition.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011
Aussie pronatal policy is not a model for Japan
Since reaching a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.57 in 1989, Japan has been deeply concerned about demographic trends and future prospects. Below replacement fertility — measured as less than 2.1 children per woman — has been a feature of Japanese demography since 1974.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2011
What in the world happened to free trade?
These days nobody talks about free trade. It is widely believed that free trade is a relic of the past. Free trade, like the term globalization seems to be out of place in this world of polite environmentalism. Free trade has been replaced by the sensitive and caring "fair trade." In reality, the bedfellow...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2011
Refigure a way to renew Japanese society
In the wake of the catastrophic tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster in Tohoku, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has bowed to pressure and terminated an increase in the child allowance program from ¥13,000 to ¥20,000 per month for children under 3.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2010
Japan's cloudy prospects for higher fertility
WASHINGTON — Japan's efforts to raise fertility through changes to the child allowance present a fragile and troubling vision for the future.
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.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
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.
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.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER