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December 21, 2024
 

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KARISHMA VASWANI
The U.S.-China relationship will be better served by collaboration, not acrimony. The moment for better ties could come next year when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024
The Trump-Xi bromance has a chance in 2025
It was a smart move by the U.S. president-elect to invite Xi to his inauguration, but future attempts need to be more than just empty gestures to make a real difference.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024
The global spy alliance should let Japan join
Tokyo’s inclusion in the club is long overdue, especially as the region combats China’s growing assertiveness and the unpredictability of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Members of the Maori community and their supporters take part in a protest about indigenous rights outside of New Zealand's parliament in Wellington on Nov. 19.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024
Shadow of the British Empire hangs over New Zealand's treaty debate
The controversy over one of the nation’s founding documents touches a raw nerve. The agreement has two versions, one in English and the other in Maori.
People arrive with flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the Zhuhai Sports Center in the city of Zhuhai, in China's Guangdong province, on Nov. 13, two days after 35 people were killed when a man drove a car into a crowd.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2024
A mass killing tests China's crime narrative
A spate of random acts of violence is challenging the Communist Party's it-knows-best narrative.
Chinese police have signed cooperation agreements with countries across Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, offering embedded officers, training, joint patrols and exporting security equipment, especially to developing economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024
China’s cops are coming to a city near you
When asked about covert overseas police outposts, China either denies their existence or claims they are service centers for overseas citizens.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has aligned with Russia to bolster his nuclear weapons capabilities and gain military support, including sending troops to aid Russia. That partnership could provide Pyongyang with valuable combat experience while modernizing its military assets.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2024
Trump will walk into a new North Korean headache
Traditional methods of containment have not worked effectively and Trump’s past efforts to engage with Kim have failed to curb his nuclear ambitions.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto (right) talks with the country's outgoing leader, Joko Widodo, after the latter delivered the annual State of the Nation Address in Jakarta on Aug. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024
Indonesia’s new president will keep the world guessing
Eliminating hunger is one thing — ensuring the economy is able to provide enough jobs for young people as they graduate from school and university is quite another.
Even with the success of "Crazy Rich Asians" and improvements in on-screen representation, Asian actors still comprise just 18.4% of film roles, which is an improvement compared to 3.4% in 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2024
To win back audiences, put more Asians behind the camera
The movie industry is losing out at a time when it can ill-afford to do so. Betting on Asian talent would help.
Pope Francis blesses a child during his visit to Dili, East Timor, on Tuesday. The pontiff's Asia-Pacific tour is a strategic step toward a larger goal: a visit to China, a country that could soon have the largest Christian population in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024
Pope Francis’ Asia trip is all about China
The Vatican is among 12 diplomatic allies Taiwan still has left. There are concerns these loyalties could shift as the Holy See attempts to improve ties with Beijing.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024
Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape
Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pays her respect to a picture of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn as she receives a royal endorsement to become the 31st prime minister in Bangkok on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024
Thailand’s democracy is on shaky ground
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is in the middle of yet another political crisis. Citizens deserve better.
The background footage shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship using a water cannon against a Filipino resupply vessel, during a news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila in August 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2024
The risky business of standing up to Beijing
Philippines faces balancing act between economic interests and territorial rights.
Samples of cannabis edibles are offered during The 1st Phuket Cannabis Cup in Phuket, Thailand, in March 2023. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said marijuana should soon be classified as a narcotic again and its use limited to medical and health purposes.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2024
Thailand’s cannabis U-turn is a cautionary tale
Banning the drug outright will no doubt cause a lot of pain to farmers, small business owners and consumers. A middle-ground approach to return to medical usage would be wise.
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigned on Wednesday among anti-graft probes into Hanoi’s top leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2024
Vietnam could lose its 'China +1' appeal among political turmoil
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigned on Wednesday among a wider probe. This could compromise Hanoi's image as an economic alternative to Beijing.
Several U.S. lawmakers along with TikTok creators hold a news conference to voice their opposition to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in Washington on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2024
America’s TikTok addiction isn’t just China’s fault
If you’ve spent time on the platform, you will know how addictive TikTok is. With 170 million users, at least one in three Americans have accessed it.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024
China needs a foreign policy reset but Xi’s got bigger problems
At China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing, no change of the guard was announced. Wang Yi will continue as foreign minister, a sign of stability.
Supporters of India's regional Samajwadi Party take part in a campaign rally in Varanasi, India, in March 2022.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2024
Democracy in Asia will get a reckoning this year
Asia’s liberal credentials are under significant pressure, with only a tiny minority of people living in high-performing democracies.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Hanoi on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023
Everyone is trying to woo Vietnam. Why Hanoi’s ‘bamboo policy’ works.
It makes sense to court Vietnam, one of the region’s most dynamic economies. This year, it is expected to post about 5% growth, better than many others.
Local government and law enforcement officials view the scene of an explosion that occurred during a Catholic mass in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in Marawi, Philippines, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2023
The Philippines is battling a resurgent Islamic State threat
The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals may be driving a new security threat in the Philippines.
COP28 has kicked off in Dubai amid division, as there is no firm commitment from developed nations to help out less financially secure countries. 
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2023
The Global South has lost faith in COP28
The Global South, which bears the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to emissions, is frustrated.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
A year after going private, structural reforms bearing fruit for Toshiba
Toshiba's Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Koji Ikeya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
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.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
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.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

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

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