author

 
Menu
Search
 
December 31, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Marc Champion
A Ukrainian tank is stationed near a sign that reads, "Pokrovsk," in the country's Donetsk region, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024
Europe needs to swiftly fulfill its aid pledges to Ukraine
Europe has committed significant aid to Ukraine, but delays in delivery, especially in military support, are hindering Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Georgian anti-government protesters face off against police during consecutive days of mass demonstrations against the government's postponement of European Union accession talks in central Tbilisi on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2024
Georgia has crossed a Russian Rubicon
A tipping point came last week when authorities in the capital Tbilisi sent masked police to raid the headquarters of opposition parties.
The fall of Aleppo in Syria to political chaos in Tbilisi, Georgia, and even recent events in Paris, give us a glimpse of a possible post-American new world disorder.
COMMENTARY
Dec 4, 2024
Welcome to the post-American new world disorder
From Aleppo in Syria, to Tbilisi, Georgia, and even Paris, last weekend gave us a glimpse of a possible post-American new world disorder.
A resident walks past destruction caused by Israeli bombardment in a neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024
The Lebanon ceasefire can be leveraged for a broader deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said he sees the ceasefire as a pause in which to increase pressure on Hamas in Gaza and to rearm.
This screen grab released on Oct. 26 by the Israeli military shows one of its air force planes departing to carry out strikes on Iran.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2024
Israel’s strike on Iran was smart. Now take the win.
Both Iran and Israel need to reconsider their aggressive postures to prevent a devastating regional conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Sept. 25 where he called for changes to rules on the use of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024
Putin's nuclear doctrine isn't his worst threat
These kinds of signals should be seen as weapons in and of themselves, which makes it vital to distinguish between what’s real and feigned.
People take shelter on Tuesday during an air raid in central Israel after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at the country. Iran has targeted Israel twice in recent months with little to show for its efforts, risking further loss of credibility in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024
Iran’s missile salvo was yet another strategic blunder
The intended message was clear — we don’t want a real war, but if it comes to one, look what we can do. And yet the attack projected weakness instead.
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2024
In Lebanon, Israel set a trap for Iran and itself
Unable to rescue hostages or eliminate Hamas after nearly a year of war, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu expanded the fight to target Hezbollah and Iran.
Lebanese soldiers and civilians inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2024
Israel’s plans for Hezbollah are becoming clearer
No ground invasion is imminent; instead, the aim appears to be to degrade Hezbollah to the point where it’s incapable of continuing the rocket and missile attacks.
U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman attends the annual Pride march in Budapest on June 22.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2024
What does America stand for? The world no longer knows.
Pressman argues that Orban is miscalculating by betting on Trump’s return to power and warns of a shift in U.S.-Hungary relations if Kamala Harris becomes president.
A soldier stands guard near the American University of Beirut Medical Center after as many as 2,800 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2024
Hezbollah pager attack looks like a decapitation strike
The sophisticated nature of the attack, involving the insertion of explosive material into pagers, suggests a high level of intelligence and planning.
While nuclear weapons are difficult to use without catastrophic consequences, Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric aims to frighten Ukraine's allies into halting arms support.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024
How to read Putin’s next nuclear threat
Historical analogies show that nuclear threats rarely succeed, but Russia’s signals of desperation should not be ignored.
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2024
Should Israel want a bigger conflict with Iran now?
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius inspects Leopard II tanks that were due to be supplied to Ukraine at a military facility in Augustdorf, Germany, in February 2023.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2024
Ukraine has a Germany problem again. Here’s how to fix it.
Kyiv’s Kursk operation was aimed less at the battlefield than at Berlin and other allies.
Despite the deep pessimism about the Gaza cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, many parties involved, including the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, the Gulf States, Lebanon and Iran, stand to gain from an end to the hostilities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2024
Only agents of chaos want more war in Gaza
It took a decade for the U.S. to catch Osama bin Laden after al-Qaida’s 9/11 attacks; Israel may need to wait on catching Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, too.
The only surprise about Ukraine's offensive into Russian territory is that it came so late into the war, and that’s primarily because of Western restrictions on the use of donated weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024
Want peace for Ukraine? Let it strike in Russia
The only surprise is that it came so late — 2½ years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
New Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar's ascension to power, combined with Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire unless the group capitulates, makes finding a resolution in Gaza difficult.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2024
New Hamas chief is an arsonist in a desert tinderbox
Yahya Sinwar fills a post that opened with the July 31 killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s politburo chairman, while on a visit to Tehran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian nationals, including Artyom Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, convicted of spying in Slovenia, and their children at an airport in Moscow on Thursday following a prisoner exchange with Western countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024
Russia’s prisoner trade says all you need to know about Putin
Among those released to Russia were people convicted by independent courts of cybercrimes, insider trading and breaking sanctions.
An anti-government protest in Tel Aviv in January. In a TV interview on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the terms of a U.S.-led cease-fire deal and said he was prepared to open a second front against Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2024
Netanyahu's strategy is war, war and more war
The Israeli prime minister gave a rare and revealing interview to a domestic TV channel on the weekend that confirmed that he has a plan for Gaza. And that is war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Switzerland on Sunday. The gathering brought together over 50 heads of state and government, excluding Russia, to work out a way toward a peace process for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2024
Why Ukraine isn’t ready for peace talks
It's no exaggeration to say that what happens in Ukraine matters to the world order. A rushed peace would stop the fighting, but by compromising the country's future.
Ukraine risks losing all Russian land it seized within months, U.S. says
Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of three comrades killed in recent fighting in eastern Ukraine during their funeral in the western city of Lviv on Dec. 20.
Japanese Princess Kako turns 30
As an adult member of the Imperial Family, Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad this year.
South Korea's worst plane crash in decades leaves 179 dead
Rescue personnel are seen near the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday.
U.S. military coordination unit eyed in central Tokyo
A Self-Defense Forces soldier from a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile unit takes part in a drill at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo, in August 2017.
Shohei Ohtani ends blockbuster year with baby announcement
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8.
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
Bling-Bang, baby: The J-pop soundtrack of 2024
Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' uptempo “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” quickly became a TikTok favorite after its release days into 2024, which helped turn the song into a Billboard Japan Hot 100 topper for 19 weeks before rising up viral streaming charts around the world.
Shohei Ohtani ends blockbuster year with baby announcement
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8.
Flu cases surge above ‘warning’ levels in much of Japan
Authorities are calling for utmost vigilance as Japan heads into the New Year holiday season, when many people plan getaways.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER