EDITORIALS

BYD's Neta S is presented at the 2025 Bangkok International Motor Show on Monday. China, led by BYD, has become the global EV leader, while other countries, including Japan, struggle to keep up with the shift toward electric vehicles.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2025
In the EV race, China's BYD is leading the pack
BYD’s strong performance reflects its dominance in China’s domestic auto market, the world’s largest and most competitive for electric vehicles.
An altar at the Aleph facility in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward featuring a photo of Shoko Asahara, the founder of Aum Shinrikyo and the alleged mastermind of the March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2025
Thirty years later, Aum Shinrikyo’s horrors are ever-present
Subsequent revelations about the cult proved even more alarming than the 1995 assault. It became clear that the authorities had been worried about the group for some time.
A woman clutches an urn containing the ashes of a loved one during a funeral ceremony for victims of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, at a cemetery in Manila on Wednesday, the day after his arrest.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2025
Duterte may yet pay for his lawless war on drugs
According to the Philippine government, at least 6,252 people died “during anti-drug operations” since July 2016.
As the U.S. under Donald Trump reassesses its commitment to Ukraine, countries worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, are reconsidering their defense policies and alliances with America. 
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2025
Europe braces for a post-American world. Is Japan ready?
A diplomatic posture that makes demands only of Ukraine and not Russia suggests, however, that Washington has taken sides.
China's recent naval exercises near Australia and New Zealand, though legal, highlight Beijing’s growing reach and willingness to test other nations' responses.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2025
China pushes the military envelope with power projections
This week, Chinese ships conducted military exercises, including live-fire drills, in waters near Australia and New Zealand. While legal, the moves expose its hypocrisy.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (front right), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (second left) and other officials and advisers attend talks in Riyadh on Tuesday where they met to discuss ways on ending the Ukraine war.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2025
America's allies get a rude awakening
U.S. allies are understandably confused and dismayed by the Trump administration’s statements and behavior.
U.S. Steel workers rally outside the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh in support of the takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel back in September.
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2025
The Nippon Steel deal’s lessons for the world
Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s stiff opposition to the deal may have created space, if not impetus, for President Donald Trump to resurrect the acquisition.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.