Search - author

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2020

Is Indonesia selling out to investors?

An omnibus law passed last week chisels away at Indonesia's wall of labor protections, making it a win for employers and investors while angering unions.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2020

The jailed activist left a letter behind. The message: Keep fighting.

Outspoken Vietnamese journalist and activist Pham Doan Trang was arrested on charges of making and disseminating propaganda against the state.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2020

Will Donald Trump cause a civil war?

A critical part of Trump's effort to undermine confidence in the election outcome, if it goes against him, is his attempt to discredit millions of ballots preemptively.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2020

In Putin’s pain, there is an opportunity

Putin is taking great pleasure in the convulsions that have seized the U.S. body politic, yet the satisfaction must be fleeting as his attention focuses elsewhere.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2020

Little war in the Caucasus has big lessons for U.S. and Russia

The resumption of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh against Armenia, a longtime enemy of Turkey, indicates the war is part of a larger Turkish power play.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2020

How to make Japan great again

The new prime minister should declare that by 2030, Japan will be positioned to make the best possible use of its one and only natural resource — its people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 10, 2020

‘One Love Chigusa’: A hellish future seen through reconstructed eyes

Soji Shimada's knack for mystery is apparent in his psychological sci-fi novella about a man whose world looks different after a horrific accident.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2020

Nearly one-third of COVID-19 patients in study had altered mental state

Some who have had the virus have found themselves unable to manage daily activities like cooking or paying bills.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2020

A coronavirus vaccine is coming, so who gets it first?

While many people will want to be protected against COVID-19, nations will need to decide who needs prioritizing for vaccination.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2020

It is time for Japan to start talking about its immigration policy

The topic of immigration in Japan has been swept under the rug for too long and it should no longer be a taboo subject.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2020

Who’s still working at home? The affluent is who

Many of the U.S. ZIP codes hit hardest by the pandemic's economic fallout are those where affluent stay-at-home workers have stopped spending money on local services.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2020

Where does Japan stand after Shinzo Abe?

Among the former prime minister's diplomatic achievements, the establishment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is a feat with great geopolitical significance.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 7, 2020

For Trump, a pattern of denial, from coronavirus to Russia to climate change

A recurrent theme of Trump's presidency is the rejection of obvious facts when they don't meet his political needs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2020

An appalling debate is only the latest blow to the U.S. image in the world

Last week's U.S. presidential debate was engrossing — as is a car crash or a tawdry reality TV show. The rudeness and incoherence left most viewers aghast.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2020

Would a universal basic income make us lazy or creative?

We are indeed in the midst of a digital transformation that will destroy many old jobs and create many new ones, and we need structures that help people adapt.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 3, 2020

Trump’s COVID-19 news meets a landscape primed for mistrust

Was it a hoax? Was it a lie? Was the president sicker than he claimed — or not sick at all? Was there any way this alarming news was an ultracynical con?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2020

Secrecy and speed: Inside Ant Group’s unusual IPO process

The fintech giant is following a highly unusual process that draws on some of the tactics its former parent and affiliate Alibaba Group has previously used.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2020

Tokyo must thwart Beijing's Senkaku strategy

Japan undoubtedly faces hard choices. But accommodation with an unyielding China is simply not possible.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2020

If we can’t ban nukes, let’s stigmatize them

Since the end of the Cold War, most people have become much less afraid of nuclear war, when instead they should worry more.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2020

Batteries are key to a greener and more electric future

The race to improve battery technology is proceeding on several fronts, the most visible of which is that for electric vehicles.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2020

Lukashenko and Erdogan are laughing at the EU

The EU still requires unanimity for all foreign policy decisions. This has been one factor, amid many, that's neutered European foreign policy over the years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 26, 2020

Trump Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett known for conservative religious views

In planning to nominate Amy Coney Barrett for the U.S. Supreme Court, President Donald Trump has selected a federal appeals court judge who has staked out conservative legal positions on key hot-button issues in three years on the bench.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2020

China is paying a high price for provoking India

Aggression and expansionism obviously are not genetic traits, but they appear to be defining Chinese President Xi Jinping's tenure.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 23, 2020

[Bonus episode] The making of the Walkman

This episode is based around an extract from the audiobook of 'Pure Invention.' We join in the middle of chapter 5, which is all about the invention of the Walkman.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2020

Avoiding a 'climate lockdown'

To avoid such a lockdown scenario aimed at mitigating climate change, the world must overhaul its economic structures and do capitalism differently.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2020

International law under assault — from unexpected directions

Disturbing of late has been the growing disregard for international law among governments that have been pillars of the world's legal order such as the U.S. and the U.K.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2020

Don’t give up on recycling plastics

Fortunately for the world, the recycling industry has a history of transforming what was previously “unrecyclable” into useful products. It's poised to do so again.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2020

The post-pandemic recovery’s missing link is trust

As with the 2008 global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has decisively weakened public confidence in expertise.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 21, 2020

U.S. and North Korea came much closer to war than previously thought, book claims

Book by journalist Bob Woodward details scores of instances that highlight the unease felt by top U.S. officials amid the 'fire and fury' of the 2017 crisis.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake