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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2021

Biden has only himself to blame for the Taliban's victory

There was no strategic imperative for U.S. President Joe Biden to order a hasty pullout of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, yet he did.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 14, 2021

Taliban seize more Afghan cities, with assault on capital Kabul expected

Taliban insurgents seized Afghanistan's second- and third-biggest cities, as resistance from government forces crumbled and fears grew that an assault on the capital Kabul was days away.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2021

A more infectious COVID-19 needs a quicker test

The now-dominant COVID-19 delta variant spreads so quickly that every missed opportunity to catch an infectious person can lead to many more new cases.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2021

Can Moderna buy its way into the $200 billion club?

Moderna's COVID-19 windfall sees its market valuation surged by more than $100 billion since May.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2021

The world told Afghan women it had their backs — it doesn’t

More women and children were killed and wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since records began in 2009.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 11, 2021

China leaves room to release Canadian after politically charged spy conviction

Michael Spavor was given an 11-year sentence after being found guilty of stealing and illegally providing state secrets to other countries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2021

China anti-graft watchdog calls for curbs on business drinking

China should reduce business drinking and replace it with "correct values,” the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog said in a commentary on a sexual assault case involving employees with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2021

China air travel marks biggest drop since start of pandemic

A surge in COVID-19 cases has dealt a fresh blow to tourism on the mainland during the peak summer holiday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 10, 2021

A money-loser, yet a medal-winner: The dichotomy of hosting the Games

Hosting an Olympic Games is an economic disaster, even in nonpandemic times. After more than a century and over 50 installments, there are enough case studies to conclude that the home nation is invariably the biggest loser from the world’s largest sporting event.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2021

Taiwan for all intents and purposes is an independent country. Deal with it.

The best way to raise the diplomatic costs of adventurism to China is to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and grant it full diplomatic recognition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2021

Is capitalism just a phase? China struggles with the math

Communist ideology declares that capitalism is just a stage in human society, and that party leaders are the architects of the future there to look beyond this phase.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2021

Zoom's next act is a big threat to the rest of tech

The pandemic catapulted Zoom Video Communications Inc. from a scrappy upstart into a $111 billion video-conferencing behemoth, central to the lives of millions of remote workers and other socially distant users.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2021

A nuclear crisis foreseen and predicted

The U.K.'s decline in nuclear power production is due to the growing obsolescence of the nation's aging power plants — and rectifying the situation is proving difficult.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2021

Taking stock of the LDP presidential race

With five potential outcomes and myriad players and interests in the mix, there is still a lot of ground the LDP must cover to reach the finish line in its presidential election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2021

Can Democrats go it alone on immigrant amnesty?

If Democrats try to enact an amnesty, they will probably get shot down — but not before doing more damage to public confidence in the U.S. political system.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2021

The future will be weirder than we think

The future may become unthinkably weird and that weirdness will likely come sooner than we think.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 4, 2021

Sweden and Canada ask for women's gold medal soccer match to be moved to avoid heat

Trackside temperatures at the athletics stadium hit 40 degrees earlier this week, and with the women's medal game due to take place at 11 a.m., both sides have expressed concerns.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2021

Biden puts Southeast Asia in U.S. sights — at last

The Biden team has shifted into high gear, dispatching officials and announcing policies to reinforce U.S. ties with Southeast Asia in a belated diplomatic offensive.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2021

More shots alone won’t win the global war on variants

The delta COVID-19 variant is tipping the pandemic into a frightening new stage and vaccination efforts are unable to keep up.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2021

Millennials getting raises have retiring baby boomers to thank

Retiring baby boomers and massive government aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may help explain the rising incomes and workers quitting in huge numbers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 30, 2021

Olympic COVID-19 fears give way to unseen mental injuries in sport

The measures to keep athletes and officials safe from COVID-19 have also heightened mental and emotional pressures.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2021

Legitimate pain research is more crucial than ever

Researchers today say opioids are not only dangerous; they are not a good long-term solution for chronic pain sufferers. The relief tends to wane with time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2021

How behavioral economics views mask mandates

What we know from behavioral economics suggests that universal mask requirements will undermine the effort to get as many people as possible vaccinated.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2021

Apple and Google are winning big, but one is about to pull ahead

Investors are focusing on intermediate business fundamentals, signaling that Google-parent Alphabet stands on firmer ground relative to Apple.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2021

Friends or foes? U.S. and Russia eye base deal on Afghanistan

The Kremlin may now hold the key to a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan with an offer to allow American troops the use of Russian military bases in Central Asia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2021

Doctors blast Biogen Alzheimer approval as ‘regulatory failure’

The New England Journal of Medicine opinion piece is another sign of persistent furor over the agency's decision.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 28, 2021

Rails, nails and bails win over the Olympic spirit

The significance of Japan's Olympic gold-medal skateboarding wins is that they show there's a raft of sports that many don't take seriously but deserve credit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2021

Shortages of milk and other U.K. staples are not just due to the ‘pingdemic’

Even before the highly contagious delta variant started spreading and causing supply chain snarl-ups, the U.K.'s food supplies were straining from Brexit.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?