Search - commentary…

 
 
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2021

How to watch the Olympics if you’re in Japan (without a TV)

With rights distributed to different broadcasters across the world, finding an easy way to follow along with the TV coverage of the Olympics can be a tricky business, especially if you don’t have a television.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2018

North Korea alludes to confrontation with U.S. over secret nuclear sites during negotiations

The United States has explicitly confronted North Korea about suspected secret nuclear weapons facilities during ongoing denuclearization negotiations, a commentary published over the weekend by the North's state-run media has appeared to show.
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
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 26, 2018

North Korea blasts U.S. for 'double-dealing' by conducting 'man-killing' secret military drills

North Korean state-run media on Sunday slammed the U.S. for "double-dealing" by allegedly conducting what it said were "secret drills involving man-killing special units," a charge that came just a day after a trip to Pyongyang by the top U.S. diplomat was canceled.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 22, 2018

English sumo broadcasts bring together diverse cast

In last week's column, I talked about overseas tours by the Japan Sumo Association and also mentioned the live sumo broadcasts with English commentary on NHK.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2016

China state media warns Trump against isolationism, calls for status quo

Chinese state media have warned the U.S. president-elect against isolationism and interventionism, calling instead for the United States to actively work with China to maintain the international status quo.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2016

China's carrot-and-stick strategy reaping results

As it strives to control virtually the entire South China Sea, China is using its economic and military might to ensure its Southeast Asian neighbors fall into line.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2022

COVID, Russia and economy put the ‘China model’ to the test

On social media, a growing number of citizens are accusing the Communist Party of breaching its social contract with the people as China faces down numerous challenges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 30, 2021

China calls Xi’s regulatory crackdown a ‘profound revolution’

Xi's campaign calling for 'common prosperity” has intensified in recent weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2020

Japan broadcaster NHK under fire over flawed video on anti-racism movement

Public broadcaster NHK has apologized for its attempt to educate viewers on the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, after its video on anti-racism demonstrations came under fire for lacking context on racial injustice and the police brutality that had spurred such protests worldwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2019

North Korea alleges 'nuclear weaponization' by Japan as Trump-Kim summit draws near

In the latest jab at perennial foe Japan, Pyongyang has blasted Tokyo over its alleged "nuclear weaponization" just days ahead of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2018

China Party journal warns of trade war's impact on financial stability

A Chinese Communist Party journal has said that the country may experience near-term pain from trade friction with the United States, including a negative impact on financial stability, but China's stable growth trend would not change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2018

Trump-Kim meeting: What role should China play?

The fear of marginalization in Beijing is palpable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 20, 2018

South Korea to announce plan for joint military exercises before April

In a move that is likely to enrage nuclear-armed North Korea, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday that by the end of next month it will announce plans for postponed joint military exercises with the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 19, 2018

North Korea 'fully ready for both dialogue and war,' state media says

North Korea is "fully ready for both dialogue and war" and prepared to respond to any U.S. "provocation by prompt counterstrike," state-run media said Monday as the Winter Olympics continued in South Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 6, 2018

North Korea calls Trump 'dolt-like' and compares 'bloody nose' strike to Iraq War run-up

Nuclear-armed North Korea unleashed a raft of insults and threats against the U.S. and its leader on Tuesday, calling Donald Trump "dolt-like" and comparing recent reports of a possible "bloody nose" limited strike against Pyongyang to the run-up to the Iraq War.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2018

Chinese state-run media takes dig at U.S. government over shutdown, says it exposes 'chronic flaws' in political system

China's official news agency said in a commentary Sunday that the shutdown of the U.S. government exposed "chronic flaws" in the American political system.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
In 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024

Is China too old to get rich?

By 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
Monitors show the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. Traders are falling out of step with the Bank of Japan, expecting hawkish steps that are instead met with a cautious approach.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

Traders are out of step with the BOJ’s Ueda

Time and time again, traders predict that the Bank of Japan will take bold next steps, but these rarely come. That's because Gov. Ueda is, most of all, cautious.
Protesters mark the eighth anniversary of the 2016 arbitration ruling over China's claims in the South China Sea, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Friday. Beijing still refuses to abide by the ruling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2024

South China Sea ruling anniversary and the disregard for the rule of law

Last Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea arbitral tribunal ruling. That decision was a win for Manila.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gives his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Emerging narratives: Trump is 'a lion’ or he’s 'a lyin’

Is Donald Trump a "man of destiny," as some conservatives are now claiming or a "con man of destiny"? ("Napoleon in a golf cart,” The Free Press called him.)
A study shows that autocracies and weak democracies are more likely to import Chinese artificial intelligence facial-recognition technology, especially during times of domestic unrest. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2024

China is exporting its AI surveillance state

Trade does not always foster democracy or liberalize regimes. Instead, China’s greater integration with the developing world may do precisely the opposite.
Japanese media's lack of critical engagement and depth in covering debates can be attributed to Japan's Broadcasting Law, which mandates political impartiality in news coverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2024

How Japanese and U.S. election coverage differs

Japanese media's coverage of U.S. debates tends to be more superficial and uniform, often merely reflecting U.S. media content.
Knowing how Earth’s temperature behaved deep in the past can also help scientists test climate models that predict the future.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2024

We just got a wake-up call from the time before dinosaurs

The die-offs happen when the Earth’s temperature changes too rapidly for organisms to evolve and adapt — as is starting to happen now.
A destroyed mosque in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City on Monday, the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Nothing new on the Middle Eastern front

While Israel claims self-defense, this concept can be problematic when considering similar situations in other conflicts, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Matt Groening (right), creator of the show "The Simpsons," attends the premiere of the "The Simpsons Movie" along with characters from the series in Springfield, Vermont, in July 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2024

‘The Simpsons’ has become a parody of itself. That’s a good thing.

With the "The Simpsons" viewership down to just 10% of its peak, the show is often in the news for controversies rather than content.
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.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?