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Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 19, 2022

Expressing gender: Fresh approaches to unisex collections

A diverse fashion market is one that is broad enough to include everyone.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2022

How China views the Ukraine crisis

The stakes for China are high, but Beijing has been extremely careful about showing its hand over the Ukraine crisis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2022

Pro-Trump death threats prompt bills in three states to protect election workers

Advocates for the Vermont legislation say the intent is to bring state laws in line with federal standards, which make it easier to prosecute threats of violence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2022

The consistency and novelty in Kishida’s foreign policy

The nation's mainstream media seems to be ambivalent about Kishida's realist-based diplomacy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 14, 2022

A look at the kanji that helps us turn nouns into adjectives

The kanji for 'teki' can be seen in many words, and it's a rather versatile one that works particularly well as a suffix.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 6, 2021

‘Modern girls’: Japan's first recognizable youth culture movement

Young women in the late 1920s and '30s exuded a sense of affluence and independence that is still apparent today.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 15, 2021

China's Xi expected to prioritize Taiwan issue in Biden discussion

Xi and Biden are scheduled to meet virtually on Tuesday morning Beijing time — Monday evening in Washington — as friction between the countries persists.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 4, 2021

Unpacking Japan’s post-election narratives

Though the LDP maintained a stable majority, Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai was the biggest winner in the election, securing 41 seats — 31 more than its previous 10.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are both international pariahs, struggling to find ways to shore up their increasingly isolated countries.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2024

Don’t be alarmed by the new Russia-North Korea partnership

Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are both international pariahs, struggling to find ways to shore up their increasingly isolated countries.
The University of Tokyo, the only Japanese institution in the Times university rankings’ top 50, is considering raising tuition fees.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2024

Japan’s universities must prepare for tough changes

Higher education institutions in Japan rarely rank among the world's top universities. To rise, they should tackle long-term issues like growing costs and fewer students.
Tiananmen Square in Beijing
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 1, 2024

What to expect from the Third Plenum, China’s big policy meeting

The Third Plenum gathers about 400 government bigwigs, military chiefs, provincial bosses and academics to steer China's political and economic course.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is struggling to stay in office amid low public approval ratings and discontent from within his party. However, it is extremely rare for a sitting LDP president running for reelection to be dethroned.
EDITORIALS
Jul 5, 2024

Kishida fights for his political life

Despite low public approval ratings and discontent in the LDP, all is not lost for Prime Minister Kishida if the summer is kind to him and he plays his cards right.
Members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take part in a military review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The nation’s public is currently favorable to the SDF, but if scandals aren’t handled correctly, that opinion may change. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2024

A multitude of scandals threaten Japan’s national defense

Individually, recent scandals are troubling. Together they are reflective of a problematic culture within the defense forces and bureaucracy.
Recent events in U.S. politics, including an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, a favorable court ruling and his nomination at the Republican National Convention, have strengthened the perception he may be “untouchable,” yet nothing is set in stone.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2024

Trump’s wild week and a changing U.S. presidential race

Recent events have reinforced the idea of the “Teflon Don,” an extraordinarily lucky man for whom the laws of politics do not apply.
U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the nation about his decision to not seek reelection from the Oval Office on Wednesday. Biden’s decision to step aside and pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris now looks like it was inevitable in retrospect. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2024

The U.S. political roller coaster is just getting started

U.S. President Joe Biden’s stunning decision to abandon his reelection campaign looks inevitable in retrospect.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government is working hard to enhance Japan's global and regional influence through strategic defense reforms and international partnerships.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2024

Japan’s defense reforms and diplomacy boost regional security

Considerable progress was made this week in a series of meetings with Tokyo's counterparts in various endeavors, the heart of which is the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday as selloffs in global markets, including Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, deepened amid concerns about a slowdown in the global economy.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2024

BOJ rate hike spooked markets, but it's not the sole culprit

Unwinding decades of loose monetary policy was always going to be challenging, and the global economy must brace for similar adjustments from other central banks.
The race to succeed Fumo Kishida as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party promises to be the most competitive in memory. There is no heir apparent and the party's internal structure has been decimated by scandal.
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2024

Kishida’s tenure has simple lessons for his successor

The race to succeed Kishida promises to be the most competitive in memory. There is no heir apparent and the LDP's internal structure has been decimated by scandal.
Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region has potentially enhanced Kyiv's bargaining power, though it may not lead to immediate changes in either country’s strategic goals.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2024

Ukraine makes gains, but the war won’t stop

Continued support for Ukraine is crucial to maintaining pressure on Russia and upholding international order.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, in southern Lebanon, on Sunday. AFP-JIJI
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2024

The Middle East remains on a precipice

Israel's retaliations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have not led to a wider conflict. But neither Iran nor its proxies seem eager to expand the fighting either.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, are welcomed upon their arrival at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2024

Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted

The two leader’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review recent achievements and to underscore the centrality of the Japan-South Korean partnership.
An attendee wears an Apple Vision Pro while holding the Apple iPhone 16 Pro during an event at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, on Monday. Apple introduced the latest version of its flagship device, the iPhone 16.
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2024

The genie is out of the bottle and headed for your phone

The touchscreen smartphone is now humankind's ubiquitous companion, and with each new product release, phone makers unveil new innovations.
Hashim Safieddine, a Shiite Muslim cleric and the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, speaks Wednesday during a funeral in Beirut for some of those killed after paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2024

Pager bombs just add more fuel to the Middle East fire

The tale that is emerging after the pager bombs is one that resembles a spy novel, a feat of derring-do by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
A Japanese Self-Defense Force jet was forced to fire flares recently as a warning to Russian aircraft that violated the country's airspace, highlighting how both China and Russia tried to test Japan’s leadership during a period of political transition.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2024

China tests Japan. Are its new leaders ready?

Most of China's moves require considerable planning. That means that the signals they sent were anticipated and approved by political decision-makers.
U.S. lawmakers and others speak at a news conference in Washington in March to voice their opposition to legislation cracking down on TikTok.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2024

China’s silence on U.S. Tiktok ban speaks volumes

Beijing's past actions suggest that protecting its national interests, including ByteDance's valuable algorithm, outweighs concerns about foreign investment.
If the Liberal Democratic Party does not perform well and loses seats in the coming election, Shigeru Ishiba’s tenure may be one of the shortest in modern Japanese political history.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba faces challenges from the opposition — and his own party

Ishiba needs to be ready for challenges coming from all directions: outside the country, from the opposition and from his own party.
People gather at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 others abducted.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2024

The never-ending tragedy in the Middle East grinds on

The red lines — both real and imagined — that once separated foes have been erased as the combatants inflict new and increasingly painful wounds upon each other.
Adapting to new information when faced with public health crises like COVID-19 is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024

The best answer science may have right now is ‘I don't know’

Acknowledging uncertainty and adapting to new information is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science.
A man looks at campaign posters for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday. Japan faces important challenges, but there is little reason to believe this election will bring about real change.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2024

Japan goes to vote, but it’s not clear why

To smooth over those tensions, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has begun to recast his positions on many policies, moving closer to the LDP mainstream.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, pose with other leaders for a group photo during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. The summit illustrated a collective dissatisfaction with the current global power structure dominated by the U.S.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2024

BRICS once again meet to complain and vent frustrations

While the summit gave the appearance of unity, there are significant differences in how member states perceive issues.

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?