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December 13, 2024
 

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Sikhs in Peshawar, Pakistan, hold a protest on Sept. 20 against the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader who was murdered months earlier in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2024

Does India have a secret hit list?

The pressure is on for India to salvage its global reputation and preserve its relationship with the United States amid assassination plots against Sikhs.
The market in 2023 and 2024 has been marked by breathless enthusiasm for the potential of artificial intelligence as well as wildly disparate guesses about how the technology will translate into future cash flows.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2024

Is the S&P 500's surge signaling a bubble or a bull market?

Are we reliving 1995 — when, coincidentally, a previous "soft landing” economy pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 5,000?
U.S. television host Tucker Carlson interviews Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in on Feb. 6. Carlson was criticized for failing to challenge the Russian leader on much of what he said.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2024

Putin interview showed why he really invaded Ukraine

Tucker Carlson lobbed questions to help the Russian president serve up his usual string of half-truths and outright falsehoods about the war in Ukraine.
A sign erected in Hokkaido’s port of Nemuro calls for the return of the Russian-occupied islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2024

Geopolitical chess: Unpacking the Northern Territories conundrum

While domestic motivation for Tokyo to resolve the Northern Territories dispute may endure, the opposite is true in Moscow.
Telecoms giant KDDI plans with Mitsubishi to take convenience store operator Lawson private could help it as it currently stands behind FamilyMart and Seven & I Holdings in a three-horse race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2024

There are clouds on the horizon in Japan’s 'conbini-land'

Industry consolidation has pushed minor players out of the conbini game.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron as chief guest of celebrations marking India's Republic Day on Jan. 26.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024

The fraternity between France and India has never been stronger

Beyond the pomp of Republic Day celebrations with Macron as guest of honor, Modi and the French leader signed substantive defense deals, cementing ties.
U.S. allies reevaluate priorities in relations with Washington out of concern Donald Trump may win the U.S. presidency again.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024

U.S. allies fear the fallout of a new Trump era

The world appears to have priced in former U.S. President Trump’s disdain not only for allies but the entire global order his predecessors created.
Shanghai's financial district under heavy rain. China's economy has slowed down, with some pointing to a possible balance sheet recession.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024

Mr. Xi, only change will help China weather the storm

How does Xi Jinping plan to address China's growing economic woes? Only openness to change will allow the global power to survive these turbulent times.
A demonstration against racism and far-right groups, including the Alternative for Germany party, is held in Berlin on Jan. 21.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024

The case for banning anti-democratic candidates

Barring anti-democratic candidates from elections may be like fighting fire with fire, but it could work in extreme cases, such as in the U.S. and Germany.
OpenAI has announced that it will add a memory feature to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024

The perils of giving ChatGPT more memory

ChatGPT developer OpenAI is rolling out a memory feature that, it says, will improve the bot. But not if it ends up replicating the biases of social media.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of the Republican caucus in Las Vegas on Jan. 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 22, 2024

How East Asia should prepare for a possible Trump comeback

Questions over defense funding and military support could potentially return to the fore for U.S. allies.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024

Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth

One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
Donald Trump's recent remarks on defense spending by allies, which were highly criticized, highlight the complexities of U.S. foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2024

Trump's defense spending critiques: Valid concerns or political rhetoric?

Do U.S. allies need to step up defense spending? What do the numbers really say?
The PTI party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan triumphed in Pakistan's Feb. 8 elections despite not having the backing of the country's powerful military.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2024

Has Pakistan’s military finally lost its mystique?

Many Pakistani voters supported PTI, Imran Khan's party, in recent elections, showing the military that it has a rival powerhouse to contend with.
In Hokkaido’s Niseko ski resort area, a bowl of ramen or soba from a food truck easily goes for more than three times what it costs at a sit-down joint in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Feb 18, 2024

¥3,800 ski-slope ramen is a glimpse of Japan’s future

Foreign tourist spending has potential to stimulate growth but needs careful management to ensure equitable distribution of benefits for locals.
Demonstrators hold a rally to honor the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2024

The lonesome death of a Russian opposition leader

The prison where Navalny died, Nicknamed “Polar Wolf,” is a freezing cold gulag for violent criminals. But Navalny — an anti-corruption lawyer and blogger.
A supporter of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in the West Bank city of Ramallah in front of a poster depicting Barghouti.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2024

Can Marwan Barghouti be the Palestinian Nelson Mandela?

Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who has spent two decades in an Israeli prison, could unite Palestinians in getting behind a compromise solution.
Alexei Navalny, who Russian authorities say died on Friday, attends a 2019 rally in Moscow with his wife, Yulia Navalnaya (right), in memory of murdered dissident Boris Nemtsov.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2024

Navalny was too brave to be allowed to live

Alexei Navalny never stopped speaking truth to the powers of Russian despotism. His fearlessness was simply too much for the Kremlin to bear.
Japan's fall to No. 4 in the global economic rankings reflects an aging population and declining resources.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2024

Japan slips in the global economic rankings: So what’s next?

The IMF has forecast that India will overtake Japan economically in 2026 and Germany in 2027.
Donald Trump, who made a fortune in construction over the years, has assets he can sell to pay the $355 million financial penalty recently imposed on him in civil fraud case filed in New York, but it will strain his available cash reserves.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2024

Trump loved New York. Now it's giving him the boot.

The place that made Trump who he is has turned on him. The former president is being fined millions and banned from doing business in New York.
A Houthi military helicopter prepares to land on the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in November.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2024

Why Beijing won’t fight the Houthis

Whether they target Chinese vessels directly or not, attacks on Red Sea shipping by Houthi rebels threaten to undermine China’s economic recovery.
When SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, he had grand plans for the company to dominate the nascent market for connected devices, also known as the Internet of Things.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024

Softbank’s Arm is not the AI play most people think it is

Today, GPUs are the gold standard for AI development and thus the equivalent of toilet paper during the pandemic.
Machine learning could assist in cancer research by flagging papers likely to fail replication attempts, potentially improving the quality control process.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2024

The scandals rocking cancer science matter to your health

Trouble emerged years before the most recent scandal in which investigators found data manipulation in a slew of high-profile cancer research papers.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (far left) and the prime minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataafa (far right), meet in Apia, the capital of Samoa, on Feb. 10.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2024

Japan plays a game of Pacific islands geopolitical chess

The influx of Chinese investment and activities have introduced risk for some Pacific island nations, moves which Japan cannot ignore.
Moody’s predicts China's potential economic growth will decline to 3.5% by 2030, with weaker demographics and a graying population being a major driver of the slowdown.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2024

China’s economic engine is running out of fuel

Moody’s now predicts that China's annual economic growth will fall to 4% in 2024 and 2025, before slowing further, to 3.8%, on average, for the rest of the decade.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign event ahead of the Republican presidential primary election in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 29, 2024

Why Japanese companies need to prepare for Trump 2.0

Given the former president's views on the recent U.S. Steel deal, firms should cover all bases ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
The LDP's Takuo Komori stepped down from his post as parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs after it was revealed he had underreported political funds.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024

Will the LDP funding scandal change Japanese politics?

What can we learn from the LDP funding scandal? One thing is certain: The saga fits a pattern that is anything but unseen in Japanese politics.
TikTok parent company ByteDance's offices in Singapore. Chinese companies are increasingly using the city-state as a springboard into the U.S. market.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2024

'Singapore-washing' and China’s sneaky trade practices

Chinese firms are using Singapore as a springboard into the U.S., circumventing restrictions. The island nation shouldn't enable these deceptive tactics.
The Nikkei 225 on Thursday broke through a record high set just before the country's asset bubble catastrophically burst in the early 1990s.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 23, 2024

Congratulations Nikkei, now don’t screw it up

Those skeptical of the current boom argue that this is nothing more than a another instance of a once-in-a-decade cycle.
With the wars in Ukraine and Gaza claiming America’s attention and the world undergoing a broader geopolitical reconfiguration, China might see a window of opportunity in forcing its claim on Taiwan.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2024

A Taiwan crisis is coming

Already, Xi Jinping has been stepping up intrusions into Taiwan's air defense zone and encircling the island with warships.
JR East announces 10-year plan to drastically overhaul Suica
The East Japan Railway Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Within the next 10 years, JR East will develop automated walk-through gate technology so that passengers can enter the train platform without having to tap their Suica card or phone on the ticket gates.
Prince Hisahito to enroll at University of Tsukuba
Prince Hisahito, who is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, is currently a third-year student at the University of Tsukuba’s affiliated high school.
Tokyo remains third in global city index for ninth consecutive year
The silhouettes of Mount Fuji, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and Shinjuku skyscrapers are seen during sunset in Tokyo in November.
South Korean police blocked from raid on president's office
Protesters attend a rally calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in front of the headquarters of the ruling People Power Party in Seoul on Tuesday.
Union blasts Nippon Steel’s $5,000 per worker bonus in U.S. Steel deal
The United Steelworkers union claims that Nippon Steel's latest offer is tantamount to bribery.
London calling: Sumo's U.K. trip brings back memories of 1991
Japan’s national sport made its second foray into Western Europe, and first to the U.K., with a five-day tournament at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in October 1991.
‘Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron’ documentary meditates on auteur's creativity and legacy
“Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron" provides an in-depth look into the octogenarian auteur’s creative process and personal reflections.
Yurie Collins: ‘Everyone seems sedated, fed-up … that’s why they turn to comedy’
Yurie Collins is a bilingual comedian based in Tokyo. In addition to being a prize-winning roast comic, her dating-themed "Tokyo Hoe Tales" shows have proven to be a hit with women of all nationalities.
Winter chill, hot baths and the risk of heat shock: How to stay safe
A health ministry survey showed that 5,824 people age 65 and older died in a bathtub in their home or other residential facilities in 2022, more than double the number of people who died in a traffic accident.
It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year
While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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?
By Thu-Huong Ha

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