Search - question

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2019

The drama of the 'Kurillian knot'

Not resolving the territorial dispute with Russia remains a solid option on the table for Tokyo, but choosing it would risk Japan's irrelevance in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2016

China's South China Sea quest

What does Beijing want in the South China Sea? The answer is control.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 21, 2014

After Scottish vote, U.K. faces monumental shift in governance — and all that comes with it

When 3.6 million Scots voted Thursday on whether to leave or stay within the United Kingdom, they were answering one simple question: Should Scotland be an independent country?
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 4, 2013

Japan should shun treaty that will shield nuclear tech suppliers

Japan is preparing to sign a treaty known as the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which assigns accident liability entirely to plant operators rather than equipment and technology vendors.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 17, 2013

Whoever could pass a test to list 'values at the heart of being Japanese'?

Calling all those readers who in their heart of hearts have always wanted to be British! Well, you've got your chance now, you presumptuous Penny-Laners and putative Pythons.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 16, 2010

The value of seemingly empty Japanese phrases

Japanese is often considered an indirect and ambiguous language, and that's because it is. The national character, too, often appears passive and indirect to non-Japanese. As a result, it can be tempting for newcomers to take a lead from Frank Sinatra and do things "My Way," and generally this works...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2023

Biden has held the fewest news conferences since Reagan. Any questions?

As the U.S. president prepares to announce his bid for a second term as soon as Tuesday, his decision to keep the news media at arm’s length is part of a deliberate strategy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 28, 2021

Let the verbs do the work when it comes to pronouns and polite speech in Japanese

The verb forms in polite speech more distinctly refer to people in a way that makes it nearly impossible to confuse the actors in a sentence .
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 6, 2019

Japanese, Italian, Korean? I'm all of these

One question I have always found difficult is, "Where are you from?" While most people I meet are able to answer it with a single word — Japan, England, India — for me the answer is a lot more complicated.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 20, 2016

Japan's Brexit challenge

Japan is being surprisingly forceful in demanding answers from the U.K. on Brexit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2013

Raising the Senkaku stakes?

One question that typically has received little attention in the Japan-China dispute over the Senkaku Islands is, what's in it for the parties involved?
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 18, 2012

Stop thinking — the test is about to start

COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2012

Separatist dreams that are mostly just hot air

In other parts of the world, separatist movements are usually violent (such as Kashmir, Sri Lanka, the various Kurdish revolts) and they sometimes succeed (South Sudan, Eritrea, East Timor).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 5, 2012

The word of words

Sometimes students will ask me, "What's your favorite Japanese word?"
Reader Mail
May 14, 2009

Trapped by old gender roles

Regarding the May 10 Timeout articles "Blurring the boundaries": It is sad that a society that calls itself "modern" still lives the old stereotypes and gender roles as described. Most societies all over the globe miss answering the most crucial question for men: What is our purpose in life?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 8, 2008

"Yasukuni" director Li on his tough-love letter to Japan

"Yasukuni" director Li Ying shares his thoughts with John Junkerman and David McNeill on the contentious Tokyo shrine, the motivation behind the movie, and his reaction to the furor in Japan over the documentary's release.
Delegates meet for the Development Committee Plenary during the World Bank and IMF 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Negotiating a bigger, better World Bank

Recent changes at the global lender are important steps toward making the World Bank’s financial model fit for “ending poverty on a livable planet.”
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Apr 28, 2024

Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers

As Japan’s rice farmers prepare for a new planting season, many will be hoping that this summer brings a reprieve from 2023’s brutal weather conditions.
The H5N1 bird flu virus, which has been found in cattle, is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2024

The bird flu outbreak brings more questions than answers

This is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
An Israeli officer directing traffic at the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Jerusalem on Dec. 3, 2023. Spain, Norway and Ireland said on Wednesday that they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, a rebuke to Israel over its war in Gaza and its decades of occupation of Palestinian territories.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Can European recognition bring Palestinian statehood any closer?

The recognition comes as the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor requests arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Presidential candidate of the ruling Morena party Claudia Sheinbaum delivers remarks during her closing campaign rally at Zocalo Square in Mexico City on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Sheinbaum is set to become Mexico’s first woman president

The task before Claudia Sheinbaum is daunting as her predecessor allowed drug cartels to expand their influence across the nation, resulting in record murder rates.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 7, 2024

At Computex, Nvidia billionaire Jensen Huang showcases Taiwan's tech dominance

With this year’s raucous Computex — the world’s biggest computing conference — Taiwan sent a message: If you want AI, you need Taiwan.
A person uses a tong with a camera and GPS system attached to pick up litter, part of an initiative to boost participation in collecting trash.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 16, 2024

Japan’s gamified environment apps target a greener mindset

Government funding has helped drive a boom in environmental and social app development.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets agency employees after a press conference on extreme weather at the D.C. Emergency Operations Center in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2024

Biden to meet with governors and sit for an interview to calm backlash

The hope is to counter brewing discontent among leading Democratic donors, aides and elected officials over U.S. President Joe Biden's debate performance.
The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale returns this weekend and features works by artists such as Yayoi Kusama.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 13, 2024

Got somewhere to be and need a friend? Better learn how to ask.

If you live in Japan long enough, you're bound to receive an invitation sooner or later. Make sure you know how to respond or how to ask in return.
A return to the world with interest will almost certainly mean an increase in the bifurcation of Japan's haves and have-nots.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024

Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’

Ever since Ueda arrived at the central bank 15 months ago, economists have been debating what the "world with interest” will look like.
There is a significant divide between security experts, who emphasize the unquantifiable risks of geopolitical instability, and economists, who focus on the measurable costs of restructuring supply chains.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2024

Traditional economics fail the geopolitical test

The seemingly yawning gap between the views of the security specialists and the business and economics types is striking.
A polygraph machine sits on a table in an office of AO Eurasian Bank in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2013.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 6, 2024

AI-powered lie detectors can help tell if you’re lying on a Zoom call

CyberQ is just one of a crop of new companies looking to build AI-powered lie detectors that could be used during work-related online meetings.
A smartphone running ChatGPT4o as it tries to solve a geometry problem in San Francisco on May 28.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 20, 2024

OpenAI unveils new ChatGPT that can reason through math and science

The new technology is part of a wider effort to build AI that can reason through complex tasks.
Kamala Harris speaks during a CNN Town Hall in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Harris calls Trump a fascist in bid to sharpen 2024 contrast

The town hall comes amid a frenzied media and campaign blitz less than two weeks before Election Day.

Longform

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