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December 12, 2024
 

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Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024

The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister

Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
Economic security has evolved to include offensive measures, such as industrial policy. Countries like Japan are increasingly on-shoring strategic industries such as semiconductors, regardless of the cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2024

The shift from economic security to geoeconomics

Economic security started out as a defensive concept, but it has now been weaponized to include an offensive element, morphing into a geoeconomic tool.
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.
Japanese people are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2024

Japan’s accidental resilience in the disinformation age

The Japanese are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
Kendrick Lamar has long been cast as the authentic and artistic representative of modern rap.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
May 10, 2024

Japanese MCs jump in on the Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef — and pick a favorite

The way artists here have joined the feud between two of rap's biggest names says more about hip-hop beefs in Japan than you realize.
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, will his foreign policy be as erratic as it was the first time? Would that help or hinder the U.S.? Leaders all over the world are asking themselves these questions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Would Trump 2.0 rekindle the merits of volatility?

Was Trump's erratic foreign policy an asset or a liability for the U.S.? In capitals all over the world, leaders are weighing the prospect of his return.
As the entire world is fixated on Gaza, the Iranian government has been arresting girls who go out in the street without headscarves and executing people.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Don't let Gaza help Iran cloak its own repression

As the entire world is fixated on Gaza, the Iranian government has been arresting girls who go out in the street without headscarves and executing people.
The Hong Kong market's recent rally has been fueled by a reassessment of investment strategies, with previously favored markets such as Japan and Taiwan losing appeal. Bloomberg
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2024

What is behind the Hong Kong market’s fast and mysterious rally?

The reallocating of investments toward Chinese assets is likely to continue, despite the historical volatility associated with the Chinese market.
Princess Aiko visits an exhibition featuring Japanese literature from the Heian period held at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 12, 2024

Princess Aiko visits Heian literature exhibition

It was the first time for the 22-year-old princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, to perform official duties alone.
The widespread adoption of renewable energy sources and implementation of energy efficiency are key to reducing emissions and, in turn, fueling economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2024

We need economic growth to avert a climate catastrophe

The degrowth movement doesn't offer solutions to tackle global warming. Not only are its proposals unrealistic, but they may not even be effective.
Lawrence Wong will become Singapore's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. He will be tasked with steering the city-state into new territory as its economy slows down and its population ages rapidly.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2024

New Singaporean PM faces some economic headwinds

Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the city-state's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. Despite Singapore's strong economy, new challenges lie ahead.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system

Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
Nintendo tends to innovate and take unconventional product development routes, producing both great successes, like its Switch console, and spectacular failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Nintendo needs to 'switch' its next console up

The Kyoto firm has been coy about what will come after the highly successful Switch console, but it needs to step up its game and learn from past mistakes.
Major Japanese companies are increasing ventures in the United States, with Toyota investing $13.9 billion in North Carolina alone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2024

Japan’s gamble to hedge against U.S. political risks

As Japanese companies increasingly invest in U.S. states like North Carolina, friend-shoring ensures economic resilience in the face of political change.
Soldiers and police stand guard outside a South Korean Army boot camp in Yeoncheon county before the arrival of K-pop's BTS band member Jin, in December 2022. South Korea's economic success is often overshadowed by its cultural exports.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

A surprise South Korean boom is going unnoticed

Despite its robust economic performance, South Korea often takes a backseat to neighboring giants like Japan and China.
A new era in Japan-U.S. military cooperation is set to begin after Japan's parliament enacted new laws to establish a joint command headquarters for the nation’s Self-Defense Forces.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2024

Let the real work on Japan’s defense modernization begin

Scheduled to go into effect in March 2025, the Japan Joint Operations Command will centralize command of the country’s military services.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping before the opening ceremony at the Expo Center at the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit in Shanghai in May 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 15, 2024

Putin to visit Xi amid U.S. threat of China sanctions over Ukraine

The two sides are set to discuss ways to challenge the U.S.-led global order while bolstering Moscow’s economic resilience amid its war in Ukraine.
The Japanese view of China is deteriorating, characterized by a fear of arbitrary detention and the belief the country, economically, is past its peak. The Chinese see Japan as declining and too reliant on the United States. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024

Can Japan and China bridge their ever-widening ‘perception gap’?

Despite the fear, many of the worries Japanese have about visiting China are unfounded. Bridging the gap requires both nations to resume exchanges.
A pro-Palestinian supporter in Tokyo takes part in a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Japanese universities are also experiencing their share of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations similar to those elsewhere in the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024

What the campus Gaza protests lack — in Japan, too

Students are right to be distressed over the suffering of Palestinians. But are they applying cognitive empathy to understand the other side, too?
A German Navy frigate takes part in the BALTOPS 22 exercise in Baltic Sea in June 2022. Russia will push back against NATO's Baltic drills, although the correlation of forces at sea is now weighted heavily against it. 
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Putin’s next target may be the ‘NATO lake’

Some say the argument that Putin would invade the Baltic states is overblown; but just three years ago, no one believed he would invade Ukraine.
If OpenAI’s mostly male engineers are trying to build the perfect girlfriend, they are on the right track. If they are trying to build a more reliable AI model, there is still more work to do.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024

OpenAI's new ChatGPT can flirt. What could go wrong?

What are the social and psychological consequences of regularly speaking to a flirty, fun and ultimately agreeable artificial voice?
Taiwan’s experience offers valuable lessons for China, the most important being the “financialization of innovation,” whereby technology investment is funded by risk capital from the stock market rather than by the risk-adverse banking system.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024

China should emulate Taiwan’s tech policies

A small island with few natural resources, Taiwan punches well above its weight. From 1980-2008, its annual real GDP averaged 6.8%.
Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2024

'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' China trolls U.S. tariffs

Chinese state media accused the U.S. of taking action that threatens climate goals and will push up costs for American consumers.
The new era of U.S.-Japan cooperation exemplifies a successful public-private collaboration crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in global technology, especially amid geopolitical tensions with China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2024

U.S.-Japan semiconductor alliance of the future

On the geopolitical side, the U.S.-Japan alliance is on one side of the equation, with China on the other and Taiwan in the middle.
The year 2023 was the hottest in recorded history. The next warmest 25 have all occurred since 1996.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024

It’s officially hotter than anytime since the birth of Jesus

Tree rings hold records that can go back thousands of years, giving us the perspective we need to understand what’s happening today.
Samples of cannabis edibles are offered during The 1st Phuket Cannabis Cup in Phuket, Thailand, in March 2023. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said marijuana should soon be classified as a narcotic again and its use limited to medical and health purposes.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2024

Thailand’s cannabis U-turn is a cautionary tale

Banning the drug outright will no doubt cause a lot of pain to farmers, small business owners and consumers. A middle-ground approach to return to medical usage would be wise.
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them

A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
A demonstration condemning the killing of three Chinese teachers from the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022. Terrorist groups in Pakistan are targeting Chinese nationals and threatening Beijing's Belt and Road initiative projects in the country.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

Should we stay or should we go? China's dilemma in Pakistan

Beijing is pouring billions into Pakistan to complete a key Belt and Road initiative artery. But this is threatened by terrorist groups targeting Chinese nationals and interests.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, fire a M777 howitzer toward Russian troops near a front line, in Ukraine's Donetsk region on May 1.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 19, 2024

Ukraine struggles to hold eastern front as Russians advance on cities

The drive has marked an inflection point in the conflict spawned by Russia's full-scale invasion more than two years ago.
South Korea, with the world’s lowest total fertility rate, is is pondering a radical solution to fix the probelm — offering a baby bonus that is about twice the nation’s annual per-capita income.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024

Could a $70,000 baby bonus solve South Korea's fertility crisis?

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say how much impact the South Korean baby subsidies would have, as there is no precedent.
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.
Firms should quit turning foreign workers into Japanese ones
Filipino housekeepers undergo training to work for a Japanese staffing company. By applying the same criteria when hiring overseas and local workers, Japanese firms tend to underutilize the unique skills that foreign nationals can bring.
City's Foden and Kovacic not expected to face Juventus, says Guardiola
Manchester City's Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker during training in Manchester on Tuesday
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.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo calls for a world without nukes
One of the representatives of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo, Terumi Tanaka, speaks during the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremony in Oslo City Hall on Tuesday.
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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