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April 22, 2025
 

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Artificial intelligence is transforming various business sectors and the economy. But concerns about humanoid robots replacing all jobs are unfounded, as human dexterity will remain essential for the foreseeable future.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

AI is making robots smarter. They’ll need boundaries.

Where AI meets the physical world — and creates the potential for conflicts — is in manufacturing and logistics.
Starbucks mobile app shows an error message on Friday. A botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

CrowdStrike meltdown and the price of real security

Catastrophic system failure isn’t part of the equation — until it happens. Which will be occurring with increasing frequency in our deeply interconnected world.
Former President Donald Trump gets ready to take the stage shortly before the assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July, 13. Four U.S. presidents have been killed in office.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2024

The U.S. presidency is a deadly job — and always will be

Roughly a quarter of all U.S. presidents have been victims of serious assassination attempts — four of which ended in death.
King Charles and Queen Camilla of Britain attend a ceremony on June 25 to welcome Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on a seven-day state visit to the U.K.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 24, 2024

The imperial visit that crowned Japan-U.K. friendship

Having overcome past tensions, Japanese-British relations are at their peak, as seen during Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's state visit to the U.K. in June.
Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

Going green doesn’t have to be a giant money suck

Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
Turkey has facilitated the flow of Russian oil to the European Union, enabling the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions and prolonging the Ukraine war.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2024

Europe must clamp down on Russian oil flows through Turkey

Turkey has facilitated the flow of Russian oil to the European Union, enabling the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions and prolonging the Ukraine war.
Paris must complete its gold-medal transformation into something greater once the athletes have packed up and gone home.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2024

Paris Olympics can help unify a fractured city

As Paris prepares for the Olympics, it must also work towards a more cohesive and equitable regional future, striving to balance progress with social harmony.
While Japan’s media may influence global perceptions of robots as friendly and lovable, the near-future robots will likely not match the capabilities or roles depicted in TV show's like "Sunny."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 25, 2024

Japan isn't the 'robotopia' Apple TV's 'Sunny' portrays

One of the reasons we still see relatively few robots doing the menial jobs is that human labor is cheap.
International Monetary Fund guidance on industrial policy must balance protection with market discipline and emphasize fiscal prudence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2024

What fiscally sound industrial policy can do

Industrial policy can help countries cope with growing economic and political uncertainty. But the details matter.
Beijing's push to integrate core socialist values into its chatbots highlights a significant challenge in China's bid to compete with the U.S. in AI development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2024

What's wrong about ‘Chat XiPT’ is bigger than China

The difficulty of creating AI models infused with specific values will likely hurt China’s efforts to create chatbots as sophisticated as those in the U.S.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters at a campaign rally in Caracas on Thursday. The weekend election outcome and how the military responds could either restore democracy to the country or worsen the authoritarianism there.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2024

Venezuela’s military holds the key to Maduro’s exit

Venezuela needs support from neighboring countries and the international community to steer the nation toward stability and democratic governance.
Students in Bangladesh have faced a crackdown against protests demanding an end to the quota system for public jobs. Despite a scaling back of the system, more needs to be done to address their woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2024

An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

Student protests in Bangladesh against the quota system for public jobs could help restore democracy by bringing down Prime Minister Hasina's violent rule.
Demonstrators hold a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, in May against a bill labeling organizations that receive foreign funding as spies. The passing of the so-called Russia law has been a setback for Georgia's democracy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 29, 2024

Democracy is on tenuous ground this ‘election year’

From former Soviet countries to India and even the U.S., democracies are backsliding and authoritarianism is gaining ground, with far-reaching global implications.
Technicians assemble a component of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the CERN nuclear research facility in Cessy, France, in March 2007. International cooperation in science is essential for solving global challenges and maintaining innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2024

Geopolitics threatens science and societal progress

In this world, the prospect of greater controls or reduced international cooperation can only be damaging.
Demonstrators march in Valencia, Venezuela, on Monday, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas and elsewhere against the re-election victory claimed by President Nicolas Maduro.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2024

Venezuela needs its neighbors’ help more than ever

Maduro was never going to accept defeat and the idea he would quietly exit the presidential palace was always wishful thinking.
Hungary, which has increased its birth rate since 2010, has adopted policies that support those who want or have children, including financial incentives, housing subsidies and better work-life balance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2024

Why do young people in Hungary want kids more than in Japan?

Marriage and birth rates are plummeting in Japan, while many young people in Hungary want families thanks to measures that support their choices in life and at work.
The world needs a smaller, more focused Olympics to ensure sustainability and relevance amid changing global conditions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2024

Olympics host cities don’t belong on a warming planet

The world needs a smaller, more focused Olympics to ensure sustainability and relevance amid changing global conditions.
Gold medalist Pan Zhanle of China celebrates on the podium after winning the men's 100-meter freestyle event at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Aug 1, 2024

Chinese swim fans hit back at doping claims as Pan takes gold

Pan burnished his reputation in his home country with a world-record time of 46.40 seconds, beating the previous fastest time of 46.80 he had set in February.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. The bank raised rates to 0.25% in just the second hike since 2007.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 1, 2024

Ueda’s big day was lost in a communication black hole

The BOJ should improve its information release process, including fixing leaks and setting fixed release times, to avoid similar issues in the future.
While the Pentagon dismisses UFO evidence as inconclusive, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has pushed back and demanded further investigation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2024

The real government conspiracy isn’t about UFOs

As the Pentagon dismisses UFO evidence, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee pushes back and demands further investigation.
Israel is engaged not only in fighting real wars but also in ideological conflicts that shape its security, existence and global legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2024

Challenged on all fronts: Israel’s five wars

What do those who support Israel's right to self-defense suggest it do to combat an enemy that entrenches itself in hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath civilians?
China always seems to be one step ahead of America in economic strategies, advancing in electric vehicle and battery production while the U.S. struggles to keep up with evolving trade and supply chain challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2024

West plays 'whack-a-mole' as China dominates EV and battery sectors

A more proactive, multilateral approach by the U.S. to supply chain and trade policy is necessary to counter China’s economic influence.
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, during an event at the Buergenstock Resort in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 15.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 3, 2024

Ukraine’s allies are worried about the power of Zelenskyy’s top aide

Some of Ukraine’s international backers are growing concerned about just how much decision making power Andriy Yermak has.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian nationals, including Artyom Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, convicted of spying in Slovenia, and their children at an airport in Moscow on Thursday following a prisoner exchange with Western countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

Russia’s prisoner trade says all you need to know about Putin

Among those released to Russia were people convicted by independent courts of cybercrimes, insider trading and breaking sanctions.
The dark side of artificial intelligence is that it could make deadly and low-cost bioweapons more accessible to nonstate actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

AI may save us, or may construct viruses to kill us

One reason biological weapons haven’t been much used is that they can boomerang. If Russia released a virus in Ukraine, it could spread to Russia.
People pray at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945. Over half a century on, the global framework to stop nuclear weapons proliferation needs a serious rethink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2024

What stands in the way of a nuclear weapon-free world?

Almost 80 years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world is still far from abolishing nuclear weapons due to a crumbling of the nonproliferation architecture.
The Great War of Africa between 1998 and 2003 was the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Now, hostilities between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda are reigniting.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024

Africa is heading toward another deadly war

Armed clashes between Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and others could see a repeat of the world’s deadliest conflict since WWII, unless an escalation can be averted.
The turmoil affecting global markets came on the heels of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s decision to raise rates, but you can't fault him given the volatile worldwide economic conditions.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2024

Tokyo market rout — oops, the BOJ did it again

Japan’s central bank isn’t responsible for the bloodbath. But it’s reliving a terrible habit of hiking rates at the worst possible time.
Despite China’s advocacy for “no first use” as a global standard and its call for inclusion in international law for nuclear weapons, many analysts view it as a political statement rather than a practical strategy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2024

China’s 'no first use' nuclear policy rings hollow for many

Critics argue that China's NFU policy is less credible due to its expanding nuclear arsenal and the secrecy surrounding
Bottles of Coca-Cola inside a fridge in the Olympic Village.
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2024

Health experts urge Olympics to cut ties with Coca-Cola

Events at the Paris Games have been lined with advertising for the ubiquitous fizzy drinks of Coca-Cola, which has been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

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