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December 12, 2024
 

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The destruction left behind by the Borel Fire near Lake Isabella, California, on July 29
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024

Wildfires are getting weirder. Case in point: 'firenados.'

Sometimes fire thunderstorms even create their own lightning, which spawns new blazes miles away.
The only surprise about Ukraine's offensive into Russian territory is that it came so late into the war, and that’s primarily because of Western restrictions on the use of donated weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

Want peace for Ukraine? Let it strike in Russia

The only surprise is that it came so late — 2½ years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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.
A ward for heatstroke patients at a hospital in Chennai, India, in May. The country experienced a severe heat wave over the spring and summer, raising concerns about the long-term impact of climate change-induced extreme heat on human health.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

Climate change: A health emergency in the making

Global warming's impact on health is an increasingly urgent issue — just look at excess deaths caused by extreme heat. But are health care systems well-equipped enough?
What began as a nonviolent student protest against Bangladesh’s highly politicized system of public-sector job quotas quickly escalated into an anti-government Gen Z revolution.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

The fall of Bangladesh’s iron lady

What began as a student protest against the country’s highly politicized system of public-sector job quotas quickly escalated into an anti-government Gen Z revolution.
Henry VIII had to deal with xenophobic mobs in England too — and he did so harshly and imperfectly. But there’s an abiding lesson to be learned.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

The U.K. riots and an evil day 500 years ago in London

The enmity focused on the foreign-born may have been sparked by misinformation, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that the tinder was waiting to be lit in Britain.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader has thrown the race for his successor into uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2024

Kishida’s resignation opens the door to a chaotic era

With Fumio Kishida's resignation, the LDP faces a crucial election next month with no clear front-runner to become its next leader.
Considering there is another full year left before the current term of the Lower House expires, Fumio Kishida’s announcement he is standing down as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader has many wondering why.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2024

With Kishida’s sudden departure, who will lead Japan?

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s unexpected decision to not seek reelection has prompted a leadership race within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
For centuries, Japanese people have been scaring themselves with horror stories as a way of cooling down during the stifling summer months.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 16, 2024

New tales in translation to give you chills and thrills this summer

Recent fright-filled releases with supernatural creatures, shrewd sleuths and creepy killers provide welcome relief from the sweltering heat.
Efforts to hold the Kremlin accountable for the war in Ukraine have begun, with the International Criminal Court already issuing arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and others for unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024

The rule of law is coming for Putin

Though the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes and genocide in Ukraine, it can't prosecute Russian leaders for aggression.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida poses for a group photo with other regional leaders prior to the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) leaders meeting in Tokyo in December.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2024

Japan's energy diplomacy reflects global divide over how to reach net zero

Japan’s focus should be on advancing truly innovative and effective renewable technologies, rather than prolonging fossil fuel use.
South Africa's 49-year-old skateboarding Olympian, Dallas Oberholzer, competes in the men's prelims during the Paris Games on Aug. 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024

The oldest Olympians might hold the key to slowing down aging

As we age, the number of mitochondria in our cells declines, but that happens much more slowly in people who continue to do strenuous exercise.
New gene-edited crops could address climate change and agricultural challenges; however, high regulatory barriers and safety concerns limit innovation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2024

It’s time to embrace a new era of gene-edited food

New crops may improve our health or help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Despite the deep pessimism about the Gaza cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, many parties involved, including the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, the Gulf States, Lebanon and Iran, stand to gain from an end to the hostilities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2024

Only agents of chaos want more war in Gaza

It took a decade for the U.S. to catch Osama bin Laden after al-Qaida’s 9/11 attacks; Israel may need to wait on catching Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, too.
Bangladesh's instability adds to the existing regional tensions in South Asia, which is already grappling with violence in Myanmar, terrorism in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area and political turmoil in the Maldives and Nepal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

South Asia’s deepening political turmoil

The ouster of Bangladeshi's government is the latest example of political volatility in South Asia — a region struggling to achieve stability, let alone democratization.
By enabling a few wealthy individuals to wield disproportionate influence, today’s global economy increasingly marginalizes and disenfranchises much of the world’s population.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

To preserve democracy, tax the rich

What the world needs are progressive tax systems that redistribute income from the rich to the poor without weakening socially beneficial incentives.
The size of the carry trade strategy is hard to determine because currency transactions, unlike stock trades, aren't tracked on exchanges. We only have estimates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2024

How big is the yen carry trade, really?

There is now worry that the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades would wreck investors’ frothy exposures to U.S. technology and AI-related companies.
U.S. President Joe Biden enters the stage after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

Joe Biden begins a long and necessary goodbye

It took grace, maturity and generosity for Biden to bow out. A measure of resentment has also accompanied his exit.
In September, world leaders will meet in New York for the United Nation's Summit of the Future to strengthen international cooperation on digital technology and innovation, as well as development financing, security, employment and gender equality.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

The U.N. is charting a new course for our technology future

By closing digital and data divides through international cooperation, we can foster a technology culture that addresses global challenges.
The integration of large language models into war-game simulations and planning promises faster scenario analysis, but recent research highlights significant issues, including a risk of escalation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Resist the seductive power of AI in military decision-making

The maturation of AI and the creation of large learning models have driven the war-gaming industry — and it is an industry — to new heights of fever and frenzy.
Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pays her respect to a picture of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn as she receives a royal endorsement to become the 31st prime minister in Bangkok on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Thailand’s democracy is on shaky ground

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is in the middle of yet another political crisis. Citizens deserve better.
The 7-Eleven convenience store chain, a deeply ingrained part of modern Japanese life, faces a potential takeover by Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2024

A 7-Eleven buyout would stretch Japan’s appetite for M&A

The country’s convenience stores have become essential to daily life. That has many fearing the prospect of a foreign takeover.
The ability of Xi Jinping's government to control China's industrial overcapacity crisis is limited, and stimulating domestic demand is difficult amid geopolitical tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Xi’s supply-side panacea has lost its magic

China’s excess capacity problem will have to fester until even its industry leaders call it quits. That may be some years away.
Existential risks like bioterrorism or climate change, created by humans, are not being treated by governments with anything like the seriousness or urgency they deserve.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Will we survive the next 100 years?

Existential risks like bioterrorism or climate change, created by humans, are not being treated by governments with anything like the seriousness or urgency they deserve.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
The real barrier to any reasonable peace settlement in the ongoing war is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who remains committed to ensuring that a free and democratic Ukraine does not survive — and he has a long track record of violating treaties.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 22, 2024

How NATO can help end the Ukraine war

Even if Russia and Ukraine reached a peace deal, Vladimir Putin would readily abandon it and re-invade Ukraine at the first opportunity.
An AI-driven smartphone application, jointly developed by a tech startup and researchers at Nihon University, purports to tell when cats feel pain. It was being demonstrated during a vet examination in Fujisawa on June 11.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2024

Japan should go big or go home on startups

As of last month, Japan had just 10 unicorns, according to Pitchbook data, compared to 714 in the U.S., 316 in China and 62 in India.
Foreigners account for more than 10% of the population in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. Despite an expected decline in births, their populations may continue to grow for some time due to their ability to attract immigrants.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

The rich world’s immigration conundrum

Fourteen high-income countries have shown how immigration can help offset declining fertility rates and maintain population levels.
Traditionally seen as a cautionary tale of collapse due to overpopulation, recent research suggests that Easter Island's population was likely small and that they adapted to environmental challenges through innovative agricultural practices.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

Easter Island collapse gets the fresh look it deserves

Once viewed as a cautionary tale of overpopulation, recent research suggests Easter Island's population was small and adapted through innovative agriculture practices.
The opposite of diversity isn’t meritocracy, but homogeneity. And in organizations where everyone looks the same, standards tend to be lower.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

‘DEI hires’ don’t lower the bar. They raise it.

Race and gender are not superficial characteristics that can or should be stripped away in order to prove someone’s merit.
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.
‘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.
As Japan nears new climate goal, criticism of policy process ramps up
The government is preparing to set Japan’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, an emissions reduction commitment made by members of the United Nations climate framework's Paris Agreement.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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