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May 03, 2026
 

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Mihir Sharma
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump meet aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a visit to the U.S. Navy base at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in October.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2026
Japan can help Asia learn to live without the U.S.
Tokyo will have to learn salesmanship quickly ¡ª because more is at stake than a few conglomerates' profits. The entire region is learning to live with the U.S.
The U.S. and Israel¡¯s war on Iran has left developing countries using Chinese tech and trade, like solar panels and EVs, better able to weather fallout than those relying on American-backed supply chains.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2026
Is Trump the president who lost Asia to China?
After six weeks of the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran and its ensuing counterattacks, it is the countries that bet on Chinese supply chains that are faring best.
People gather at a market in Bengaluru, India, on Feb. 12. India¡¯s cities remain unsafe and unlivable because delayed local elections leave administrations unaccountable despite rising national wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2026
India is getting richer, but its cities are unlivable
India has failed to give city residents the basics: uncontaminated water, breathable air and a government they can vote out if it fails them.
Deadly climate disasters are rising in South and Southeast Asia as adaptation funding and institutional capacity lag, highlighting the need for stronger regional and global coordination and support.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
Asia needs to play smarter to win climate dollars
Climate finance is supposed to fill the gap left by the industrialized world¡¯s withdrawal from its responsibility to subsidize those suffering because of atmospheric carbon.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremonial reception at India's presidential palace in New Delhi on Dec. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2025
India¡¯s once unshakable ties with Russia are fraying
The uplifting tone of the visit concealed more than it revealed. For all the warmth on display, relations between India and Russia are plateauing.
Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, oversees a field training exercise in May. The general has since been granted sweeping new powers that elevate him above civilian leaders and tighten the military¡¯s grip on the state.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2025
Pakistan will regret letting the army back in
At no point did Pakistan¡¯s democrats completely escape the shadow of the army ¡ª but institutionally and symbolically, the uniforms had begun to give way to the suits.
The U.S. and the world will become unhealthier and vast numbers of children may die now that Donald Trump¡¯s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pulled funding from the global vaccine program GAVI.?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2025
RFK Jr. is playing with babies¡¯ lives
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.¡¯s cut to U.S. funding for GAVI risks lives globally and damages America¡¯s international standing.
A worker labors on a spinning machine at a factory in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia in September 2019. For Indonesia, China¡¯s trade power means lost jobs and hard choices.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2025
Asia would welcome trade deals that exclude China
The real cost to developing countries of China¡¯s trade practices runs deeper: lost jobs can be counted, but missed opportunities can¡¯t.
A soldier stands guard at a railway station in the Sibi district of southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan, on March 12 as part of a security operation after militants hijacked a passenger train the previous day.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025
Pakistan¡¯s economy is back. But so is terrorism.
The disconnect between the grim drumbeat of terror attacks on the country¡¯s margins and the positive economic news from its heartland is startling.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sentenced to 14 years for corruption, reflects the country's recurring cycle of leaders rising with military backing and then falling out of favor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025
Jailing Imran Khan won¡¯t fix Pakistan¡¯s problems
Pakistan¡¯s economic recovery hinges on reforms, stability and military backing.
While there¡¯s no evidence of deliberate manipulation, increasing opacity and inconsistent data have led to doubts about the accuracy of India's official gross domestic product figures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024
India¡¯s statistical challenges mirror China¡¯s past issues
India's once-strong institutional credibility in terms of economic data is weakening, much like China's, though perhaps for different reasons.
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth and production under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024
Beijing¡¯s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
Managing India's regional tensions will be critical for the nation's future, as demographic shifts and economic disparities threaten to exacerbate existing divides.
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2024
Hindu-Muslim split isn¡¯t India¡¯s most dangerous divide
If the long-established consensus around states¡¯ rights continues to erode, India will be in real trouble.
Despite being a major player in industries like technology and manufacturing, South Korea's defense exports have historically lagged behind.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024
South Korea¡¯s cheap weapons still won¡¯t sell themselves
Despite being a major player in industries like technology and manufacturing, South Korea's defense exports have historically lagged behind.
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.
A protest is held in Toronto on Sept. 25, a week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the prospect of New Delhi's involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2023
India¡¯s denials of Sikh separatist plots ring hollow
Now that the U.S. is also raising concerns about New Delhi-orchestrated plots against Sikh separatists, why are many Indians reacting with a shrug?
India's exports represent about 40% of rice's global trade. New Delhi has banned or taxed rice and wheat exports to counter domestic food inflation.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023
India pushes the world toward another rice crisis
Spooked by volatile foodgrain prices ahead of a general election next year, India¡¯s government has banned or taxed rice and wheat exports.
Prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in British Columbia, Canada, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023
India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call on diaspora extremism
Western countries are failing to keep the radicalization of certain migrant communities in check. They have much to lose.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2022
Pakistan won¡¯t quickly recover from Imran Khan¡¯s shooting
The attack on the former prime minister is likely to put any political equilibrium out of reach for years.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2022
There¡¯s one way to wean India off Russian weapons
Switching to Western platforms is expensive. Instead India needs to do the hard work of developing a viable domestic defense industry.
Yen soars as Japan intervenes after issuing 'final' warning
Pedestrians walk past a stock quotation board showing the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
New Zealand officials reject statue remembering 91²Ö¿â comfort women
A statue symbolizing former South Korean comfort women in Seoul
Japan secures enough petroleum-derived naphtha to last into 2027
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a government meeting on the Middle East on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan mum on yen intervention, heavy on jawboning, ahead of long holiday weekend
The yen was back in ?150-to-the-dollar territory after reports of intervention by the Japanese government.
Not even Japanese bathhouses are immune from shocks of Iran war
The interior of Ume-no-yu, a public bathhouse in the city of Nagano. Soaring oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East are threatening to deal a final blow to a storied Japanese institution: the sento, or traditional public bathhouse.
For tourists in Japan¡¯s outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan's famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country's outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.
¡®Sashiko¡¯ needlework artisan says craft is about 'the stories behind the stitching'
Traditional Japanese needlework has exploded in popularity, but a book from a third-generation artisan aims to bring more context to the craft's newfound popularity.
Tennis trailblazer Kei Nishikori announces his retirement
Kei Nishikori, who has won 12 titles on the ATP Tour and climbed as high as No. 4 in the world rankings, on Thursday announced his retirement.
Documentary captures the long echo of Fukushima's nuclear disaster
Toru Yamada¡¯s documentary ¡°At the Triangle Intersection,¡± which delves into the lingering impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, follows Tetsu (center), the matriarch of the Watanabe family, her son, Takemasa (right) and her daughter-in-law, Shigeko.
Japanese fried chicken with a Southern twist
A buttermilk-inspired marinade gives a rich umami flavor to your fried chicken.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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