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May 05, 2026
 

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Mark L. Clifford
Sebastien Lai, son of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, poses for a portrait next to a poster featuring his father during an interview in London in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2026
Memo to Xi: There is no downside to freeing Jimmy Lai
Lai started his media business following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in which Chinese authorities killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of their own citizens.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of the Apple Daily, arrives at West Kowloon Courts in Hong Kong in October 2020 to face charges related to an alleged illegal vigil assembly commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2026
Fair trade: Jimmy Lai¡¯s freedom for China¡¯s very big U.K. Embassy
China will take over the Royal Mint building next to the historic Tower of London and spend over $1 billion building out its largest embassy in Europe.
A person pays their respects at a makeshift memorial for the victims of last week¡¯s deadly fire at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong. ?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2025
How an unfree press stoked the flames of Hong Kong¡¯s deadly blaze
Many of the people who lived in the housing complex knew about problems in the renovation project that saw building towers wrapped in plastic netting and windows filled with foam.
As Hong Kong courts prosecute pro-democracy activists and tighten Beijing¡¯s control, Western bankers attending a financial summit there are signaling they value profits over principles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2025
Wall Street risks shorting freedom in Hong Kong
Western financiers seem willing to chase short-term profits even if it means funding a repressive regime that has made no secret of its animosity toward the West.
Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. The national security trial of the Hong Kong media mogul, which began in late 2023, entered its final stages on Aug. 14, as lawyers present closing arguments.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025
Why Jimmy Lai¡¯s persecution should worry Japan
The trial of 77-year-old publisher is showing how Beijing uses Hong Kong as a laboratory for silencing critics worldwide, from students to exiles.
Water shortages hit tourist spots in Japan during Golden Week
A hot spring facility in the city of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, has suspended the operation of its open-air baths since March.
What is the hantavirus that killed three cruise ship passengers?
The cruise ship MV Hondius floats off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.
China's rare defiance of U.S. sanctions sparks showdown over banks
A Chinese flag flutters in front of the Shanghai Gaoqiao Company Refinery in Shanghai.
Article 9 in focus as Takaichi pushes for revision of Constitution
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives a speech in Hanoi on Saturday.
As Iran war sends oil prices soaring, some see fresh potential for solar in Japan
An agrivoltaic crop, in which solar panels are raised about 3 meters off the ground so that agricultural machinery can freely operate on the crops underneath, in Sosa, Chiba Prefecture.
Fujisawa flashpoint: A mosque project stokes nativist fears
Muslims pray at Tokyo Camii in the Yoyogi-Uehara neighborhood. Though Muslims account for only 0.3% of Japan¡¯s population, rhetoric in online spaces and by conservative politicians has fomented social tensions.
No longer shushed: Japan¡¯s cultural venues make room for children
In 2019, Saitama Arts Theater started permitting children under 3 to some of its shows. Previously, children under 4 were not permitted.
New head chef at Maz explores Peruvian food through a Japanese lens
Since taking over Maz last month, chef Yuya Nakamura has been gradually introducing more Japanese influences to the restaurant's innovative Peruvian cuisine.
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.

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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