Japan
Another grim reminder of Japan’s violent politics
Has Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida just survived an assassination attempt? Kishida was evacuated from the site of a stump speech in the fishing…
Is Japan doomed?
Japan is heading for trouble, the country’s prime minster Fumio Kishida has suggested. ‘Our country is on the brink of…
Why did North Korea fire a missile over Japan?
It was a new dawn, a new day, and a new North Korean missile test. The land of the morning…
The anger behind Shinzo Abe's state funeral
Tokyo While not quite on the scale of Her Majesty’s service, Tuesday’s state funeral of Japan’s longest serving PM Shinzo…
My lunch with the Queen
None of this would have happened had I accepted my neighbour’s invitation to dine with a Swiss billionaire banker, or…
Japan's cult of safetyism
The Japanese government has launched an initiative to encourage young people to drink more alcohol. Yes, really. The national tax…
Japan’s nuclear renaissance
Japan is reversing its avowedly anti-nuclear stance, restarting idled plants and looking to develop a new generation of reactors, announced Prime Minister…
Baby bust: China’s looming demographic disaster
The demographic crisis might stall its rise
Portrait of the week: Mo Farah’s secret, hot weather warnings and hot competition for the Tory leadership
Home The Conservatives began the process of finding a new leader, which involves balloting MPs and then sending two names…
In Japan, being a token westerner is big business
How to make money as a token westerner in Japan
Could Covid finally end the tradition of Japan’s dreaded 'bonenkai' parties?
John Updike described America as a ‘vast conspiracy to make you happy’. Japan, a wonderful place to live in many…
Is climate change scepticism growing in Japan?
Fumio Kishida, the newly-installed Japanese prime minister, could have been forgiven for giving COP26 a miss. The opening ceremony in…
The enduring power of Japan’s doomsday cults
The enduring power of Japan’s doomsday groups
Portrait of the week: Fishing friction, Greta’s singalong and terror in Tokyo
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told delegates to the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework…
China's war on effeminate men
A rectification notice from China’s state censor earlier this month included a peculiar admonition to ‘resolutely oppose’ effeminate men on…
Farewell, Yoshihide Suga, Japan's unloved leader
Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga has fallen on his sword. Suga announced today that he will not be seeking reelection as leader…
The rise and fall of the yakuza
For the first time in history, an organised crime ‘yakuza’ boss has been sentenced to death in a Japanese court.…
Would Japan defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack?
In a parliamentary debate in early June about Covid, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga said that Australia, New Zealand and…
Is Japan about to enter a 'London-style lockdown'?
Just like the Olympics, which ended a fortnight ago, the Paralympics is set to commence amid a drumbeat of doom.…
What kind of empire is China building?
As Britain’s small fleet, headed by HMS Queen Elizabeth, cruises towards the South China Sea, there remains a question over…
Tokyo's doomed Olympics could be the worst yet
The Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics, which begins on Friday, looks set to be one of the worst in the event’s history. A…
Japan's punishing workplace culture
Are the world’s hardest workers about to get a well-earned break? That seems to be the hope of the Japanese…
Even a robot assistant can’t help you make sense of Japan
Understanding Japan is a life’s work
Water, water everywhere: Touring the Land of the Dead, by Maki Kashimada, reviewed
Maki Kashimada won the 2012 Akutagawa Prize for Touring the Land of the Dead, the strange, unsettling novella that makes…
Olympics' organisers could regret banning 'taking the knee'
Knee-taking and fist-raising protests have been banned at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, with the International Olympic Committee warning athletes who flout the rules…
