What the Europa League losers’ final reveals about English football
Two of world football’s biggest but worst performing clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur face off in Bilbao on Wednesday in the…
‘It is sad that we are sometimes seen as just killers’: an interview with Japan’s last ninja
Getting an interview with Jinichi Kawakami, the man known in Japan as ‘the Last Ninja’, was no easy task –…
Trump’s tariff pause has given Japan time to plan its next move
Asian markets are rebounding after President Trump announced a 90-day ‘pause’ in the implementation of the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs that…
Trump is bending Japan to his will
‘National crisis’ was how Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the fallout from President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in a…
They think it’s all over for President Yoon – it is now
Yoon Suk Yeol, elected South Korea’s president in 2022, has been removed from office. The Constitutional Court in Seoul has…
Japan has been stunned by the Trump tariffs
Virtually the whole world is waking up to the reality, not threat now, of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, but…
Does Japan want its own nuclear weapons?
Japan is planning to strengthen its ‘counterstrike capabilities’ by deploying long-range missiles on the southern island of Kyushu. The missiles…
Is Trump going to rip up the US security alliance with Japan?
Another day, another Trumpian bombshell, this one aimed at the country he says he loves: Japan. Trump told reporters this…
Japan and Britain are too weak to help each other
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Business Secretary Jonathon Reynolds are in Tokyo for ‘2+2’ (two ministers for the price of…
Japan’s smoking ban is a sham
The Japanese city of Osaka has banned smoking on the streets in an apparent effort to smarten up the city…
The real reason female footballers aren’t on birthday cards
Oh dear… it appears that birthday and greetings cards are sexist. This is, at least, the claim of a group…
The arrest of South Korea’s president won’t end this saga
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested after police officers scaled fences and cut through barbed wire to detain…
The ‘MAGA’ South Koreans still supporting President Yoon
In extraordinary scenes more reminiscent of a South American coup than a supposedly stable first world democracy, fights broke out…
Are Premier League fans right to protest ticket hikes?
It takes quite a lot to unite the fans of Manchester United and Liverpool, but it will happen today at…
Why did South Korea’s President Yoon declare martial law?
The aftershocks of last Tuesday’s declaration, and then cancellation, of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol continue to be…
South Korea’s President Yoon will be lucky to escape jail
Six hours. That was the duration of the profoundly disturbing and simultaneously farcical version of martial law invoked by South…
Why has South Korea’s president declared martial law?
In a dramatic and unnanounced move, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday in a live…
Jeremy Clarkson’s time has come
It’s a reasonable bet that if Jeremy Clarkson stood for prime minister tomorrow, he’d win by a country mile. Some…
Gary Lineker’s opinions were never welcome at the BBC
Having thought it was all over, several times, it is now – for Gary Linker as presenter of Match of the…
Kamala Harris and the death of the celebrity endorsement
Poor old Bruce Springsteen. The legendary rocker bet the farm on an endorsement of Kamala Harris and may well have…
Japan could soon lose one of its best assets
What now? This is the question on everyone’s lips here in Tokyo after a dramatic general election which looks to…
Newcastle, Saudi Arabia and desperate decline of English football
Is a major scandal over the sale of Newcastle United to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund…
A day of violence in Tokyo
It has been an alarming day in Tokyo as political terror returned to the streets of the capital. A man was arrested for throwing…
Does it matter that Thomas Tuchel isn’t English?
Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as the next manager of the England national football team, to take over from the…
Wimbledon won’t be the same without line judges
It will soon be the end of an era at Wimbledon. From 2025, the All England Club has announced that…
