Does Putin’s Judo philosophy explain his sanctions response?
Contemplating leaders and their heroes can be a revealing business. Churchill had busts of Nelson and Napoleon at Chartwell (and…
In Japan, being a token westerner is big business
How to make money as a token westerner in Japan
Kicking Russia out of the World Cup would achieve nothing
‘There are more important things in life than football,’ said the Polish football federation as they announced their intention to boycott…
How long can Japan keep foreigners locked out?
A colleague has posted on the ‘Return to Japan’ Facebook page that his hotel quarantine at Tokyo’s Narita airport is…
The march of South Korea’s anti-feminists
How men’s rights became a big political issue
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…
Why COP26 flopped
King coal is dead, long live king coal! That might be a fitting epitaph for COP26, which mercifully ended last…
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
Meet Japan's latest unloved leader
Japan will soon have yet another new prime minster: Fumio Kishida. He will be the country’s third leader in as…
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.…
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.…
Was the Tokyo Olympics a success?
Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Prime Minister, is a hard man to read. He has a sum total of one facial expression…
Why do the Japanese still seem so ambivalent about Naomi Osaka?
It had all started so well for Naomi Osaka. Dressed in the colours of the Japanese flag, the tennis star…
Are the Japanese finally embracing the Tokyo Olympics?
Such gloom and negativity has surrounded the Tokyo Olympics that cynics were suggesting that, when the grand Olympic countdown clock…
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…
Have Southgate’s England lost their moral compass?
Back in the 1980s the BBC Match of the Day opening credits featured a clip of Manchester United winger Mickey…
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
In defence of Naomi Osaka
‘Kawaisou’ or ‘wagamama’ (poor thing or spoiled brat)? That’s the question Japanese tennis fans have been asking ever since world number…
The strange truth about Japan’s climate change target
Japan has just raised its target for reducing carbon emissions from 26 percent to 46 percent (by 2030 from 2013…
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…
What Yoshihide Suga wants from Joe Biden
Age matters in Japan, so when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (73) sat down for talks with President Biden (78), deference…
Will the Tokyo Olympics go ahead?
Tokyo This week was the tenth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in…
