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July 24, 2026
 

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Mihir Sharma
An aerial view of Mumbai, often called India¡¯s financial capital. Corporate India is sitting on cash instead of investing.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2026
Why Indian companies don¡¯t want to invest in India
The government is right to be worried. Afterall, if companies don¡¯t invest, the economy won¡¯t expand.
Workers construct a prototype of a fast-breeder reactor in Kalpakkam, near the southern Indian city of Chennai, in August 2004.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2026
An Indian nuclear reactor milestone proves doubters wrong
Consider the Japan¡¯s Monju reactor It reached criticality in 1995 and was eventually shut down in 2016. In that entire period, it generated electricity for only a few months.
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 scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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