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July 24, 2026
 

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Lionel Laurent
As crypto adoption grows and Bitcoin hits new highs, a surge in violent attacks, kidnappings and hacks targeting holders underscores the steep and often overlooked cost of being your own bank in a cashless world.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2025
Crypto crime is the future. Bank heists are history.
Banks are no longer easy or juicy targets for robbers, with heists down more than 80% since the 1990s as branches close and piles of cash hoarded in safes become a rarity.
Jeremy Allaire, chief executive officer of Circle Internet Financial (center) celebrates during the company's initial public offering on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025
A digital dollar is a trade war weapon, and Europe may be a primary target
Stablecoins could serve to entrench the existing tech and monetary order dominated by the U.S., as 95% of them are dollar-denominated. The euro commands less than 1%.
Marine Le Pen¡¯s embezzlement conviction and election ban intensify France¡¯s political divide, challenge French President Emmanuel Macron¡¯s government and set the stage for a far-right succession battle.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2025
Le Pen¡¯s MAGA-style martyrdom is new risk in France
One big factor could complicate Le Pen¡¯s pivot to MAGA martyrdom, however: The antics of Trump himself.
European Union nations and Japan fret about a world without the U.S. security umbrella. They could ease their fears by moving closer together.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025
Japan-Europe: The security alliance the world needs now
Even before Trump¡¯s return, Europe and Japan both rapidly needed to shift from their peacetime posture to one preparing for war.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is launched for a mission to study one of Jupiter's 95 moons from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Oct. 14.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2024
In space, no one can hear Musk¡¯s rivals scream
The billionaire¡¯s gravity-defying lead is a painful one for competitors. Is it too late to catch up?
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes his visiting French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Washington in April 2018. European leaders, such as Macron, recognize the need to adapt to a new reality where globalization may no longer drive growth, especially if Trump wins the U.S. election.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
Trump-proofing Europe looks impossible
Global supply chain strengths turn into weaknesses in a fragmented world, with unreliable access to cheap energy, Chinese consumers and U.S. security.
The real significance of Brussels' case against Apple is that it will increase pressure to reform how multinationals allocate their profits globally and are taxed.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 15, 2024
Ireland struck it rich with Apple. Others struck it poor.
The Apple case highlights the need for global tax reforms to ensure multinationals pay taxes where they operate, benefiting countries beyond just Ireland.
Paris must complete its gold-medal transformation into something greater once the athletes have packed up and gone home.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2024
Paris Olympics can help unify a fractured city
As Paris prepares for the Olympics, it must also work towards a more cohesive and equitable regional future, striving to balance progress with social harmony.
President Emmanuel Macron has gone from king to kingmaker of French politics after his bloc came second in the parliamentary election.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2024
Gambler Macron wins chance to be kingmaker
Even as Macron breathes a sigh of relief after voters halted a far-right triumph, the left-leaning coalition the president will try to build faces a treacherous path.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at a courthouse in New York in March 2023. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried¡¯s 25-year sentence is a warning to crypto
The former FTX CEO¡¯s conviction to 25 years in prison sends a clear message to cryptocurrency fraudsters. The costs of misconduct outweigh the benefits.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, exits the federal courthouse in Manhattan in February.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023
Sam Bankman-Fried won¡¯t be the last crypto mogul behind bars
If Sam Bankman-Fried culpability for the ¡°pyramid of deceit¡± behind FTX¡¯s collapse seemed so obvious, it¡¯s partly because he was prosecutorial gold.
French President Emmanuel Macron (center) and deposed president Ali Bongo of Gabon (center left) at an African Union-European Union summit in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2023
A domino effect in Africa, embarrassment in Paris
A new season of military coups is sweeping over Africa, with grave implications for France and the West as they struggle to maintain influence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2023
French riot deja vu is raising the stakes for Macron
Years of Frances unkept promises have created resentment and made the nation¡¯s deprived suburbs a powder keg.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2023
The AI gold rush will take humanity to some dark places
Encoding iris scans on the blockchain shows a need to curb Silicon Valley¡¯s savior complex.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2023
On the U.S. and China, Macron says the quiet part out loud
French President Macron has annoyed allies by saying Europeans should stand apart from the U.S. on China and Taiwan or risk becoming ¡®vassals.¡±
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2023
Blocking the Louvre won¡¯t defuse France¡¯s pension bomb
France¡¯s pay-as-you-go pension system will have only 1.2 workers for every retiree by 2070 ¡ª an untenable situation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2022
Crypto¡¯s chainsaw massacre bloodies digital exchanges
The platforms that have promoted Bitcoin and other new currencies have a lot to answer for.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2022
When $1 billion tech unicorns start to look like ponies
In a world where every startup gallops, counting horns starts to look futile. France needs new metrics for a clearer innovation picture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2022
French President Macron knows inflation is Le Pen¡¯s best weapon
If there¡¯s one thing that could make French voters more receptive to the far right, it¡¯s a shake of the magic money tree.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2021
Winter is coming for Europe¡¯s pandemic optimists
The urge to abandon caution when COVID-19 cases are low, which is essentially what some European nations did this summer, is part of the problem.
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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