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July 24, 2026
 

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Mark Leonard
Anti-Brexit protesters waving European Union and Ukrainian flags gather near the Houses of Parliament in London on June 17, ahead of the Brexit referendum's 10th anniversary.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2026
Beyond Brexit ¡ª and back to Europe
Those who follow only intergovernmental debates in the media might think that nothing has changed in the decade since British voters decided to leave the European Union.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a group photo with leaders and officials from Europe, the U.S. and NATO at the Chancellery in Berlin on Dec. 15.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2025
Europe faces some tough wartime decisions
On the diplomatic front, Putin¡¯s strategy to ¡°keep the Europeans out, Americans in and the Ukrainians down¡± is paying off, judging by Trump¡¯s increasing pressure on Zelenskyy.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One after his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30. During their talks, the two leaders discussed the suspension of rare-earth export controls by China and other issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2025
What Chinese leaders really think of Trump
The Chinese view is that we are entering a prolonged phase of counter-globalization.
French President Emmanuel Macron¡¯s state visit to London earlier this month to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer shows how a changing Europe and shifting global threats could let Britain move past Brexit and help shape a new European security order.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2025
Britain and Europe are changing together
Britain can help shape the continent¡¯s new security order, so long as it banishes the Brexit mindset.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (second from left), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (second from right) and French President Emmanuel Macron prepare to take a family photo during their "Quad" meeting in Berlin on Oct. 18. Leaders in the West have tried to revive the old order, but Donald Trump¡¯s return to power shows they need a new way of looking at the world.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
Europe after the end of the liberal international order
We were wrong to think that we had secured a golden age of peace at the end of the Cold War. In reality, there was violence everywhere.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO leaders at a plenary session of their summit in Watford, England, in December 2019.?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024
Living in Trump¡¯s world
Europe¡¯s response to Trump¡¯s return will require creativity, resilience and an unshakable commitment to defending its own interests.
French President Emmanuel Macron warns of existential threats to Europe from Russia, China and the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2024
Is this Macron¡¯s moment to shine?
Underlying all the problems that Europe faces in a new age of geopolitical, economic and climate insecurity is a crisis in leadership.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump attends the NATO summit in Watford, England, in December 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024
The Trump effect takes Europe
There is a chance that the Trump effect could leave the trans-Atlantic order stronger than it has been for a long time.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold discussions in Kyiv in September 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023
Europe needs a new Ukraine strategy
The European Union¡¯s decision to start accession talks with Ukraine represents a symbolic victory rather than a practical one.
The European Union finds itself at a crossroads of balancing national borders, economic autonomy and liberal values.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2023
The geopolitics of EU enlargement
The European bloc appears to be moving toward radical reinvention.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the White House in Washington on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023
The global consequences of the Israel-Hamas war
The EU¡¯s shambolic response to the Israel-Hamas war has made China¡¯s forceful reaction all the more notable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2023
The post-American Middle East
The recent cease-fire between Israel and Islamic Jihad, the detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the de-escalation in Yemen have all been accomplished with minimal Western involvement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2023
The Ukraine war and European identity
A battle for the soul of Europe is brewing beneath the surface of the Ukraine war and next year¡¯s European Parliament elections could serve as its first battleground.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2023
Chinese leader Xi Jinping¡¯s idea of a new world order
To present a compelling alternative to China¡¯s vision of world order, the West should stop asking others to defend the existing one and start recruiting partners to build on a new vision.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2023
When mob diplomacy rules the day
As the recent Chinese balloon saga showed, public opinion is increasingly in the driver¡¯s seat, and it is steering international relations away from open, honest dialogue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2023
What to expect from the next round of globalization
There is growing support for the idea that the world is experiencing not ¡®deglobalization¡¯ but rather ¡®re-globalization,¡¯ owing to accelerating changes in energy and technology.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2022
It is time Europe begins Russia-proofing itself
The West, and especially the European Union, must get serious about positioning itself for a protracted and multi-pronged conflict with Vladimir Putin¡¯s Russia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2022
Preparing for the long war
Vladimir Putin¡¯s latest moves suggest that Russia is settling in for a long war of attrition that will test European resolve.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2022
Ukraine¡¯s war viewed from China
Westerners regard Russia¡¯s war as an attack on the rules-based order, but Chinese scholars see it as another harbinger of the final curtain on U.S. and Western hegemony.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2022
European peace project forced to confront war
Born of the need to preserve peace on a historically war-torn continent, the EU and its political leaders are now being forced to rethink some of their most important principles.
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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