Opinion

 
Menu
Search
 
May 25, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Opinion

COMMENTARY
EDITORIALS
Geoeconomic Briefing
CARTOONS
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping speak during a visit to Zhongnanhai, the compound that houses China’s leadership, in Beijing on May 15.  
COMMENTARY / World
Scoring the Trump-Xi heavyweight bout in Beijing
By Kuni Miyake
U.S.-China rivalry increasingly resembles a third iteration of the "Great Game" — following the 19th-century British-Russian contest and the U.S.-Soviet Cold War.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping hold talks during a visit to Zhongnanhai, the compound that houses China's leadership, in Beijing on May 15.
COMMENTARY / World
What Xi Jinping knows that Donald Trump doesn’t
By Francis Fukuyama
Prior to the summit, expectations were low: Trump was weakened by inflation and declining popularity while seeking China's help on Iran.
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson leads Japanese destroyers JS Ashigara (left) and JS Samidare during a transit of the Philippine Sea on April 26, 2017. Tokyo fears growing uncertainty as rivalry between Washington and Beijing deepens.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Japan caught in the U.S.-China geoeconomic crossfire
By Stephen R. Nagy
For Japan, this creates a precarious environment. More than 80% of its energy imports — and much of its trade — passes through waters around Taiwan and the South China Sea.

EDITORIALS

Police on Thursday search the Yokohama apartment of Kaito Takemae, who is accused of directing four teenage boys in the robbery and murder of a 69-year-old woman in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture.
Defeating tokuryū requires more than just better law enforcement
The problem of tokuryū, or anonymous crime groups, was thrust back into headlines last week, after the robbery and murder of an elderly woman
EDITORIALS
A sigh of relief as Trump visits Xi
EDITORIALS
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
EDITORIALS
Golden Week security assignments for Takaichi’s Cabinet
EDITORIALS
Japan’s new arms export stance and changing security realities

COMMENTARY

Despite record Switch 2 sales and blockbuster movie success, Nintendo's shares have plunged as investors worry about rising costs and the company's lack of announced hit games for the crucial holiday season.
Japan
Nintendo gamers love surprises. Investors don’t.
By Gearoid Reidy
The stock selloff is not entirely irrational: Investors can't value what they don't know and Nintendo's plans for this year are a mystery.
Japan
Beyond the native speaker myth: Who ‘owns’ the Japanese language?
By Midori Inagaki
World
Scoring the Trump-Xi heavyweight bout in Beijing
By Kuni Miyake
Japan
There’s no Truss moment for Takaichi this time, either
By Gearoid Reidy
World
What Xi Jinping knows that Donald Trump doesn’t
By Francis Fukuyama
Japan
Japan caught in the U.S.-China geoeconomic crossfire
By Stephen R. Nagy
World
How China and U.S. navigate the Strait of Hormuz stranglehold
By Imran Khalid
World
Containing Ebola is hard. The U.S. made it worse
By Lisa Jarvis
Japan
Why the Trump-Xi summit ended in an impasse
By Matthew Fulco
Read more Opinion stories
How Japan’s new ’blue tickets’ are putting cycling parents on edge
A father carries a child on a <i>mamachari</i> bicycle in September 2018. Parents say the new “blue ticket” system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
In first for Japanese, Tao Okamoto shares Best Actress award at Cannes
Japan&#039;s Tao Okamoto and Belgium&#039;s Virginie Efira, co-winners of the best actress award for their roles in the film "All of a Sudden," celebrate during the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on Saturday.
China squeezes Japan over rare earths in repeat of 2010 showdown
Since ‌December, Chinese ‌exports of rare earth minerals like dysprosium, terbium and yttrium oxide, as ​well as specialty metal gallium, to Japan have stopped except for a few tiny shipments of yttrium, Chinese customs data shows.
Survey begins to determine remote island’s suitability for nuclear disposal site
Minamitorishima has no resident population and is off-limits to the general public.
At Kawasaki’s ‘penis festival,’ phalluses are vessels of compassion
For one April Sunday each year, the otherwise working class city of Kawasaki becomes host to one of Japan&#039;s most unusual-looking festivals.
At Kawasaki’s ‘penis festival,’ phalluses are vessels of compassion
For one April Sunday each year, the otherwise working class city of Kawasaki becomes host to one of Japan&#039;s most unusual-looking festivals.
Tochigi murder-robbery case reflects ‘tokuryū’ adapting to crackdowns
A teenager (center, wearing sandals) arrested for his involvement in a murder-robbery case is sent to prosecutors on May 16 in the city of Shimotsuke, in Tochigi Prefecture.
What will the LDP’s new National Power Research Group become?
Katsunobu Kato, chairman of the National Power Research Group, addresses the group&#039;s inaugural meeting held at the parliamentary building in Tokyo on Thursday.
How Japan’s new ’blue tickets’ are putting cycling parents on edge
A father carries a child on a <i>mamachari</i> bicycle in September 2018. Parents say the new “blue ticket” system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
Hirokazu Kore-eda says human imagination still matters in the age of AI
A couple (played by Haruka Ayase, right, and the mononymous Daigo) struggling to come to terms with the death of their son welcome a humanoid (Rimu Kuwaki, center) modeled after their child in “Sheep in the Box.”

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
He told his wife he was ‘coming home.’ Then he disappeared.
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A look back at Destination Restaurants 2025 (Part 1) – Gastronomic tourism born of chefs’ collaborations
A look back at Destination Restaurants 2025 (Part 1) – Gastronomic tourism born of chefs’ collaborations

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

On London’s streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty
7 mins ago
Turkish police force ousted opposition out of headquarters as crisis deepens
39 mins ago
Philippine building collapses, trapping at least 30 people
51 mins ago
China launches crewed space flight as part of moon ambitions
1 hour ago
He told his wife he was ‘coming home.’ Then he disappeared.
2 hours ago