Generational shifts are changing how people in Japan and the U.S. get news and perceive the world, with younger generations showing different attitudes, particularly toward China, compared with older generations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/07/japan/a-generational-shift-is-upon-us/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #foreignministry #china #us #sanaetakaichi #taiwan #chinajapanrelations
By fostering the skills people need to make use of AI and building institutions that enable them to apply those skills creatively, Asia's economies can unlock new sources of inclusive, durable growth. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/05/world/is-ai-asias-growth-engine/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #asia #jobs #ai #artificialintelligence #aging #asianeconomy
Japan should cut Upper House seats and expand the Lower House to 550 single-seat districts to end voter disparity and consolidate the 47 prefectures into nine regional blocks to make government more efficient. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/05/japan/right-sizing-the-diet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #jip #komeito #sanseito #japanesecommunistparty #constitutionaldemocraticpartyofjapan #democraticpartyforthepeople #sanaetakaichi
Fossil fuels like propane and isobutane, commonly used for BBQs, are helping replace potent HFC refrigerants, significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions and showing that practical solutions can slow global warming. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/05/world/bbq-gas-cools-a-warming-planet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #cop30 #hfcs #co2 #carbondioxide #greenhousegasses #climatechange #globalwarming #pollution
Autonomies: **Ian Alan Paul: What Is a Repertoire?**
https://autonomies.org/2025/12/ian-alan-paul-what-is-a-repertoire/
From Ill Will (01/12/25) Ian Alan Paul’s The Reticular Society offers a situationist-inspired critique of how the logic of optimized computation and networked calculation has expanded and deepened the capitalist project of exploitation and domination. As Paul shows, the more … Continue reading →
#Commentary #IanAlanPaul
To avoid being sidelined geopolitically, Europe must prioritize rearmament, recognize common threats like Putin’s Russia and find ways to project power effectively outside traditional EU mechanisms. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/03/world/europes-wrong-eu-poweplay/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #eu #europe #russia #ukraine #russiaukrainewar #defense #us #nato
Japan’s "oshikatsu" culture is booming despite inflation, with fans spending heavily on idols and characters in a way that now drives a multitrillion-yen market and even draws the attention of the central bank. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/japans-inflation-proof-economy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #boj #inflation #japaneseeconomy #anime #manga #teenagegirls #akb48 #shoheiohtani #oshikatsu #stan #oshi
The assault by local Hong Kong authorities on press freedom undermined accountability before and after the housing-complex fire. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/world/unfree-press-and-hong-kongs-deadly-blaze/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #hongkong #wangfukcourt #china #chinesecommunistparty #appledaily #jimmylai #nextmagazine #southchinamorningpost #humanrightswatch #freepress
K-Pop and Korean entertainment are evolving into a global cultural force, expanding far beyond their local roots by embracing international talent and audiences, while staying true to their Korean identity. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/k-in-k-pop-is-already-silent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #kpop #kpopdemonhunters #jewelinthepalace #mylovefromanotherstar #descendantsofthesun #parasite #rain #bts #blackpink #
Britain’s property tax system is unfair and outdated, and a proportional national property tax could improve fairness, mobility and long-term economic growth. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/world/uks-irrational-property-taxes/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #uk #taxes #property #rachelreeves #london #mansiontax
Tokyo must be wary of antagonizing Beijing while not irritating Washington. The difficulty is finding the “just right” sweet spot. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/japan/navigating-japans-goldilocks-challenge/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #china #us #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #xijinping #minorukihara #trade #defense #taiwan
Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/peter-thiel-palantir-apocalypse-antichrist
#HackerNews #PeterThiel #ApocalypticWorldview #DangerousFantasy #TechCritique #Jacobin #Commentary
New social and technological “giants” like loneliness, addiction, distraction, lies and complexity threaten the West and coordinated government action is needed to restore social cohesion, focus and trust. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/world/government-must-restore-social-cohesion-focus-trust/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #ai #artificialintelligence #socialmedia #fivegiants #westernsocieties #thewest #us #sweden #finland #mentalhealth
If we act now — using science, policy reform and community engagement — coexistence with bears is still possible. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/japan/plan-to-address-japans-bear-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #tohoku #bears #animals #environmentministry #wildlife
The Catholic Church has a venerable tradition of leadership on pressing technological and social issues, and it is uniquely positioned to influence public debate and policymaking on AI. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/world/vatican-and-artificial-intelligence/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #vaticanartificialintelligence #ai #popeleoxiv #rerumnovarum #catholicchurch #inequality #religion
Currency forecasts are unreliable, as the yen’s recent weakness highlights the limits of intervention and the influence of narratives over economic fundamentals. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/28/japan/big-myth-about-weak-yen/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #yen #dollar #forex #japaneseeconomy #sanaetakaichi #timothygeithner
China achieved manufacturing dominance thanks to its weaker protections for workers, communities and the environment. Now it’s exporting that model. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/30/world/chinas-low-rights-model/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #indonesia #australia #us #europe #globalsouth #rareearths #chineseeconomy #asianeconomy #labor
The U.S. faces a growing national security risk due to heavy dependence on China for key pharmaceutical ingredients, prompting calls to diversify supply chains to reduce vulnerability to geopolitical or health crises. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/30/world/china-global-pharmaceuticals-card/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #drugs #medicine #supplychains #us #pharmaceuticals
Ukraine’s corruption probe, unfolding amid battlefield setbacks and pressure to accept a pro-Kremlin peace plan, shows the country is a functioning democracy with real accountability in contrast to Putin's Russia. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/30/world/ukraine-deserves-to-survive/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #corruption #russiaukrainewar #russia #ukraine #us #donaldtrump #vladimirputin #volodymyrzelenskyy
China’s central bank is resisting the global habit of cutting rates as insurance against economic risks, a cautious stance that may leave the economy vulnerable if current weaknesses worsen. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/26/world/dont-fight-fed-look-to-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #interestrates #chineseeconomy #pboc #pangongsheng #fed