JAPAN: INCREASING THE APPETITE FOR BAGGING ALL THAT PLASTIC
AGNES CHONG WRITES — Can the Plastic Resource Circulation Strategy put an end to the extensive amount of plastic embedded in Japan’s food culture? In Japan, food has both cultural and gastronomic appeal. A key element of the national food is its appearance, emphasizing arrangement and stylization as well as…
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INDIA: CAN CRICKET BUILD A US FANBASE TO RIVAL THE NFL?
RYAN BYRNE – Invented nearly one thousand years ago and spread around the world by English colonists, cricket is one of the most popular sports globally. From England to Australia, Afghanistan to India, the sport is played, watched and loved by millions. While cricket has a massive following, especially in…
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SOUTH KOREA: BASEBALL GOLD
TRISTIN CLINT WRITES – October is the culmination of a long baseball season, with the potential for team jubilance at winning the championship or the despair of final defeat. Look towards either side of the Pacific Ocean and you will see the glorious moments of postseason baseball that both fans…
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BOOK REVIEW: DEAD-END MEMORIES (2022) BY BANANA YOSHIMOTO – A MEDITATION ON MODERN LOVE
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Why do people assume relationships could ever make logical sense? Love and relationships – the shimmering red strings that tie humans together – are convoluted at best. At their most devastating, they are temporary and ephemeral, like the changing ginkgo leaves that pile on the…
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SAUDI ARABIA’S ‘VISION 2030’: A PROMISE GETTING CLOSER
ABDULLAH AL HAJERI WRITES – A vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation-these are the three pillars of Saudi Arabia’s mapped-out expansion of its 2030 Vision, a vision increasingly under world scrutiny. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman’s 2030 vision, which includes reduced carbon…
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PAKISTAN: FLOODS OF GRIEF FOLLOWING THE MONSOONS
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – 2010 and now 2022… Pakistan is devastated by floods once again. Millions of lives are affected, with over a thousand dead, including pregnant women and children. These monsoon rains and floods came after the deadly heatwave that may have exacerbated the conditions for the flooding. Satellite…
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JAPAN: CAN ONLINE THERAPY TRANSFORM OUR MENTAL HEALTH LANDSCAPE?
AGNES CHONG WRITES — Can the rising popularity of online therapy transform the current landscape of mental health practice in Japan? Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, online healthcare services were considered a risky niche practice, but now telehealth has emerged as a prominent force in the healthcare industry—especially…
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IRAN: WORLD CUP PLAYERS CALL FOUL ON THEIR GOVERNMENT’S POLICIES
BENJAMIN BARRETT WRITES – On Sept. 13th, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was taken by the Iran morality police, enforcers of traditional Islamic behavior and dress, for incorrectly wearing a head covering. Sadly, Amini died in their custody, leaving many to believe that the morality police were responsible for her death. This…
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SINGAPORE: CAN THIS SMALL SPOT ON THE GLOBE MAKE IT BIG IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT?
ALEXANDER KYDONIEFS WRITES – Will Singapore’s MDA (Media Development Authority, which promotes and regulates Singapore media), be able to achieve its masterplan, “Media 21,” and transform the nation-state into a global media powerhouse? Could MDA, in fact, help cinema become Singapore’s newest key sector, as well as create over 10,000…
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BOOK REVIEW: FISH SWIMMING IN DAPPLED SUNLIGHT (2022) BY RIKU ONDA – WHO IS THE KILLER?
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Japanese suspense author, Riku Onda, presents us with a psychological thriller that spans the course of a single night. A man and woman decide to spend one final evening together in their shared Tokyo apartment before going their separate ways. Over the course…
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BOOK REVIEW: I’LL GO ON (2018) – DAY WILL BREAK BEFORE LONG
SARAH LOHMANN WRITES – “Does it hurt?” When we hear this question, it is often with an urgent or melancholic tone. Korean author Jungeun Hwang frames the question differently when it is asked of thirteen-year-old Nana by her childhood friend Naghi after he strikes her across the cheek. She confirms it does…
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OPINION: HOW THE US, NOT JUST RUSSIA, HELPED BRING THE WORLD CLOSER TO NUCLEAR WAR
This column originally appeared on October 5, 2022, in the South China Morning Post. CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES – To lose one’s sense of decency by raising the threat of nuclear weapons just once – here we’re talking directly to you, Mr. Vladimir Putin – may be dismissed as…
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JAPAN: HOOP DREAMS COME ALIVE AT THE SAITAMA SUPER ARENA
TRISTIN CLINT WRITES – The NBA Japan Games 2022 concluded this past weekend with the Golden State Warriors winning both exhibition games over the Washington Wizards. This two-game set, which began September 30th, marked not only the sixteenth NBA game that Japan has hosted, but the first to be played…
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PHILIPPINES: LIKE FATHER, NOT LIKE SON
MOHAMMED ALKANDARI WRITES – Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. needed only a few months, after his swearing in as the 17th president of the Philippines, to prove that he would be a better leader than his dictatorial father. As the son of a tyrant synonymous with violence and corruption, Marcos Jr.…
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MOVIE REVIEW: NOT HOLLYWOOD, NOT BOLLYWOOD, BUT TOLLYWOOD’S “RRR” IS MAKING INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
BENJAMIN BARRETT WRITES – If you haven’t already seen it, you have probably heard of it. RRR is one of the most globally successful movies today. Released in theaters across the world in March 2022, it has only in the past few months become popular in the United States. Directed…
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CHINA: ONE PODCAST TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH
RYAN BYRNE WRITES – In recent years, the rhetoric between China and the United States has grown more intense. A trade war, endless diplomatic wrangling over the South China Sea and conflicts with Taiwan have helped make China a point of political interest for more and more Americans. As the…
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