Japan's Crown Prince Fumihito (center) leaves with his wife Crown Princess Kiko (center, right) after visiting the Hagia Sofia Mosque in Istanbul, on Dec. 5, 2024.

Japan’s complex and forgotten ties with Islam

A false rumor started in the early 20th century that the Japanese emperor would convert to Islam. It helped Japan build alliances with Muslims across Asia.

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Hidden inequality in Indonesia’s new university accreditation system

Do we measure the quality of education or the institution’s ability to prove quality? ...

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Mining sector: From growth engine to growth constraint

As many industry insiders feared, the mining sector's performance has weakened further, locking it into negative territory for the first half of the year. ...

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An automated lithium-ion battery production line operates on Nov. 11, 2025, at a workshop of Zhejiang Shineway Technology Co Ltd in Yongkang, Zhejiang province, China.

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The extractive trap has a green exit

For five centuries, raw materials have flowed out of Africa and Brazil at low cost to be used as inputs elsewhere, often returning to their source countries embedded in expensive finished goods.

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Indonesian victims of human trafficking in Myanmar arrive at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten on Feb. 28, 2025, after being flown from Thailand following their handover by the Myanmar regime to Thailand. Myanmar handed over 84 Indonesians to Thailand on Feb. 27, officials said, the latest group of alleged scam center workers set to be repatriated from the region.

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Regional action is a must to combat human trafficking

Rather than delivering justice to victims, authorities have normalized, and often downplayed, their suffering, frequently misclassifying victims as perpetrators.

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Humanoid robots controlled by a remote control by Unitree Robotics take part in a fight during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 18, 2026.

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AI could end Wall Street’s EPS obsession

Investors are focusing more on tangible results: cash flow.

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Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro (left) shows the way to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila, on July 22, 2026.

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Why Beijing must play a long game in South China Sea

Why must China constantly attempt to prove its stature? What drives it to project superior force at every turn to assert its claims?

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The urgent need to protect academic integrity

Governance gap leaves academic freedom vulnerable to exploitation because academic repositories and open scholarly platforms operate on trust.

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State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, third right, accompanied by Bank Indonesia deputy governors, speaks during a press conference on the resignation of Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo in Jakarta on July 27, 2026.

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Monetary policy credibility: Is independence a necessary condition?

Some are insisting that the new governor must be independent, which usually gets defined, rather narrowly, as someone able to say no. It is worth asking whether that is really the binding condition.

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People celebrate during New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inauguration ceremony in New York City, the United States, on Jan. 1, 2026.

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Can progressives deliver economic growth?

At a time of historic inequality and inadequate public investment, the kind of redistributive policies promoted by politicians on the left are badly needed.

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Members of the Cimahi Clown Community distribute free meals to new pupils during the school orientation program at the SD Cibeber state elementary school complex in Cimahi, West Java, on July 14, 2026.

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The costs of ‘execution first, planning later’

It is true that a hefty share of public spending went into FGDs, seminars and workshops that produced little. But his own government now suffers the opposite failure of executing before it plans, then improvising the plan as the execution collapses. Yet the damage is already done, heavily.

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A mechanic installs electric components on Jan. 12, 2024 while converting an internal combustion engine motorcycle into an electric one at the Bintang Racing Team garage in Bogor regency, West Java.

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Everybody wants energy security post the Iran war, but how?

The lasting legacy of the Iran war will likely be a renewed impetus for energy-importing nations to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels.

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A mangrove forest is seen on Oct. 28, 2025, in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.

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Mangrove recovery offers hope for coasts

For the first time, these unique ecosystems are expanding at a faster rate than they are declining.

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A woman carries water containers to collect free clean water distributed by the regional disaster agency in a drought-hit area during the dry season, amid forecasts that El Niño may contribute to drier-than-normal conditions, in Rido Galuh village, Bekasi regency, West Java on July 16, 2026.

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Clean water for all: Building inclusive water services

Droughts expose who gets left behind when basic public services aren't built for everyone.

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A nickel mining site encroaches upon a forest on April 16, 2025, where members of the Hongana Manyawa indigenous tribe regularly patrol to monitor mining activity in East Halmahera, North Maluku.

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The ‘londo ireng’ state: How Indonesia betrays its indigenous peoples

Modern colonialism no longer arrives in wooden warships or under foreign flags. It sits in executive offices, speaks the national language and cloaks itself in the slick rhetoric of "national development."

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A worker produces photovoltaic (PV) modules for solar panels in a factory in Suqian, east China's Jiangsu province on Jan. 23, 2025

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Who should build the low-carbon economy?

The geographical diversification of technological innovation has remained more of a dream than a reality.

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Demonstrators hold a banner that reads “Papua is not empty land” as they rally in front of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry in South Jakarta on Oct. 7, 2025, against a plan to release forest areas in South Papua for national strategic projects on food, energy and defense.

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In the age of AI, we need ancient intelligence

As the country rushes headlong into AI, what is being left behind is the age-old wisdom that has been a cornerstone of human civilization for millennia: When entering someone's home, we knock first to obtain their permission, and we don't barge in anyway if they turn us down.

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A smartphone displays the icons of some of the main artificial intelligence based apps, including LLMs, chatbots and generative AI, on July 15 in Saint-Mande, France.

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Data-center reality check could slam brakes on AI earnings boom

US corporate earnings are already running almost 60 percent above trend, with rapid growth still expected for years, mostly thanks to the AI boom. But the questionable economics of new AI data centers could pop this bubble.

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The hands of robot and human toys reach out to each other in front of a sign for artificial intelligence, in this illustration created on Dec. 14, 2023.

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AI psychosis: Could it happen in Indonesia?

While the country already has a regulation on digital child protection, the rapid advent of artificial intelligence and its growing integration in children's lives requires a shared effort by all stakeholders to instill safe and responsible use, especially among vulnerable individuals.

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An Indonesian passport peeks out of a backpack in this stock illustration.

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Patriotism needs no permission

Amid the ongoing commotion regarding the draft law on citizenship, perhaps it is time to hearken back to the wisdom of Ibu Pertiwi, our national personification, in revising our policies so they welcome back all who claim Indonesian roots with open arms.

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Foreign Minister Sugiono (third right) stands with his regional counterparts (from left) Myanmar's Hau Khan Sum, Malaysia’s Mohamad Hasan, Thailand's Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Timor-Leste's Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Vietnam's deputy minister Dang Hoang Giang, the Philippine’s Theresa Lazaro, Singapore's Vivian Balakrishnan, Brunei's Prince Abdul Mateen Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prak Sokhonn and Laos' Thongsavanh Phomvihane, along with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn (right), for a “family photo” on July 21, 2026, during the opening ceremony of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Manila.

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Building an ASEAN that delivers: Why centrality requires capacity

ASEAN’s 60th anniversary next year offers an occasion for both reflecting on the progress it has made thus far and considering the transformative efforts it must undertake to fulfill one of its founder's visions: a Southeast Asia that stands on its own feet.

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A worker produces photovoltaic (PV) modules for solar panels on Jan. 23, 2025, in a factory in Suqian, Jiangsu province, China.

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Tearing down the currency wall

Most of the world seems to misunderstand why global capital is not financing the developing world’s climate transition.

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Manager candidates of the Red and White Cooperatives march in full camo outfits on July 31, 2026, prior to attending the closing ceremony for the Defense Ministry’s Bachelor of Indonesian Development Drivers (SPPI) degree program at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta.

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What kind of leaders does Indonesia want?

While a public service academy has a place in the education ecosystem, nurturing future leaders that can navigate the country's positioning in the global arena of technology, innovation and business doesn't require building a whole new institution.

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Racks of graphics processing units (GPUs) with a closed-loop liquid cooling system are seen on Feb. 4 inside an operational Microsoft data center in Karawang, West Java.

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A new paradigm for foreign direct investment

Does foreign investment genuinely strengthen Indonesia's industrial capabilities, technological base and global competitiveness - or is it simply taking advantage of the country's large domestic market?

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President Prabowo Subianto (right) looks on as Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reacts to elementary schoolchildren waving Thai and Indonesian flags on Aug. 3, 2026, during a ceremony to welcome the Thai leader’s visit to Jakarta.

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What Bangkok and Jakarta can teach each other about political survival

The recent bilateral summit in Jakarta was a master class in Southeast Asian statecraft, where the visiting Thai premier and the hosting Indonesian president showed off their diplomatic chops in the art of political survival.

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A social aid recipient (right) receives a sack of rice from the government's food reserves distribution program at the Dumai Post Office in Riau on Oct. 29, 2024.

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The long game: Why politics, not evidence alone, drives welfare reform in Indonesia

Democratic governments can pursue long-term improvements without abandoning politically salient commitments to social welfare.

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People join an Al Quds Day rally in New York’s Times Square on March 13, 2026, to express support for Palestinians and object to the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran.

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America’s Israel debate has changed. Indonesia must notice

As American public opinion changes inexorably regarding their country's policy toward Israel, Indonesians should pay heed to how the voices of ordinary voters may ultimately redefine the future of US policy toward Palestine.

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Remnants of signage for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are seen on Dec. 29, 2025, on the facade of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center building in Washington, DC.

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Foreign aid's next chapter: Better delivery, not retreat

This is a moment not to discard decades of progress in learning how to deliver aid but to reconsider priorities and demand greater accountability.

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The right lurch of Malaysia: ASEAN should watch it with care

As the political center of Peninsular Malaysia shifts rightward, preserving the nation’s fragile multiethnic balance is becoming a crucial test, not just for its federation but for the stability of ASEAN.

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