Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a press conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4, 2025.

Is Sanae Takaichi Japan’s Margaret Thatcher – or its next Liz Truss?

Takaichi’s victory signals a party operating in crisis mode.

2 months ago

When job hugging becomes a way of survival

The measure of development success should not stop at lower unemployment, it also must include the improvement of job quality. ...

2 months ago

Academia

Rice self-sufficiency and the future of Indonesia’s food sovereignty

Indonesia may have fertile land and modern technology, but lacks the human capital to sustain food sovereignty as the young generation sees farming as low-status and low-return. ...

2 months ago

The Latest

A Bajo woman transports clean water in containers on a small boat on Oct. 3 in Bakti village, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi.

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Poverty paradox: Villages hold the key to future prosperity

While cities enjoy an accelerated digital economic transformation, villages lag behind in a slower growth cycle.

2 months ago

A woman watches over her son on Oct. 2, at Lubuk Basung Regional General Hospital in Agam, West Sumatra, where he is receiving treatment for a foodborne illness allegedly contracted after consuming food provided through the free nutritious meal program.

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MBG: When children are reduced to numbers, dehumanization follows

When thousands of sick children are dismissed as a “small number”, we are not just misrepresenting data, we are negating the very value of life itself.

2 months ago

In this picture taken on October 19, 2023, former Surakarta mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of then-president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo, attends a public hearing with members of the regional council in Surakarta, Central Java.

Academia

Dynasties still dominate Southeast Asian politics

Dynasties are central to Southeast Asian politics as parties are weak, patronage is entrenched and family names are the most durable political brands.

2 months ago

Rohingya men collect recyclable waste on Aug. 26, 2025, at the Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Academia

Why Bangladesh must reclaim leverage on the Rohingya

Dhaka must make a decisive shift toward a pragmatic pursuit of its own interests, primarily national security and stability, and aim to leverage its role in the Rohingya issue to bring an end to the crisis, not manage it indefinitely in relative isolation.

2 months ago

Children take a photo aboard a Hercules military aircraft on Oct. 5, 2025, during an open day at the Indonesian Air Force base at Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, West Java.

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TNI modernization moves beyond procurement

The centralization of the MRO system under the Defense Ministry and the restructured Defense Logistics Agency has created strong momentum toward enhancing readiness, balancing modernization with maintenance for military capabilities that correspond to today’s volatile geopolitical environment.

2 months ago

(From left to right) President Prabowo Subianto, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United States President Donald Trump attend a multilateral meeting on Sept. 23 to discuss the situation in Gaza on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

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Indonesia can support two-state solution without recognizing Israel

Indonesia and Israel already maintain trade relations despite the absence of diplomatic ties, showing that Indonesia can treat Israel’s existence as a fait accompli.

2 months ago

An activist holds a poster with an image of Muhammad Farhan Hamid, a protester who went missing in late August during the string of anti-government protests in Jakarta, during a vigil on Sept. 30, 2025, in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta.

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The making or breaking of democracy

An international group focusing on safeguarding our freedoms and rights, supported by dozens of Nobel laureates, shines a light of hope against the shadow of democratic backsliding that is falling over human societies across the globe.

2 months ago

Police motorcades escort vehicles carrying Indonesian flags and the replicas of the Proclamation Text at the National Monument (Monas) on Aug. 10, 2024, in Jakarta. (Courtesy of State Secretariat Ministry)

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Indonesia: Guardian of world peace

While the Indonesian Military (TNI) is naturally at the forefront of Indonesia’s peacekeeping identity, it is crucial to recognize that the National Police also play a significant role.

2 months ago

Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers hold harvested rice paddy during a grand harvest event with TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra on July 10, 2025.

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Indonesia's defense overstretch dilemma

Transforming Indonesia's Defense Ministry into a "War Ministry" could refocus the TNI on combat readiness by delegating non-military tasks to civilians.

2 months ago

A local official carries Muhammad Nizam, 13, a student diagnosed with food poisoning after eating a meal provided through the government-sponsored free nutritious meal program, at a makeshift clinic set up on Sept. 25, 2025, at a district building in Bandung, West Java.

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Parasites at the nation’s table

The free nutritious meal program is another link in the chain of systemic parasitism, through which well-connected figures and business entities fatten themselves at human and moral costs, this time affecting our youngest and most vulnerable.

2 months ago

A clerk counts United States banknotes on May 22, 2024, at a money changer in Jakarta.

Academia

US dollar still dominates foreign exchange markets despite Trump’s economic chaos

History tells us that dominant currencies change slowly.

2 months ago

Representations of bitcoin are seen in this illustration picture taken in Paris, France, on March 9, 2024.

Academia

The complex financial landscape transformation

We are undergoing complex, multidimensional simultaneous, interactive systems change

2 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announce the 'political agreement' of the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) on July 14, in Brussels.

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The only way is up: Why EU-ASEAN trade is headed for success

Trump’s sweeping tariffs have arguably spurred both regions into action, with governments quickly realizing the need to secure reliable and long-lasting trade partnerships amid rising protectionism and shifting alliances.

2 months ago

A volunteer plants mangrove seedlings on June 26 at a beach that was devastated by the boxing day 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami at Kajhu on the outskirts of Banda Aceh.

Academia

Asia demands a new playbook for philanthropy, collaboration and leadership

The convergence of climate change, food insecurity, technological disruption and conflict is creating a series of overlapping shocks that exacerbate one another, striking hardest at Asia’s most vulnerable communities.

2 months ago

Visitors peruse job vacancy information at JobFest 2025 on Aug. 19 at the Jakarta International Velodrome, Jakarta. The Jakarta administration, through the job fair, helped to offer around 2,000 vacancies from 37 companies.

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Graduate unemployment, what has gone wrong?

Indonesia needs a model that values skilled workers, fair compensation and sustainable growth, which allows businesses to strengthen the economy while fostering loyalty and creativity among young professionals.

2 months ago

Primary guidance: A teacher checks a student’s work on Oct. 2, 2025 at SDN Sudirman II elementary school in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

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Can school become a safe place for children?

Enhancing social safety within the school requires not only the increase of knowledge but also teaching awareness and skills.

2 months ago

Powerful solution: A technician inspects a rooftop solar power plant (PLTS) on Sept. 8, 2025 at Trans Studio Mall in Bandung, West Java. Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that as of July 2025, rooftop PLTS have reached a combined installed capacity of 538 megawatt peak across 10,882 customers.

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When Washington denies, Jakarta commits

Prabowo and Trump are populist leaders, yet their positions on the issue of climate crisis could not be more sharply opposed.

2 months ago

An aerial view shows Rohingya refugees' Balukhali camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on August 26, 2025.

Academia

How the world can resolve the Rohingya crisis

Myanmar is fractured, the Arakan Army has little incentive to compromise without external guarantees, and the scars between communities run deep.

2 months ago

Protestors wave the Red and White flag and the Straw Hat Pirates flag from Japanese manga ‘One Piece’ on Aug. 29, 2025, during a rally outside the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman.

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Civilian police, public trust and the Brimob paradox

The new police reform efforts underway since the August-September protests must clearly delineate the steps toward rebuilding a civilian policing institution, in particular redefining the role and functions of the National Police’s paramilitary Brimob unit.

2 months ago

Israeli soldiers patrol the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border on Sept. 30, 2025.

Academia

The 5 big problems with Trump’s Gaza peace plan

There are many outstanding questions about the feasibility of the plan and to what extent it is likely to be successful.

2 months ago

The office building of Bank Indonesia (BI) stands out in Jakarta’s forest of concrete on Feb. 26, 2020.

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Why the President must shake up the financial sector

The revised Financial Sector Development and Strengthening (P2SK) Law must expand BI’s KPIs to include productive lending, employment and money supply relative to GDP.

2 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold hands on Jan. 25, 2025, as they arrive for a pre-meeting photo-op at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

Academia

The unbreakable Indonesia-India bond

With their shared history and values, collaboration in higher education and research is the next pivotal step in strengthening the long-established bridge between the two countries.

2 months ago

Cargo ships and shipping containers are seen at the Port Jersey Container Terminal, with the Manhattan skyline and the One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower) in the distance, in New Jersey, United States, on Sept. 22, 2025.

Academia

How to explain US’ 4 percent growth and no jobs

As we enter the final quarter of a turbulent 2025, one of the biggest puzzles of the moment is how the US economy is growing at almost 4 percent without creating any jobs.

2 months ago

Academia

Faith and corruption: Why morality starts in early childhood

One way to tackle the country's endemic corruption is investing in early childhood, when fairness and empathy are wired in the brain.

2 months ago

Workers carry sacks of rice at a wholesale market in Jakarta, on Sept. 22, 2025.

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The rice obsession: Why Indonesia must break the cycle

Rice is politically central but economically stagnant, consuming vast fiscal resources while failing to deliver prosperity for farmers or affordable food for consumers.

2 months ago

A general view shows Thai MPs and members of the government at the Thai Parliament in Bangkok on March 26, 2025.

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Letter to Editor: Thai ambassador responds

Thailand’s ambassador to Indonesia rebuts The Jakarta Post’s Sept. 15 editorial, arguing it oversimplifies the nation’s politics, stressing the resilience of Thai democracy, the non-political role of the monarchy, the independence of its institutions and Thailand’s constructive role in ASEAN.

2 months ago

Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution by Russia and China to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City, the United States, on Sept. 26, 2025.

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Do or die for the United Nations

The organization is marking its anniversary in a world scarred by brutal and widespread conflicts, deep inequalities and injustice, flagrant violations of human rights and looming existential threats.

2 months ago

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