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Alessandro Poletto

Lecturer in East Asian Religions, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
Alessandro Poletto (he/they) specializes in the social and religious history of premodern Japan, with an emphasis on Buddhism in the early medieval period (tenth to the thirteenth century). He earned his PhD from Columbia University in 2020 with a dissertation entitled “The Culture of Healing in Early Medieval Japan: A Study in Premodern Epistemology,” in which he examined discourses and practices concerning healing and disease, with particular attention to the relationship between Buddhist healers and other technicians involved in the treatment of illness, namely court physicians and onmyōji. His other research and teaching interests include the understanding and ritual resolution of natural disasters in premodern East Asia, the history of the cultural exchanges between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, and Buddhist material culture and archeology in East Asia.

His current research focuses on the material and textual dimensions of various types of deposits — within statues or under the ground — in order to get a grasp of Buddhism as practiced by lay Buddhists in early medieval Japan. Dedicatory or votive materials discovered inside Buddhist statues or in underground deposits (commonly known as kyōzuka) illustrate the motivations behind the undertaking of a certain burial of sutras, or the production of a copy of a specific sutra, allowing us to see the hopes, aspirations and anxieties of the people engaging in such practices, but also the ways in which they attempted to shape their destinies, and those of deceased dear ones, through their dedicatory good acts.

Before joining Washington University, Alessandro was a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Kyoto University. He holds a B.A. from the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” and an M.A. from Osaka University.

Economy

RBA Set for Back-to-Back Rate Hikes, Westpac Forecasts

Westpac economists have revised their outlook for Australian monetary policy, now predicting the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates by 25 basis points at both its March and May meetings. If realized, the...

Bank of Japan Expected to Hold Rates at 0.75% Before June Hike Amid Middle East War Uncertainty

A recent Reuters poll of 64 economists confirmed that the Bank of Japan will hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75% during its March 19 meeting, with a likely increase to 1.00% by the end of June. These...

Asia FX Steady as Iran War Signals and U.S. Inflation Data Weigh on Sentiment

Most Asian currencies traded within narrow ranges on Wednesday as investors weighed conflicting signals surrounding the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran while bracing for critical U.S. inflation figures. Traders largely...

Asian Stock Markets Rise as Oil Prices Pull Back; U.S. CPI in Focus

Asian stock markets posted modest gains on Wednesday, buoyed by a retreat in oil prices after a turbulent start to the week driven by escalating Middle East tensions. Investors, however, remained cautious ahead of a...

Dollar Steadies as Traders Await Clarity on U.S.-Israel-Iran War

Global currency markets held their breath on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar maintained its position while traders waited for clearer signals about the trajectory of the U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran. The ongoing...

Politics

Shots Fired at U.S. Consulate in Toronto in Suspected National Security Incident

Canadian authorities have ramped up security measures around American and Israeli diplomatic buildings following a early-morning shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto. Prime Minister Mark Carney swiftly condemned the...

Israel-Iran War: Herzog Urges Patience as U.S. and Israeli Strikes Intensify

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has declined to provide a timeline for ending the ongoing conflict with Iran, emphasizing the need for a decisive and lasting outcome rather than a rushed resolution. Speaking to Germanys...

Trump Administration Spent $5.6 Billion in Munitions in Opening Days of Iran Strikes

The Trump administration disclosed to congressional committees that it expended $5.6 billion worth of munitions within the first 48 hours of its military strikes against Iran, according to a source with knowledge of the...

Ukraine Strikes Russian Missile Component Factory in Bryansk Using British Weapons

Ukrainian forces carried out a precision strike on a key Russian defense manufacturing plant in the Bryansk border region on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed. The targeted facility, known as the Kremniy El...

Boeing Secures $289 Million Smart Bomb Contract With Israel

Boeing has signed a $289 million defense contract with Israel to supply up to 5,000 air-launched smart bombs, according to a source who spoke with Reuters. The deal covers Boeings Small Diameter Bomb, a precision-guided...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Anduril Industries Acquires ExoAnalytic Solutions to Bolster Space Defense Capabilities

Anduril Industries has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions, a national security firm specializing in space situational awareness and missile defense technology. The move signals Andurils...

Nintendo Stock Surges 10% as Pokémon Pokopia Breaks Sales Records

Nintendo shares climbed sharply on Wednesday, with Nintendo Co Ltd (TYO:7974) jumping 10% to 10,035 yen, landing among the top performers on the Nikkei 225 index, which itself gained 2.7%. The surge came on the back of...

Amazon Invests $535 Million in Brisbane Robotics Fulfillment Center

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced a major A$750 million (approximately $535 million USD) investment to build a cutting-edge robotics-driven fulfillment center in Brisbane, Australia. Slated for completion in...

Microsoft Backs Anthropic in Legal Fight Against Pentagon's AI Blacklist

Microsoft has stepped into a high-profile legal battle between AI startup Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense, filing an amicus brief in federal court in San Francisco to support Anthropics request for a temporary...

U.S. Senate Greenlights AI Chatbots for Official Staff Use

The United States Senate has officially approved three major artificial intelligence chatbots for use by congressional staff, marking a significant step in the adoption of AI technology within the federal government....