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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

BOJ Rate Hike Expectations Grow as Board Member Signals Hawkish Stance

Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Kazuyuki Masu signaled growing support for an interest rate hike, stating that the central bank should act quickly if Japans economy shows no clear signs of slowing down. His comments have...

Dollar Gains as Fed Rate Hike Bets Rise Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

The U.S. dollar strengthened on Thursday as rising Treasury yields fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates later this year. Investors also closely monitored the high-profile summit between...

Havana Protests Erupt as Cuba Faces Severe Blackouts and Fuel Crisis

Protests spread across Havana on Wednesday night as Cuba struggled through its worst electricity crisis in decades, with residents enduring rolling blackouts linked to an ongoing fuel shortage and tightened U.S. sanctions....

Asian Currencies Steady as Trump-Xi Summit, Inflation Concerns Boost Dollar

Asian currencies traded cautiously on Thursday as global investors closely monitored the high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time, persistent inflation...

Trump, Xi Begin High-Stakes China Summit Focused on Trade, Taiwan and Global Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a great leader and close friend as the two leaders opened a major summit in Beijing aimed at stabilizing U.S.-China relations amid rising geopolitical and...

Politics

Macron Faces Political Test Over Bank of France Nomination Ahead of 2027 Election

French President Emmanuel Macron is facing mounting political pressure as lawmakers prepare to vote next week on the appointment of his former chief of staff, Emmanuel Moulin, as the next governor of the Bank of France....

Nvidia’s China AI Chip Sales Remain Frozen Despite U.S. Approval

Nvidias efforts to expand AI chip sales in China remain stalled even after the U.S. approved several Chinese technology giants to purchase the companys H200 processors. Although around 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba,...

Elon Musk’s China Influence Faces New Challenges Amid Rising EV Competition

Elon Musk continues to hold a powerful yet increasingly complicated position in China as Tesla faces growing pressure from local electric vehicle manufacturers and tighter scrutiny from Chinese regulators. Despite...

Taiwan Independence Debate: China, U.S., and Taipei Tensions Explained

Chinas President Xi Jinping recently warned that disagreements over Taiwan could seriously damage U.S.-China relations, once again placing the Taiwan independence issue at the center of global politics. Taiwan, officially...

Japan Considers Extra Budget Aid Amid Rising Fuel and Utility Costs

Japans government is considering compiling a supplementary budget to help households struggling with rising gasoline and utility prices as the ongoing Middle East crisis continues to fuel uncertainty in global energy...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Alibaba Stock Surges After Strong Q4 Earnings Boosted by AI and Cloud Growth

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (HK:9988) saw its Hong Kong-listed shares jump sharply on Thursday after the Chinese e-commerce and technology giant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings driven by strong momentum in...

SoftBank Shares Slide Despite Record Q4 Profit Fueled by OpenAI Investment

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares dropped sharply on Thursday despite the company reporting blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings, as investors grew increasingly concerned about the Japanese tech giants expanding...

OpenAI Finds No Evidence of User Data Breach in TanStack npm Supply-Chain Attack

OpenAI confirmed on Wednesday that it found no evidence suggesting user data was compromised following a security incident linked to the TanStack npm package, a widely used open-source JavaScript library. The issue stemmed...

SK Hynix Nears $1 Trillion Market Value Amid South Korea’s AI-Driven Stock Market Surge

SK Hynix is rapidly approaching a historic $1 trillion market capitalization, only weeks after Samsung Electronics achieved the same milestone. The remarkable rise highlights South Koreas growing dominance in the global...

Cisco Restructures for AI Growth After Record Q3 Revenue

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced a major business restructuring focused on artificial intelligence and high-growth technology sectors after reporting record third-quarter revenue that exceeded Wall Street...