Rena Singer covers Japan for GlobalPost. Since 2007, Singer has lived in Japan where she is watching the slow emancipation of women, the nation's transformation from Asian powerhouse to bit player in the story of China's economic miracle, and the country's struggle to reform its economy while trying to maintain control of key economic forces. She also works for the Japanese national broadcaster, NHK, and as a contributing editor and writer for KIE, Japan's premier arts and culture magazine. She also contributes to the Philadelphia Inquirer and US News and World Report. In 2005, Singer moved to the Middle East where she filed for the Philadelphia Inquirer from both sides of the Green Line. From 2000 until 2005, she filed stories from Africa for USA Today, US News and World Report, the Christian Science Monitor, and a variety of smaller publications. She wrote about the royal family of Swaziland, the orphans of South Africa and the despot of Zimbabwe among other issues. She started her journalism career in 1992, freelancing for the Detroit News and the Ann Arbor News while receiving her master's degree in journalism from the University of Michigan.