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February 2020
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JAPAN

Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2020
Kyoto man tests positive for coronavirus, bringing number of Japan cases to 35
A man in his 20s in Kyoto Prefecture has tested positive for coronavirus, the health ministry said Wednesday evening, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 35.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2020
Japan won't seek to delay Xi's visit, Suga says, as virus spreads from China
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said that Japan is not planning to postpone a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping expected for early April.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
Lawmakers slammed for using coronavirus to justify emergency clause for Japan's Constitution, curbing rights
Some lawmakers, including representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, have made the case for a state of emergency clause to be added to the Constitution, basing their argument on the current crisis around the new coronavirus outbreak, drawing criticism from opposition parties.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2020
Ten passengers on quarantined cruise ship test positive for coronavirus
Fear of possible coronavirus infections on a cruise ship carrying about 3,700 people became reality Wednesday as 10 of 31 passengers tested positive for the virus.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2020
Naha goes on high alert, days after visit by virus-hit cruise ship
A Naha official said the municipal government was trying to verify whether any passengers who left the Diamond Princess had spread the virus while it was docked in the city.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2020
Swedish and American researchers named Japan Prize winners
The Japan Prize Foundation said Tuesday it will award the 2020 Japan Prize to two scientists from overseas for their contributions to research into Neanderthals and the development of fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless communications technology.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
JR East to test new app for reporting train gropers on notorious Saikyo Line
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said Tuesday that it has developed a smartphone app for sharing reports of train gropers that it will test on its Saikyo Line, notorious for the frequency of such incidents.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Hiroshima in August
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday he will visit Hiroshima in August for the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
Japan to improve how its passports show birth names of married citizens
The Foreign Ministry will change the way it records birth names in passports for those who adopt the surname of their spouse, in order to display both names more clearly, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
No-fly zone: Japan urging foreign nationals to be aware of drone rules
Japanese authorities are introducing a variety of measures to prevent the wrongful use of drones, which has been increasing due to many people being unfamiliar with regulations, especially tourists from abroad.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
A trip to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant: Full-body suits and three layers of socks
Reuters was recently given exclusive access to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, where three reactors melted down in 2011 after a powerful earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed the seaside facility.

ASIA PACIFIC

Three businessmen contract coronavirus after Singapore business conference, officials say
At least three Asian businessmen who attended an international conference at a Singapore hotel have contracted the coronavirus, Malaysian and South Korean authorities said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 5, 2020
Passengers and crew held on cruise ship in Hong Kong as authorities check for virus
More than 1,800 passengers and crew on a cruise ship that docked in Hong Kong on Wednesday were being kept on board while they were tested for a coronavirus after some crew reported fever, authorities said.
Japan Times
Coronavirus outbreak likely began with bats, an omen for next epidemic
Somewhere in China, perhaps in the southern Yunnan province, there's a cave that may hold the mysterious origins of the deadly coronavirus that's infected thousands, cut off millions of Chinese from their jobs and families and wreaked havoc in global financial markets.
Japan Times
Russia sets up Siberia quarantine to prepare for China virus spread
Russia said on Tuesday it was preparing for the potential spread of China's coronavirus as authorities closed schools and canceled public events in some regions, though officials attributed that simply to flu.
Japan Times
Brazil gets OK to send planes to evacuate citizens from virus-hit Wuhan
Brazil on Tuesday obtained authorization from China to fly two planes to the city of Wuhan at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak to evacuate Brazilian citizens who asked to be repatriated.

WORLD

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2020
Trump strikes defiant tone, using State of the Union to tout economic accomplishments
Donald Trump struck a triumphant tone in Tuesday's State of the Union address, staking his bid for re-election squarely on the U.S. economy and embracing the deep partisan rancor over his presidency on the eve of his likely acquittal in the Senate's impeachment trial.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2020
With Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, Iowa Democrats plot two futures
Bernie Sanders' strong showing in the Iowa caucuses had become the conventional wisdom. But Iowa politics is an expectations game, and Pete Buttigieg played it expertly.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2020
Inside the epic Iowa meltdown that paralyzed 2020 Democrats
The first signs of trouble in the Iowa Democratic caucuses emerged early Monday afternoon when a handful of county chairs had problems downloading and logging onto a new app designed to report results."A lot of us are going to be doing it on paper and calling it in," Kelcey Brackett, chairman of the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2020
Jamaica-bound jetliner returns to Toronto after passenger falsely claims he has coronavirus
A Canadian man on a flight from Toronto to Jamaica falsely announced to passengers that he had the coronavirus, forcing the plane to return to the airport, where he was arrested, police said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 5, 2020
Russia accuses Norway of restricting its activities on Arctic islands
Russia on Tuesday accused Norway of restricting its activities on a remote chain of islands in the Arctic and said it wanted talks with Oslo to have the issue resolved.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 5, 2020
Migrants and refugees on Greece's Lesbos chant for freedom in second day of protests
Hundreds of migrants rallied for a second day on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday to demand faster processing of asylum requests, while local residents staged a separate protest calling for the camps to close.

BUSINESS

BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2020
Cathay Pacific asks employees to take unpaid leave as virus hits demand
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways asked its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave, saying preserving cash was key for the carrier and that conditions were as grave as during the 2009 financial crisis due to the virus outbreak.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Bar and restaurant chain Watami to close all seven directly run eateries in mainland China
Bar and restaurant chain Watami Co. said Wednesday that it will close all seven directly run Watami brand eateries in mainland China in spring in the wake of the widespread outbreak of pneumonia blamed on a new strain of coronavirus in the country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Nomura pushes ahead with China hiring, says virus outbreak may slow plans
Nomura Holdings Inc. is moving forward with plans to hire wealth managers for its new China operation, though the outbreak of the new coronavirus threatens to slow the expansion, according to an executive overseeing the project.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Air cargo carriers say China demand weak despite passenger flight cuts amid virus
Major air cargo carriers said they have no immediate plans to add China flights to replace the capacity lost amid steep cuts to passenger travel due to the new coronavirus, as many factories have remained shut down after the Lunar New Year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Aeon Financial Service to enter life insurance market
Aeon Financial Service Co. has announced a plan to enter the life insurance business by acquiring a Japanese unit of German insurer Allianz SE.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Nihon Kotsu and DeNA to integrate taxi-hailing services
Major taxi operator Nihon Kotsu Co. and information technology firm DeNA Co. will integrate their taxi-hailing app businesses April 1.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
MUFG just posted first quarterly loss in a decade
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has posted its first quarterly loss in a decade and cut its annual profit forecast after booking a hefty charge on its stake in an Indonesian bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / Commentary
Feb 5, 2020
Robots, including one by Sony, are coming for fund management jobs
Remember Aibo, the computerized dog Sony Corp. started selling in 1999 as the first personal robot? Hiro Mizuno, the chief investment officer of the Government Pension Investment Fund, does. So he asked Sony's computer science lab unit to build him a cyberhound using artificial intelligence to help oversee...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2020
Top U.S. partner at SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund is leaving
A top U.S. partner at SoftBank Group's technology fund is stepping down after the company posted declining returns on its investments and struggled to raise capital for the next Vision Fund.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 5, 2020
Wall Street surges as China financial measures soothe virus worries
The Nasdaq hit a record high on Tuesday and the S&P 500 headed for its biggest one-day gain in about six months as fears of a heavy economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak waned after China's central bank intervened.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2020
U.S. and Japan to cooperate on energy and infrastructure investment to vie with China's Belt and Road
The United States and Japan have signed an agreement to jointly encourage more private investment in energy and infrastructure projects, the U.S. Treasury said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2020
WHO working on recommendations for resuming flights to China
The World Health Organization will work with travel and tourism industry representatives on Wednesday to draw up further recommendations to protect their crews so they can resume flights to China, a senior WHO official said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2020
Hyundai to halt South Korea output as new coronavirus disrupts parts supply
Hyundai Motor will suspend production in South Korea because the outbreak of the new coronavirus has disrupted the supply of parts, it said, becoming the first major carmaker to do so outside of China.

Opinion

Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2020
Is the world growing softer or just becoming wiser?
It is becoming slowly recognized that violence backfires and that soft methods, rather than harsh and confrontational measures and battle plans, now stand the best chance of stabilizing societies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2020
Preventing the 'Japanification' of East Asia's economies
The former 'tigers' must tackle structural weaknesses to avoid a low-growth future

Sports

SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 5, 2020
Ban on social media wrong call for sumo's popularity, transparency
Japan's national sport is semiglobalized.

CULTURE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 5, 2020
Updating 'Romeo and Juliet' in a bid to fight prejudice in Japan
Wishing Chong brings an all-male version of 'Romeo and Juliet,' set in post-war Western Japan, to the stage in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2020
'The Tradition of Edo Creativity: The Skill and Soul of Craftsmen Give Birth to Japanese Beauty'
Feb. 8-April 5
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2020
Constructing the self in 'One's Behavior'
A chamber piece of artworks, 'One's Behavior' explores both the connection and alienation that pervades the human psyche.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2020
'Metamorphosis of Classicism and Mythological Theme in the Art of 1750s-1980s'
Feb. 8-March 22
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2020
'Metamorphosis, Perceptions of the Passage of Time'
Feb. 9-March 22

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan