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April 25, 2024
 

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Benjamin Mueller
For Benjamin Mueller's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Troy Sutton, a virologist at Pennsylvania State University, on July 25, 2023. Sutton says that health officials referred to the public controversy over the lab leak theory in advising him to pursue different experiments.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 18, 2023
Lab leak fight casts chill over virology research
While some believe practices such as gain-of-function research could fend off the next pandemic, others worry that they are more likely to start one.
Sen. Mitch McConnell appears to freeze up for more than 30 seconds during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in a little more than a month, after an event with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2023
Mitch McConnell may be experiencing small seizures, doctors say
Two episodes, where the Republican senator froze and did not respond to some questions, may be symptoms of a serious illness.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2023
Lab leak or not? How politics shaped the battle over COVID-19’s origin
In the U.S., Democrat-Republican political divisions mean that the evidence for competing theories on the origin of the virus is often filtered through partisan political lenses.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 18, 2023
WHO accuses China of withholding data on pandemic’s origins
Genetic research from China suggests to some experts that the coronavirus may have sprung from a seafood market in Wuhan. Now the data are missing from a scientific database.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 30, 2022
How bad is China’s COVID outbreak? It’s a scientific guessing game.
In the absence of credible information from the Chinese government, researchers around the world are looking for any clues to determine the size and severity of the COVID-19 surge.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 17, 2022
New COVID booster shots cut hospitalization risk by half, CDC reports
The research represents the CDC's first look at how the bivalent boosters are performing in the prevention of severe consequences of infection with the virus.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 25, 2022
Lab manipulations of COVID virus fall under murky government rules
Mouse experiments at Boston University have spotlighted an ambiguous U.S. policy for research on potentially dangerous pathogens.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 6, 2022
Death toll during pandemic far exceeds totals reported by countries, WHO says
Nearly 15 million more people died during the pandemic than would have in normal times, the WHO has said, a staggering measure of COVID-19's true toll.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 18, 2022
Is COVID more dangerous than driving? How scientists are parsing COVID-19 risks.
Even two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus remains new enough, and its long-term effects unpredictable enough, that measuring the threat posed by an infection is a thorny problem.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 22, 2022
High death rate in Hong Kong shows importance of vaccinating the elderly
The city's conflagration of cases is now killing people at a rate exceeding that of almost any country since the coronavirus emerged.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 27, 2022
New research points to Wuhan market as pandemic origin
Two new studies represent a significant salvo in the debate over the origins of a pandemic that has killed nearly 6 million people and sickened 400 million more.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 12, 2022
‘Don’t write it off’: Advice from brain injury experts after Bob Saget’s death
People who find themselves alone after a significant knock to the head are at higher risk of harm.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2022
Omicron offers hope pandemic could stabilize, WHO official says
While the rapid spread of the omicron variant offers hope for 'stabilization and normalization,” it comes with a heavy dose of caution, as many obstacles to taming the pandemic remain.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 16, 2022
The decades of discoveries before the ‘miraculous’ sprint to a vaccine
The breakthroughs behind the vaccines unfolded over decades, little by little, as scientists across the world pursued research in disparate areas.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 28, 2021
As omicron surges, officials shorten isolation times for many Americans
By shortening the recommended isolation period, federal health officials hope to minimize disruptions to the economy and everyday life.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 19, 2021
First known COVID-19 case was vendor at Wuhan market, scientist claims
The report will revive the debate over whether the pandemic started with a spillover from wildlife sold at the market, a leak from a Wuhan virology lab or some other way.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 5, 2021
As the virus ravages poorer countries, rich nations are springing back to life
'It's a moral issue,” said a doctor in Malawi. 'This is something rich countries should be thinking about. It's their conscience. It's how they define themselves.”
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2021
New virus variant may be somewhat deadlier, U.K. warns
The evidence on the fatality rate is worrisome but not yet solid, scientists said. It contrasts with news that Britain is vaccinating its people at a promising pace.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 26, 2020
Brexit deal done, Britain now scrambles to see how it will work
For many Christmas was only the beginning, Day 1 of a high-stakes and unpredictable experiment in how to unstitch a tight web of commercial relations across Europe.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2020
Five takeaways from the post-Brexit trade deal
The U.K. and the European Union struck a trade deal Thursday, setting the terms of their commercial relations after Britain completes its hard-fought split from the EU on Dec. 31.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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