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April 26, 2024
 

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Mike Baker
For Mike Baker's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 2, 2022
Facing a dire storm forecast in Florida, some officials delayed evacuation
The delay, an apparent violation of the meticulous evacuation strategy one county had crafted for just such an emergency, may have contributed to catastrophic consequences.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 4, 2022
No radio and old tactics: How the police response in Uvalde broke down
The commander at the scene arrived without a police radio, and decided in the first minutes on an approach that would delay a confrontation.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2022
As shooting continued, officers questioned commander’s decision to wait
Questions have mounted over local police chief Pedro Arredondo, the role of the department and whether any of the 21 lives that were lost could have been saved.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 28, 2022
In mass shootings, U.S. police are trained to ‘confront the attacker’
As new questions emerged about the police response to the shooting at a Texas elementary school, experts say officers are trained to act with urgency and defend innocent lives.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 27, 2022
Uvalde had prepared for school shootings. It did not stop the rampage.
The carnage has renewed a decades-old debate about how to end the horror of U.S. school shootings, with many political leaders once again calling for heightened school security measures.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 8, 2022
The tsunami could kill thousands. Can they build an escape?
Along many stretches of the Northwest coast of the U.S., there are no bluffs or high buildings to climb — nowhere to go.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 28, 2021
As miners chase clean-energy minerals, tribes fear a repeat of the past
Mining interests have long overrun tribal rights in Idaho, and as the Biden administration seeks to start a revolution in renewable energy, tribes worry about the past being repeated.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2021
They’re breaking glass and criticizing Biden. From the left.
In the hours after Biden's inauguration, hundreds of people gathered for a series of events across the liberal city of Portland, Oregon — not to celebrate, but to protest.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2020
As guns are drawn at U.S. protest sites, demonstrators fear a volatile new phase
For months, Reese Monson, who helps organize security for the hundreds of protesters who gather in downtown Portland, Oregon, every night, has advised them to use shields made of plywood, pool noodles and 55-gallon drums — tools to deflect the riot-control measures used by the police.
'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.
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.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
'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.
Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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