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Riley Griffin
For Riley Griffin's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, holds a photograph of his son Thomas in Akron, Ohio, on March 4. How Trump and Biden address a lethal chapter of the U.S. drug-overdose epidemic will be pivotal in swing states that are likely to decide the election.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024
270,000 overdose deaths thrust fentanyl into heart of U.S. presidential race
More than 4 in 10 Americans personally know someone who has died from a drug overdose.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 24, 2023
COVID-19 origins remain a mystery, U.S. declassified report shows
The report comes months after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill into law requiring declassification of intelligence related to the pandemic’s potential links to a Wuhan lab.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 21, 2023
COVID report based on China samples puts suspicion back to animal origins
A new analysis of samples taken from a market in Wuhan during the early days of the pandemic are the strongest evidence yet that the COVID-19 virus jumped from animals to humans.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2023
COVID lab leak fight obscures the global rise of high-security biolabs
Scientific safety has re-emerged as a high-stakes global issue after the U.S. suggested it had intelligence showing a lab leak was the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 31, 2023
U.S. to end COVID emergency declarations in May
The U.S. response has gradually shifted to the background, though the uptake of the latest booster shot remains modest and about 500 people are dying each day from COVID-19 in the nation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 2, 2022
How to move on from the debate over the origins of the pandemic
Nearly three years since the beginning of the outbreak, and after endless debate about COVID-19's origins, the answers we're getting aren't pat, definitive or satisfying.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 25, 2022
Monkeypox proves elusive foe as WHO sounds alarm on global spread
COVID-19 forced governments to revamp their pandemic response programs. Now monkeypox is putting those upgrades to the test — and they're falling short.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2022
How an airport nail salon became the front line of U.S. COVID surveillance
Despite rules that require travelers to produce a negative COVID-19 test result in order to enter the U.S., the former nail salon chain's testing service routinely finds positive cases.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2022
Drugmakers pause trials in Russia while still sending medicine
Major pharmaceutical firms are seeking to strike a balance between international opprobrium over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the needs of sick patients.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 11, 2022
Pfizer starts making vaccine that targets both omicron and the original COVID virus
While research continues, Pfizer will evaluate the new hybrid shot against one specific to omicron and determine which should move forward by March, the firm's CEO has said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 30, 2021
Pfizer won the first round, but Moderna sees final victory ahead
Pfizer has been first across the finish line in nearly every leg of the COVID-19 vaccine race, but Moderna executives say their company's mRNA technology gives it an advantage.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 26, 2020
The supply chain to save the world is unprepared for a vaccine
The industries that shepherd goods around the world on ships, planes and trucks acknowledge they aren’t ready to handle the epic challenges of shipping an eventual COVID-19 vaccine from drugmakers to billions of people.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?