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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2021

Biden’s vaccine challenge

In many ways, the United States is at war against COVID-19. But the existing systems for delivering what is needed to win are weak, fragmented and, especially, uncoordinated.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2021

Japan’s super-spreader weekends

Recent COVID-19 cases in Japan have shot up sharply, leading to another round of partial lockdowns, but reported cases appear subdued compared to the United States or Europe.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2021

Justice minister vows to undertake sweeping reforms to Japan's legal system

Public trust, child support and a better outlook for foreign nationals on the agenda for Yoko Kamikawa.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2021

A tulip by another name? 'Gamestonk' and the case for investor caution

The likelihood that most of the losses from the rally in GameStop will come among the same group of retail investors who prodded it higher is leaving many on Wall Street baffled.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2021

China gene firm providing worldwide COVID-19 tests worked with Chinese military

BGI Group's links to the People's Liberation Army, which have not been previously reported, include research with China's top military supercomputing experts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 31, 2021

Navalny, WHO and Thunberg among nominees for Nobel Peace Prize

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the World Health Organization and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg are among those nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, all backed by Norwegian lawmakers who have a track record of picking the winner.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 31, 2021

Yoshihiro Makino: 'One early morning I realized that a sunrise is more beautiful than a sunset'

Photographer Yoshihiro Makino began his career by snapping pictures of Tokyo's vibrant youth culture before establishing himself as an in-demand artist in Los Angeles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 31, 2021

Analog activities that will get (and keep) you off your phone

We all know too much screen time is bad for us. So hit the off button and consider picking up one of these Japanese hobbies instead.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 31, 2021

Pandemic spurs quest to enroll more Black Americans in vaccine trials

The efforts rely on grassroots partners such as churches and health centers, and aim to topple long-standing barriers that keep minorities from participating in trials.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 31, 2021

Naomi Osaka says she would quarantine again for the Olympics

Naomi Osaka said she would be willing to undergo two more weeks of quarantine to play at the Tokyo Olympics later this year, if it helped ensure the safety of the people of her home country.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 31, 2021

Most Australian Open participants clear quarantine

The Australian Open quarantine facilities are still holding 15 people, including one player and two others who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in their lockdown, Melbourne health authorities said on Sunday.
Iryna Mudra (center), the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, and others prepare for a photo shoot at an international peace conference at The Hague, Netherlands, in April last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2025

Ukraine hits out at Europe's payout from frozen Russian cash

Compensating private investors before victims of war sends the wrong signal, says Iryna Mudra, a deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration.
Many curry shops are going bankrupt in Japan as prices of mainstay ingredients have gone up due to a rice shortage, adverse weather and a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2025

Soaring rice prices take a bite out of Japan's beloved curry shops

A total of 13 shops with more than ¥10 million in debt filed for bankruptcy in the year ended March — a record high for a second consecutive year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a National Resilience Promotion Headquarters gathering on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2025

Japan adopts ¥20 trillion anti-disaster program

The program, starting next April, focuses on rebuilding aging infrastructure and stepping up preparations for huge disasters.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 6, 2025

From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight

The lawmaker, sometimes said to be long on image and short on substance, has won praise for bringing down the price of rice.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held a 110-minute meeting on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025

In tariff talks with the U.S., Japan may have blinked

Tokyo is backing off from its insistence that all new tariffs be removed, according to a Friday report by the Asahi Shimbun.
After the appellate court ruling in the shareholders' lawsuit over the Tepco Fukushima No.1 nuclear accident, plaintiffs hold up signs reading "Unjust Ruling" on Friday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 6, 2025

High court overturns ruling against ex-Tepco executives

The count found the executives were unable to predict the tsunami that triggered the triple reactor meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The IMF and World Bank's Spring Meetings 2025 in Washington on April 25. At this year's meetings, central bankers expressed alarm over the Trump administration's push toward privatizing money through dollar-pegged stablecoins.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2025

Trump wants big tech to own the dollar

At this year’s IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, central bankers were alarmed by the U.S. push toward privatizing money through dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Lee Jae-myung’s election as South Korea’s president marks a dramatic political turn after Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster, putting a seasoned progressive in charge as the country faces economic strain, tense U.S. ties and the challenge of improving relations with Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jun 6, 2025

A return to normalcy in South Korea, but hard work lies ahead

Lee's victory in a ballot to replace Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached after trying to launch a coup, caps an extraordinary life that took him from the slums to the nation’s highest office.
Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 6, 2025

Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

In Japan, not only does the tobacco industry have close ties to government, but universities are also vulnerable to its influence. In this equation, public health loses out.
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 6, 2025

Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers

A driving school owner points out that traffic signs could carry different meanings in other countries, and driving standards might vary significantly.
Descendents of the original "Gonin Byakushō" families are the only vendors allowed inside the gates of Kotohira Shrine, where they sell "kamiyoame," a golden-hued, yuzu-flavored candy meant for good fortune.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 7, 2025

At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree

Located in the mountains of western Kagawa Prefecture, Kotohira has yet to suffer — or benefit — from Japan’s overtourism rush.
A Tokyo bride (Mai Fukagawa, centers) finds that marrying the heir to a traditional folding-fan shop and navigating the subtleties of Kyoto’s social etiquette isn’t as easy as she expected.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025

‘Strangers in Kyoto’: Tea, tradition and passive-aggressive politeness

Masanori Tominaga’s comedy of manners — and missteps — centers on a newcomer from Tokyo who tests the limits of the city's social etiquette.
The BOJ holds its next policy meeting on June 16-17, when the board is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025

Pressure mounts for Japan to adjust bond sales as soon as July

The BOJ holds its next policy meeting on June 16-17, when the board is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
Ishiba also called for the promotion of talks on setting up regional offices of the agency to enhance support for developing antidisaster measures tailored to the specific circumstances of each region.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2025

Ishiba eager to submit disaster agency bill next year

Ishiba called for the promotion of talks to enhance support for developing antidisaster measures tailored to the specific circumstances of each region.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan