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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 1, 2020

Democracy darkens: Hong Kong activists reel from Chinese moves

A year after young activists, veteran democrats and others formed the boldest revolt against Beijing in decades, Hong Kong is rapidly being 'mainlandized,' democracy advocates say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 1, 2020

China gave COVID-19 vaccine candidate to North Korea's Kim, U.S. analyst says

China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 1, 2020

‘Trump Is Better’: In Asia, pro-democracy forces worry about Biden

Some pro-democracy campaigners in Asia are drawn to Trump's willingness to flout diplomatic protocol, abandon international accords and keep his opponents off-balance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2020

U.S. military in Okinawa reports single-day record 72 new COVID-19 cases

The marines said there were no indications that those infected had spread the disease to the larger population surrounding the bases.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 30, 2020

Moderna to seek U.S. and EU clearance for COVID-19 vaccine

The move came after a new analysis showed the vaccine was highly effective in preventing COVID-19 with no serious safety problems.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 30, 2020

Lionel Messi leads tributes as soccer mourns Diego Maradona

Messi paid tribute on Sunday by stripping off his Barcelona top to reveal a shirt honoring Maradona after he scored the final goal in a 4-0 rout of Osasuna.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2020

TSE president to step down after trading outage in October

The glitch was the worst since 1999, depriving investors of trades worth around u00a53 trillion as government sought to boost the nation as an Asian trading hub.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2020

Warp speed for clean energy? That won't work.

It might it be easier for the government to subsidize battery research, rather than pre-ordering particular battery units for later distribution? Maybe so, and it would be smart policy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2020

The implausibility of the ‘Vietnam model’ for North Korea: The security factor

Kim Jong Un cannot decentralize the economy regardless of how external conditions develop as fear of losing control would render such reforms impossible.
Modern global politics, marked by personal rivalries, nickname-driven rhetoric and apocalyptic religious fervor, resembles a “re-medievalization” that challenges the ideals of the Enlightenment.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2025

The Middle Ages are making a political comeback

Increasingly medieval language from the world’s leaders does not bode well for the rest of us.
Peruvian chef Mitsuharu Tsumura’s restaurant Maido in Lima was named the best restaurant on the planet on June 19 by the influential “World's 50 Best Restaurants” list.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2025

Why there isn’t a best chef in the world

Awards are one thing but the culinary universe has no real center. For that you can thank two chefs.
Protesters hold a “Stand Up for Science” march in Sacramento, California, on March 7. Faced with deep budget cuts and political threats, scientists in the U.S. and Japan are realizing they must step out of the lab to defend science’s place in society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2025

Scientists can’t stay in their ivory tower

Now is the time for scientists to return to society — not just as experts, but as engaged members of the public.
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

47% turn to social media and videos for voting decisions: exit poll

Of those, the largest proportion, at 23.9%, cast proportional representation votes for Sanseito.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa in Osaka on Saturday. On Monday, Akazawa flew to the United States for another round of tariff negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2025

Akazawa jets to Washington for tariff talks after historic election

If an agreement with the U.S. can't be reached before Aug. 1, the "reciprocal" tariff rate imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump rises to 25%.
A nurse takes a blood sample from a child for an HIV test at a clinic in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Tighter borders bar poor nations from summits — on poor nations

Sudanese climate activist Roaa should have been leading meetings with other youth advocates at a United Nations climate conference in Germany in June.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), speaks to the media in Tokyo on Sunday hours after voting closed for the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 21, 2025

CDP shows ‘modest’ outcome as Noda struggles to unite the opposition camp

There is speculation the opposition party might form a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito to form a stable, centrist-oriented government.
Former residents of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan hold a memorial service aboard the exchange ship Etopirika, which arrived off Kunashiri, part of the Northern Territories, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025

Ex-residents of Japan-claimed isles hold memorial at sea

Former Japanese residents of the Russian-held islands cannot return to their hometowns because exchange programs between the two countries have been suspended.
Ayaka Shiomura, running for an Upper House seat on a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan ticket in the Tokyo district, was one of 42 women elected in Sunday's election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Japan elects record number of women to Upper House

Female candidates won 42 of the 125 seats contested on Sunday, up from 35 seats in the last election in 2022.
Upper House votes being counted on Sunday. The Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the upper chamber of parliament, but could still be effective in thwarting the opposition.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2025

Consumption tax cut not a given even after Upper House election

Political and economic realities suggest that opposition policies will not skate through.
“As the first party in parliament, we have to fulfill our responsibility with the public so as to prevent politics from stagnating or drifting away,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 21, 2025

Ishiba clings to leadership after election setback

In the wake of another electoral setback, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s political capital has plunged.
A demonstrator holds the Mohawk Warrior Flag during a protest in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario against the federal government’s Bill C-5, as members of the Canadian Armed Forces fire cannons in the background during a celebration marking Canada Day in Toronto on July 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Indigenous people in Canada challenge fast-track mine and energy projects

The tensions between the government and Indigenous communities reflect longstanding concerns over consultation and the environmental impact of mining projects in Canada.
A Thai anti-mine worker demonstrates how to demine in a Thai village bordering Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple in 2008.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Thailand claims Cambodia planted land mines, escalating dispute

Three soldiers were injured when they stepped on a land mine during a routine patrol along an established route within Thai territory on July 16.
Temporary shelters for abused or at-risk children in Japan's major cities are overwhelmed, as staff shortages and prolonged stays strain the child welfare system.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025

Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen

Extended stays by children who have nowhere else to go also compound the problem.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the start of bilateral talks during the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

Aides to Trump and Xi discussed autumn U.S.-China leaders' meeting

Ideas floated include a Trump stopover around the time of an APEC summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 event.

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