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Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jun 3, 2022

WTO seeks fish and vaccine deals as war ignites trade tensions

It is not yet clear if a vaccine compromise forged by India, South Africa, the EU and the United States will transform into a full agreement.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 3, 2022

Indian traditions entwine with trees in green drive to revive land

From weddings, births and funerals to festivals such as Holi, plants and trees have become centerpieces of local culture in Rajasthan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2022

The inflation tail is wagging the policy dog

Just as central bankers have embarked on a long-overdue process of balance-sheet unwinding, global developments have pushed the economy to the edge of recession.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2022

Putin’s unconditional surrender should not be the goal

The Ukrainian demand that Russia withdraw its troops is a legitimate position to adopt. But it is a position, not an ultimatum; compromises should be reached once negotiations begin.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2022

Earthquake response to be focus of social bond planned by Tokyo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is proposing to issue u00a530 billion of five-year social bonds later this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2022

Sony to build space lasers with new satellite services unit

Sony said one of its first successful tests occurred in 2020 when it transmitted high-definition image data by laser from the International Space Station to a ground station in Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2022

Skin rash more common in women after Moderna shot, Japan study finds

Swelling, pain and/or itchiness of the arm that received the vaccine was also more common among people in their 30s through 60s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2022

Seven to see at this year’s Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia

The short film festival celebrates the briefest of screen gems. Festival winners not only get the respect of their peers but a shot at an Oscar as well.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 3, 2022

Looking to make an escape in Japanese? You'll need to know your kanji.

As the war in Ukraine looks far from over, there is no shortage of discussions on how to “get out” of such a dangerous situation. Here's a closer look at some escape-related terms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Jun 3, 2022

Returning a pencil, returning to work and the return of Okinawa

Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa to Japanese control. But the word used for 'return' in this case wasn't the same as what you'd use to 'return' a pencil.
Resistance soldiers ride in the back of a pickup truck in southern Karenni State, Myanmar, on Jan. 28. Three years after a military coup, the Southeast Asian nation is teetering on the brink of failed statehood.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2024

What’s happening in Myanmar’s civil war?

The military is still the country’s most influential institution, and a militarized culture pervades many areas that ethnic minorities control.
A Kayah woman and children carrying containers from a delivery of drinking water in Myanmar's eastern Kayah state.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2024

'Fuel for water?' Heat wave piles misery on Myanmar displaced

A heat wave that has sent the mercury in Myanmar to 48 degrees Celsius in some places has added to uncertainties of life in the camps.
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2024

With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability

Although “China” was not uttered by the officials during their news conference in Hawaii, Beijing’s growing assertiveness was clearly on their minds.
Despite bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan faces a rising number of abandoned properties, particularly in rural areas, which pose risks to communities and economies.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2024

Abandoned homes will be a big part of Japan’s future

Statistics reveal a significant increase in vacant and abandoned homes, with projections indicating a further rise unless addressed soon.
Diane Severin Nguyen’s film, “In Her Time (Iris’s Version),” 2023-24, about a young actress struggling with her role in a (fictional) movie about the Nanjing Massacre, is on display at the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Artificial intelligence and the "rhetoric around gender and authenticity” were themes in this year's show.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The winner-take-all economy is ruining art, too

The value of art is not just a matter of taste. To appeal to collectors, artists require the approval of the establishment.
Strong family ties act as an insurance against economic and other shocks and can be strengthened by government policies that promote intergenerational solidarity.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2024

As families change, so must safety nets

Intergenerational family ties act as a form of insurance. Governments like Singapore's are supporting such arrangements and others should follow suit.
Tokyo stands alone in the Group of Seven. Far from shutting down polluting fuel plants, it’s opening them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The dog ate Japan’s plan to phase out coal power

Under the country’s current strategic energy plan, coal will still account for about 19% of generation in 2030.
Students can learn faster by using tablets in the classroom. In Malawi, every dollar spent on this type of learning delivers over $100 worth of higher productivity in the long term.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2024

The policies that deliver the most bang for a government's buck

Instead of making many grand promises, governments should prioritize smart policies that yield the highest returns, such as tablets in schools.
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024

Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges

Lawmakers are instead focusing their attention on reviewing the political funds control law in the wake of the LDP's slush funds scandal.
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
May 4, 2024

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

Once an exotic curiosity, Japanese gardens have gone on to inspire green thumbs around the world.
Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, speaks during a news conference in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2024

Hamas says delegation heading to Cairo for truce talks

Mediators have been waiting for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2024

G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine

The plan is being discussed among the Group of Seven nations, with the U.S. pushing to have an agreement when G7 leaders meet in Italy in June.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the United Steelworkers Union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 17. Biden made clear that he does not want the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel to happen.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2024

Political furor over Nippon Steel's U.S. Steel bid puts investment panel in spotlight

Backlash over the deal has echoes of the 1980s when Nippon Steel tried and failed to buy another American metal company.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
BUSINESS / Economy
May 4, 2024

Ex-U.S. Treasury chief says currency interventions fail even at Japan’s scale

Policymakers likely spent some ¥9 trillion this week, an analysis of Bank of Japan accounts shows.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past