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COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 9, 2020

Hammer or scalpel? Conquering COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic that emerged out of China has challenged all countries and regions where it has spread, including Japan. The question for most as the sense of crisis builds is what is the correct approach to take to mitigate an outbreak that could force the collapse of health care systems, result...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2020

With sailors stranded, shippers face a hard choice

Before the pandemic, 100,000 seafarers traveled in and out of the world’s ports every month. Some had spent weeks or months aboard the cargo ships, tankers and other merchant vessels that are essential to moving products and commodities across the globe. In a ritual little noticed outside the industry,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 9, 2020

Boris Johnson 'getting better' in intensive care as U.K. extends overdraft

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was getting better Thursday in intensive care where he is battling COVID-19 as his government extended its overdraft facility and reviewed the most stringent shutdown in peacetime history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2020

Japan sets aside ¥243.5 billion to help firms shift production out of China

Most of the money is for companies shifting output back to Japan, but funds have also been reserved for those moving elsewhere in Asia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2020

Japan carmakers cut off pay to 32,000 in North America

The bulk of the furloughs are at Honda and Nissan, while Toyota is mainly targeting its temporary staff for now.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

Children are the future

One of the biggest failures of the world in stopping the COVID-19 outbreak was our inability to gauge the actual impact of this pandemic. Probably, we all have been overconfident from the day we began to hear the news of the disease outbreak in China. The laxity of responsible organizations worldwide...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 9, 2020

Kevin Garnett yearns to see NBA return to Seattle, has big plans for future

Kevin Garnett always found Seattle to be a difficult place for opponents. He played in 27 games there during his NBA career, leaving the court as a winner only eight times.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

Abuse of power is the real emergency

As with most if not all of the government's measures, the state of emergency plans issued April 6 are so full of holes and contradictions, people should be ready for the real emergency to begin soon, not from any virus, but from those wielding power for their own purposes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 9, 2020

Huge Australian household debt threatens to worsen recession

Thuy Pham has run two jobs for much of her working life, and a little over two years ago all that effort paid off when she realized a dream of buying her own home. As the coronavirus shutdowns have deepened, that’s started to unravel: First she was stood down from one job, then the other, and now she’s...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2020

A car boom in Wuhan brings hope for post-lockdown recovery

If a stream of visitors to auto dealerships in the virus-hit city is any indication, the recovery of the car business in China and perhaps the world could be rapid.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

A poem about COVID-19

Wash your hands! Don’t go out!
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

A plea to the government: Don’t lock down

As a former business journalist for The Economist and a clinical psychologist treating health anxiety, I have watched in admiration as Japan’s economy has stayed open during the coronavirus panic. Now pressure is mounting to lock down the country. I beg Japan’s government not to succumb; a plea on...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2020

China corporate governance in doubt after two accounting scandals in week

China’s second accounting scandal in less than a week is underscoring concern over lax corporate governance at some of its fastest-growing companies.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

Denying virus payouts to sex workers violates their rights

Regarding the April 3 story “Concern as Japan’s sex workers excluded from freelancer virus payouts,” as a former self-employed Ginza nightclub hostess, I am incensed by the blatant occupation-based discrimination by the Japanese government. In my five years of experience, all nightclubs I knew...
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

Consider teachers during the pandemic

I work in Japan as a teacher. Despite the news talking about teleworking in recent months, and about how some people are still going to work because of their inability to telework, I’d like to see an article about how schools are still forcing teachers to go in to work, even though we are prepared...
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

Stricter social distancing required

During the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic, Japan seemed to be able to control the spread. However, the number has been steeply rising.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2020

This is a good time to change Japan’s academic year

The coronavirus pandemic has been very disruptive, including to Japan’s schools. When I read in the news that as far as California is concerned, all schools in the state will not reopen this academic year, the idea occurred to me that beginning the Japanese school year in April should be changed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 9, 2020

Yumiko Morioka: A good time to find refuge in a reissue of her ambient sounds

Yumiko Morioka's first and only album, 1987's 'Resonance,' gets the reissue treatment, allowing fans to hear the musician's ambient sounds once again.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2020

South Pacific cyclone and coronavirus create 'perfect storm' of worry

As deadly Cyclone Harold churns through the South Pacific, small island nations in its path are struggling to balance responses to the disaster with maintaining efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, officials warned Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 9, 2020

From fine to flailing: Rapid health declines in COVID-19 patients jar doctors and nurses

One medical worker called it "insane," another said it induces paranoia — the speed with which patients are declining and dying from the novel coronavirus is shocking even veteran doctors and nurses as they scramble to determine how to stop such sudden deterioration.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2020

Japan’s film and TV industries soldier on despite coronavirus

The death of comedian Ken Shimura on March 29 due to pneumonia caused by COVID-19 sent a shock wave throughout the country. A star on Japanese TV for decades, he was the first major celebrity here to pass away after contracting the virus.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 9, 2020

Unchecked spread of coronavirus prompts about-face on masks around the world

Wearing face masks, which health officials in many countries previously discouraged outside hospitals, is gaining converts as the coronavirus spreads across the globe.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 9, 2020

Fewer coronavirus deaths seen in countries that mandate tuberculosis vaccine

Countries with mandatory policies to vaccinate against tuberculosis register fewer coronavirus deaths than countries that don’t have those policies, a new study has found.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?