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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2020

What to make of the record defense budget

If the Abe administration is seeking to make its mark on defense spending, it will have to try again next year.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2020

COVID-19's economic hit is all in your mind

Psychology can be more powerful than facts when it comes to an epidemic's impact
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2020

A cold, hay fever or COVID-19? Japan's health guidelines raise questions

Experts have raised questions about asking the public to observe their symptoms at home closely before seeking a consultation.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 20, 2020

Yen near nine-month low as China moves to help coronavirus-hit firms

The yen traded near a nine-month low versus the dollar on expectations that China would continue to act to reduce the outbreak's economic impacts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2020

Coronavirus poses risks to fragile recovery in global economy, says IMF

The outbreak of new coronavirus COVID-19 has already disrupted economic growth in China, and further spread to other countries could derail a "highly fragile" projected recovery in the global economy in 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2020

MUFG Bank to invest ¥80 billion in ride-hailing service Grab

MUFG Bank will form a capital and business alliance with Singapore-based ride-hailing service Grab, with the view to collaborating on retail financial services, sources have said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Feb 20, 2020

'Speed science' on new coronavirus carries risks

One scientific post suggests links between the new coronavirus and AIDS. A second says it may have passed to people via snakes. A third claims it is a pathogen from outer space.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 20, 2020

Savor Italian fare prepared by Michelin chef

A shared love of noodles, fresh and seasonal produce that speaks of the local terroir and a remit to enjoy slow food — it's quite possible that Italian is more woven into Tokyo's food fabric than any other international cuisine.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2020

Panel to seek UNESCO listing for 37 Japanese folk performance arts

The Council for Cultural Affairs decided Wednesday to recommend that 37 folk performance arts be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2020

23 cashless payment providers join Japan's My Number point program

Twenty-three providers of cashless payment services have registered to participate in a government-led reward-point program for holders of My Number social security and tax identification cards, the internal affairs ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2020

Machine lubricants leave bad taste for palm oil producers and buyers

The palm oil industry, long accused of large-scale deforestation, is bracing for another hit to its business: machinery lubricants seeping into the world's most consumed edible oil during processing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 20, 2020

'Kurly in Kansai' host Ayana Wyse: 'I'm involved in the community, not the society'

As one half of the duo hosting the podcast 'Kurly in Kansai,' Ayana Wyse is doing her part in building a community for the international community in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / Commentary
Feb 20, 2020

The ugly history of blaming ethnic groups for disease outbreaks

As the coronavirus outbreak grows in scale and scope, a nasty side effect spreads: discrimination. Inside China, people from Wuhan have been treated like lepers. Outside, we're seeing numerous reports of verbal and physical abuse aimed at ethnic Chinese, and an aversion to Chinese restaurants and other...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 20, 2020

Taigen Kawabe's Ill Japonia: Allowing yourself to learn from the new wave

Bo Ningen's Taigen Kawabe drops the guitars and starts rapping on his first release as III Japonia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 20, 2020

Google's British users will lose EU data protection, sources say

Google is planning to move its British users' accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators, placing them under U.S. jurisdiction instead, sources said.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2020

Minister Shinjiro Koizumi says he regrets skipping COVID-19 meeting

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Wednesday expressed regret for skipping a government meeting on the coronavirus outbreak in favor of a new year party held by a group of his supporters in his hometown.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 20, 2020

Four key dates, four missed chances for China to contain coronavirus

It's been more than two months since Dec. 12, the day doctors first noticed a Chinese patient display symptoms of the highly infectious coronavirus that has claimed more than 2,100 lives across the globe. In the weeks following that early case, authorities missed one chance after another to contain the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2020

Democratic candidates pile on Bloomberg over wealth, race and sexism

Michael Bloomberg faced a barrage of attacks at his first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday as his rivals rushed to criticize the billionaire businessman for his wealth, record on race and history of sexist comments.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2020

As COVID-19 spreads, Takeda CEO urges more industry investment in vaccines

The spread of novel coronavirus infections is starting to make one thing clear: More vaccine investment is needed, the CEO of Asia's biggest drugmaker said.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2020

Spread of COVID-19 casts shadow over Japan's shuntō wage talks

The widening outbreak of the new coronavirus originating in China has started to affect annual shuntō wage negotiations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2020

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake jolts Chiba Prefecture area

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake, which measured 4 on the shindo (intensity) scale, was detected at a depth of 30 kilometers in northeastern Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday at 12:53 p.m.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2020

'Shape of Red': A torrid but ultimately unsatisfying affair

Kaho plays a frustrated housewife who engages in a passionate tryst with a former boyfriend in Yukiko Mishima's latest film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2020

'Fictitious Girl's Diary: The Movie': An honest portrait of office minutiae

Comedian Bakarhythm brings his nameless female bank clerk character to the big screen and lovingly documents the trivial goings-on in the life of a Japanese office worker.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 20, 2020

Brazil's 'last samurai' seeks to keep tradition alive in South America

From the outside, the modest home of 61-year-old Edson Suemitsu looks little different from others in this middle-class neighborhood of Curitiba, a sleepy city in southern Brazil.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2020

Canada's indigenous lead climate charge with rail blockade over pipeline plan, put Trudeau in a bind

Canadian indigenous groups are leading the charge against fossil-fuel development in a country with the world's third-largest proven oil reserves, using rail blockades as leverage and putting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a bind.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 20, 2020

Turkey edges toward direct conflict with Russia-backed Syria as talks fail to halt assault

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday a military operation by his forces to push back a Syrian government offensive against rebels in northwest Syria was now "a matter of time" after talks with Russia failed to halt the assault.

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?