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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 2, 2020

An America in decline and the dangers that entails

The U.S. has dealt with the question of decline more than once in the postwar era.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2020

The message of Islamist beheadings

Jihadis represent a tiny minority of the world's Muslims. But, by making clear their willingness to behave inhumanely, they have ensured that few dare defy them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2020

Language and lockdowns amid the pandemic

Reducing the issue to a binary question (Should we lock down or not?), or even a linear one (How much should we lock down?), oversimplifies a complicated problem.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 2, 2020

Signs of dissent within Thai military as protests grow

Social media is exposing discontent among some soldiers, police and civil servants after months of protests against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha and the monarchy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2020

What Bitcoin's new record means for Wall Street

Bitcoin won't be viewed as an existential threat to the banking system just because its price is soaring. But it won't be ignored either.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2020

New COVID-19 infections in Tokyo jump to 500 as seriously ill cases again fall

The number of severe COVID-19 infections fell for the second straight day, down three from the previous day to 59. The number of new deaths was not immediately available.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 2, 2020

U.S. prosecutors probe suspected effort to buy a presidential pardon

The disclosure of an alleged attempt to purchase a pardon comes as the term of U.S. President Donald Trump winds to an end, which is traditionally a time when pardons are meted out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2020

A 1% bond in Japan is world’s lowest-coupon junk note in 2020

Unprecedented stimulus from central banks amid the pandemic has dragged down rates, and left investors clamoring for debt that may help increase returns.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2020

Japan Nike ad on bullying and racism sparks fiery online response

The commercial shows several teen girls bullied in school over their race or other differences, but who ultimately find confidence through soccer prowess.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 2, 2020

Is China laying claim to kimchi, too? Some South Koreans think so.

A spat is raging this week over a Chinese state tabloid's claim that China had 'led” the development of an international standard for paocai, or pickled vegetables.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2020

How wrong was Milton Friedman? Harvard team quantifies the ways.

'Without monetizing impacts, we're left with the illusion that businesses have no impact,” says Professor George Serafeim of Harvard Business School.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2020

Ivory Coast, Ghana halt cocoa farm aid to punish businesses for 'not supporting farmers'

Competing viewpoints of chocolate markets and cocoa producers have collided in spectacular fashion, thrusting normally hidden machinations into rare public view.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 2, 2020

Singapore becomes first country to approve sale of lab-grown meat

Singapore has given U.S. startup Eat Just the greenlight to sell its lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world's first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat that does not come from slaughtered animals.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Dec 2, 2020

Could COVID-19 knock out the flu in Europe this winter?

As Europeans brace for a grim winter with the threat of rising COVID-19 infections, minimal numbers of flu cases recorded so far point to a possible silver lining.
A Dole Food Company worker rakes coffee cherries for them to dry at the company's Waialua coffee and cocoa farm on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in November 2011.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2025

Trump tariffs spell trouble for Hawaii’s few coffee farmers

Coffee is more popular in the U.S. than even bottled water, with two-thirds of Americans drinking it every day.
A woman caresses a child's head as Palestinians wait at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD
Jul 20, 2025

Gaza civil defense says Israeli fire kills 39 near two aid centers

Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near food points in Gaza have become a regular occurrence, with the territory's authorities frequently blaming Israeli fire.
Yukio Iokibe’s “Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 20, 2025

‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change

As rural towns in Japan decline, Yukio Iokibe’s documentary offers a hopeful reminder that democracy endures through advocacy, persistence and human connection.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Jul 20, 2025

Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate

The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.
Rescue personnel gather around a capsized tourist boat in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2025

Death toll from Vietnam tourist boat accident climbs to at least 38

The vessel capsized Saturday afternoon carrying 48 tourists and five crew members in one of the worst boating accidents in recent years in the popular tourist area.
Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Mario Barrios in Las Vegas on Saturday in the 46-year-old's return to boxing after a four-year absence.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jul 20, 2025

Pacquiao held to draw by Barrios in world title return

Barrios, 30, retained his belt despite being dominated for several rounds by Pacquiao, who was making a comeback to the ring after a four-year retirement.
A guilty ruling by a Chinese court for a Japanese employee at Astellas Pharma on a spying charge will be finalized if he does not file an appeal by the deadline in late July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2025

Astellas employee won't appeal spying conviction in China

A Beijing district court that imposed the prison sentence is believed to have found the man guilty of espionage for providing information to an intelligence agency.
Yukihiro Kaneko, a Panasonic research officer, shows a perovskite panel, through which the background can been seen, during an interview in Tokyo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2025

Japan sees bright future for ultrathin and flexible solar panels

The government is offering generous incentives in order to reach Japan's target of having renewable energy cover up to 50% of electricity demand by 2040.
An event featuring maiko (young female entertainers) is held at the Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2025

Experiential tourism key to driving inbound spending in Japan

The consumption patterns of visitors to Japan have been shifting as their enthusiasm for purchasing luxury items appears to be waning.
Visitors line up to enter the Nepal pavilion, which finally opened at the Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2025

Nepal pavilion finally opens at Osaka Expo

With Nepal's entry, all foreign pavilions of the 158 countries and regions and seven international organizations participating in the event are now open.
Activists from Greenpeace protest deep-sea mining with an inflatable octopus and a banner that says "'Protect the deep sea" in Berlin earlier this month.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Jul 20, 2025

Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn

One of the last wild zones on the planet, the sea floor is a coveted frontier for companies and countries eager to access high-demand minerals found there.
China's Shi Yuqi hits a return to France's Alex Lanier during the final of the Japan Open on Sunday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Badminton
Jul 20, 2025

Shi beats Lanier to win Japan Open badminton title

South Korea's An Se-young downed China's Wang Zhiyi 21-12, 21-10 in the women's final to capture an incredible sixth title in seven tournaments so far this year.
Pedestrians walk in front of an election notice board displaying posters of candidates in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2025

Voters in Tokyo reflect shifting political views across Japan

Many constituents, frustrated with the current state of affairs, have turned away from the LDP and are seeking possibilities in newer and smaller parties.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes part in a campaign event in Yokohama on July 6. Japan faces deep structural challenges but lacks bold political vision and leaders willing to take risks for transformative change.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2025

Performative ‘elections’ expose a sad lack of vision

Political parties jostle for position and trade barbs but offer no clear plan for Japan’s growing structural challenges.
Canada’s Couche-Tard has abandoned its bid for Japan’s Seven & I, easing fears it would ruin the beloved convenient store experience, while giving the company a chance to refocus and strengthen its business.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2025

The bid for Japan’s 7-Eleven was doomed from the start

Seven & I ’s more measured response shows the company is ready to move on.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing

The ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's devastating loss in Sunday’s poll could lead to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation or political gridlock in parliament.

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?