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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 9, 2021

El Salvador president steps in to fix bitcoin rollout snags

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele stepped in on Wednesday to manage the fraught roll-out of a payment app that underpins the nation's adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, and called on users to report any problems on his Twitter feed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2021

Japan prioritized domestic trials of Pfizer before rollout, vaccine czar says

The nation's vaccine czar revealed that Pfizer trials included over 100 Japanese residents in the U.S., but said the health ministry needed domestic tests due to 'food and diet' differences.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2021

How gaming will change humanity as we know it

Gaming is profoundly transforming two central aspects of the modern world: culture and regulation. There will be no turning back.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2021

China's slowdown is just as important as the U.S. jobs shocker

China's V-shaped recovery is showing less vigor. Authorities have gone from worrying about too strong a resurgence to scrambling to put a floor under a new slowdown.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2021

Vaccines versus COVID-19: The great immunity debate

People who don’t want to get vaccinated will grasp at any new piece of information to justify their reluctance — the latest being some pretty good data suggesting that the natural immunity left after recovering from COVID-19 is stronger over the long run than immunity generated by the Pfizer vaccine....
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 8, 2021

How Michael K. Williams made Omar Little his own on ‘The Wire’

Williams and his colleagues on the show once spoke about how the role evolved for an oral history of the series.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 8, 2021

With Suga's imminent departure, the battle for power has already begun

The prime minister's announcement that he would step down as leader of the LDP has set in motion a fierce race to the top.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 6, 2021

One and done — Prime Minister Suga’s sudden resignation

The Japan Times' political correspondent, Satoshi Sugiyama, discusses Suga's sudden resignation and who might replace him as prime minister.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 6, 2021

Former tennis star can relate to what Naomi Osaka is going through

Mardy Fish now acts as a mentor, sharing his experience as a prominent athlete who had to deal with mental health problems when the subject was close to taboo in pro sports.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2021

Space junk, long feared, is now an imminent threat

Although the vast majority of space junk is the size of a grain of sand or smaller, at least 26,000 pieces are big enough to destroy a satellite.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 3, 2021

China cracks down on showbiz for 'polluting' society and youth

Beijing's latest moves come in the wake of celebrity scandals, but also targets entertainment portraying 'effeminate' behavior and other content deemed 'warped.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2021

COVID-19 vaccines may become a viable business. That’s a problem.

Inoculations have been distributed to almost every person on the planet. But, traditionally, they been unprofitable for the pharmaceutical industry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2021

The Afghanistan war wasn’t a cynical misadventure

When once-good wars go bad, Americans tend to conclude that there was never anything redeeming about them in the first place.
A truck pulls the head of a toppled statue of late Syrian President Hafez Assad, the father of ousted-President Bashar Assad, through the streets of Hama on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2024

Assad’s fall shows Russia, Iran and Hamas made a bad bet

That’s not to say the Middle East is entering a bright new era of peace. The collapse of Assad’s regime could cause a revival of the Islamic State.
While there’s no evidence of deliberate manipulation, increasing opacity and inconsistent data have led to doubts about the accuracy of India's official gross domestic product figures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024

India’s statistical challenges mirror China’s past issues

India's once-strong institutional credibility in terms of economic data is weakening, much like China's, though perhaps for different reasons.
Georgian anti-government protesters face off against police during consecutive days of mass demonstrations against the government's postponement of European Union accession talks in central Tbilisi on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2024

Georgia has crossed a Russian Rubicon

A tipping point came last week when authorities in the capital Tbilisi sent masked police to raid the headquarters of opposition parties.
Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards and education, not secret life hacks.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2024

Two words for current ‘ancient Japanese wisdom’: think again

Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards, and education, not secret life hacks.
There is no guarantee that bird flu will ever begin transmitting between humans, and U.S. health authorities have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low.
WORLD
Dec 12, 2024

'Knocking on our door': Experts warn of bird flu's pandemic threat

U.S. health authorities have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a news conference following their meeting in Moscow in July. Both of their countries have pro-government "fact-checking" websites.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

Rise in pro-government 'fact checking' sparks concern in Europe

Fresh initiatives are presenting themselves as genuine fact-checking outfits while pushing their own agenda.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (front right) bows as the fiscal 2024 supplementary budget bill is passed in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Ishiba makes concessions to opposition to maintain power

The prime minister's minority government has endorsed opposition policies on tax and education to win their support for a supplementary budget.
Yutaka Mataebara (second from left) dines with his managerial colleagues at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Japan Times.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024

Here's to Yutaka Mataebara, the 'iron man' of The Japan Times

Mataebara was a pillar of the JT: During his 44 years at the paper until he retired in 2006, he worked in a variety of departments, including as the editor in chief.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks to press in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2024

Macron has a new prime minister but the same old problems

73-year-old Francis Bayrou was the torch-bearer of centrism until Macron reshaped the political landscape in 2017.
Efforts to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows in the U.K. using the feed additive Bovaer, proven safe and effective, have sparked public backlash fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024

No, sanitizing cow burps won’t sour your milk or contaminate your cheese

The problem the project addresses is real enough. Beef and dairy products are extremely carbon-intensive food items.
Houthi supporters hold a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday. A coordinated international military effort is needed to exploit Iran's weakened influence and neutralize the Houthi threat in Yemen.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024

The next Iranian proxy to target is the Houthis

A coordinated international military effort is needed to neutralize the Houthi threat in Yemen, which disrupts global shipping and exploits Iran's weakened influence.
A date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2024

Silent night? Not if you want to impress your Christmas Eve date.

In Japan, a date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years