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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2019

Gloomy forecast for Davos: Crises aplenty to deal with, but few world leaders around to do it

An array of crises will keep several world leaders away from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos next week, which takes place against a backdrop of deepening gloom over the global economic and political outlook.
Reader Mail
Jan 18, 2019

We should make foreign laborers feel welcome

The editorial "Support for foreign laborers" in the Dec. 30 edition enticed me into quickly reading it to the end. It's a blessing that up to 345,000 blue-collar workers will come to Japan in the first five years of the new visa program because Japan has been suffering from a chronic manpower shortage....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2019

As cramped Hong Kong eyes $64 billion island-building plan, critics say developers are hoarding unused land

Hong Kong's government says it needs to build billions of dollars' worth of artificial islands to give the city's glittering skyline room to grow, but critics say developers are hoarding unused land that could solve the problem.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2019

Trump administration widens callback of U.S. workers with pay to blunt damage from shutdown

The State Department told employees they're going back to work with pay despite the partial government shutdown, as the Trump administration continues to craft exemptions aimed at minimizing the effects of the funding impasse with Congress.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2019

After once declaring all-clear, Trump missile defense review calls North Korea 'extraordinary threat'

President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped U.S. missile defense strategy on Thursday that called North Korea an ongoing and "extraordinary threat," seven months after he declared the threat posed by Pyongyang had been eliminated.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2019

Chinese ambassador to Canada warns against any future Huawei 5G ban

China's envoy to Canada on Thursday warned Ottawa of possible repercussions if it banned technology firm Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from supplying equipment to Canadian 5G networks, the latest blast in a deepening bilateral dispute.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2019

Rigging polls 'was at the direction of' Trump, admits his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, said on Thursday he paid a firm to manipulate online polling data "at the direction of and for the sole benefit of" Trump.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 18, 2019

In 'unexpected' gender role twist, Congo Ebola outbreak hits more women as they head households

About two-thirds of patients in Congo's latest Ebola outbreak have been women, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, calling for more focus on gender in disease control and prevention.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2019

Okinawa activist launches hunger strike to protest cities staying out of vote on Henoko U.S. base plan

Backed by about 93,000 signatures from residents of Okinawa, Jinshiro Motoyama and his civil organization pushed the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly last year to hold a referendum on a controversial plan to relocate a U.S. military base to the Henoko area by reclaiming land in an area with endangered coral...
SUMO
Jan 17, 2019

Sumo 101: Retirement ceremonies

Now that Kisenosato has retired, one of the first orders of business for him will be arranging a retirement ceremony.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2019

Theresa May's Brexit plan isn't dead yet

In the end, the British prime minister's rejected agreement might seem marginally less unpalatable than, and the only alternative to, a hard Brexit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jan 17, 2019

Marie Kondo's new TV series cleans up

Marie Kondo is the type of person you wouldn't initially expect lots of people to go crazy over. In the cleaning consultant and best-selling author's new Netflix show, "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo," she simply lays out the basics of her "KonMari" method of organizing homes — guided by the idea of finding...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 17, 2019

Jets, Brex continue heavyweight battle for superiority

Talk about excellent timing.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2019

Osaka officials meet residents near G20 site to discuss traffic restrictions and other measures ahead of June meeting

Residents near the venue for the June 28-29 Group of 20 leaders' summit will face traffic restrictions immediately before and after the meeting, Osaka officials said Wednesday evening, but the exact measures are still being worked out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2019

Funk on Da Table: The band bringing New Orleans funk to Japan

For over two decades, June Yamagishi and John "Papa" Gros have been bringing New Orleans and Japan closer together through music.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2019

Yen likely to hit 80 to the dollar in next Japan recession, former BOJ official says

The yen is likely to reach its strongest level against the dollar in more than six years if Japan enters a recession, which could come as early as the fall of this year, a former central bank official has said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 17, 2019

#StandUpJapan and other hashtags allow for new voices to be heard

On the morning of Jan. 14, 20-year-old women decked out in brightly colored kimono scrambled to catch trains to take them to ceremonies across the country to mark Coming of Age Day.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 17, 2019

How Coretta Scott King brought her husband's message to Japan

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which this year falls on Jan. 21, is a federal holiday that marks the birthday (Jan. 15, 1929) of one of the United States' most-revered civil rights leaders.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2019

Russia calls on Japan to recognize outcome of World War II

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied on Wednesday that Moscow was imposing an ultimatum on Japan in talks to end a decadeslong territorial dispute, but called on Tokyo to recognize the results of World War II.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2019

Plastics and consumer goods makers announce $1.5 billion pledge to rein in waste

Global companies including BASF, DowDuPont, Procter & Gamble and SABIC have formed an alliance to fight plastic waste, pledging to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2019

May gropes for Brexit consensus after deal's crushing defeat in Parliament

Prime Minister Theresa May was trying to forge consensus in Parliament on a Brexit divorce agreement on Wednesday after the crushing defeat of her own deal left Britain's exit from the European Union in disarray 10 weeks before it is due to leave.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 17, 2019

Pregnant Meghan laughs off 'fat lady' comment on charity visit

A stranger's comment on one's growing stomach may not always be welcome but a pregnant Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, took it all in her stride on Wednesday when a pensioner called her "a fat lady.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2019

In rare ruling, court fines Japanese man who anonymously posted hateful anti-Korean remarks against teenager

A Kawasaki court has ordered a 66-year-old man to pay compensation and remove defamatory remarks from his blog that were targeted at a teenage Korean resident in greater Tokyo, lawyers representing the boy said Wednesday.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 16, 2019

Despite injuries, Kisenosato embodied rikishi ideals

Kisenosato's retirement, while both inevitable and expected, casts a pall over the ongoing tournament.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jan 16, 2019

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame showing little respect for former NPB great Tuffy Rhodes

It's one thing for another year to pass with Tuffy Rhodes not yet even within shouting distance of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. But there has to be something in the voters' water for the American slugger to be left in the dust by Masahiro Kawai on the ballot. Yet that's where we are.

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