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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2021

The explanation for seemingly irrational COVID-19 behavior

Before the vaccines came along, it made great sense to enforce masking norms. If infections could be shifted into the future, a vaccinated citizenry would be much better protected.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2021

Employers beware: Hiring software could weed out future stars

Many employers have turned to software to whittle down hundreds of candidates. But there's a problem: The software can snub perfectly good workers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 14, 2021

South Korea's lack of anti-discrimination laws takes toll on LGBT youth, activists say

When an anti-discrimination petition gained 100,000 signatures in four days, a petition opposing the measures gathered the same number of signatures just as quickly.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2021

The U.K.’s bizarre $1.7 billion vaccine rug-pull

The British government abruptly canceled its supply contract, having found Valneva in breach of its obligations without specifying how — something Valneva contests.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2021

LDP leadership contender Kishida unveils initiatives to counter China

Kishida, taking a page from the Biden's administration's multilateral approach to dealing with Beijing, has called for Tokyo to work even more closely with other 'like-minded' democracies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2021

An $11 billion distraction for China's chip ambitions

China's lack of self-sufficiency in the equipment, materials and software required to build chips will further complicate capacity expansion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Sep 13, 2021

After the 'bazooka', Bank of Japan dismantles the work of its radical chief

After years of shock-and-awe stimulus, the Bank of Japan is quietly rolling back radical policies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 12, 2021

In Japan politics, social media savvy Taro Kono is a rarity. His party isn't fully on board.

Kono's unorthodox communication style is a double-edged sword and has made him a polarizing figure among some of the Liberal Democratic Party's influential old guard.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 10, 2021

King & Prince eye J-pop’s throne

The Johnny's boy band explores English lyrics on its third album, “Re:Sense,' and embraces showing the more personal sides of its members on social media.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2021

Amid setbacks, Prime Minister Suga had successes too

While Suga will be remembered most for his handling of COVID-19, his time in office also included actions that saw important policy outcomes during a period of severe challenges.
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.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2021

Trudeau’s populist pose could hurt Canada’s economy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's populist panderings are being compared to Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, and if acted upon, could hurt the economy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2021

EU’s guidelines on U.S. visitors is sounding like trade war diplomacy

Europeans have been more pragmatic than the Americans. These latest travel curbs are nonbinding recommendations that will likely only affect the unvaccinated.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 1, 2021

Defiant Biden rejects criticism of Afghanistan exit

Biden offered a sweeping defense of his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying he inherited an unstable situation from Trump and that the 20-year war 'should have ended long ago.'

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan