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Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2020

Trump claims credit for vaccines. Some of his backers don’t want to take them.

Elizabeth Graves, an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, is not opposed to vaccines. She said she had taken flu shots and pneumonia shots and, having just turned 50, was interested in being vaccinated against shingles.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2020

While we're waiting for electric cars to fully charge, how about hybrids?

Investors have run up the stock prices of electric car companies and their valuations far higher than the businesses really warrant.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Dec 17, 2020

How putting on a mask raised Naomi Osaka’s voice

In 2020, Osaka found her voice and the self-possession to speak up when and how she saw fit, a massive leap for the global superstar.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2020

A letter from 9 million U.S. expats to Janet Yellen

This change would align American taxation of individuals with the systems of all other developed countries. It would free us expats to live, earn, save and invest as other people do.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2020

COVID-19 is killing people in more ways than one

If the forgone care is having adverse health consequences, then it would be fair to consider them indirect costs of the pandemic.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 15, 2020

Politics — not public health — drove Suga U-turn on Go To Travel

The plan to balance the health of the economy against that of people in Japan appeared to hit a wall, as public, political and scientific opposition grew.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2020

Facebook has only itself to blame for drastic remedy

Mark Zuckerberg has apologized a dozen times or more for some Facebook missteps and promised to do better. Nothing much changes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2020

Maybe Brexit isn’t so bad after all

The problem is that, especially in the last year, the EU has become a less workable political union, especially for the U.K.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2020

Don’t let Iran get away with hostage-taking

When the old hostages are sent home, the regime simply arrests new ones to replenish its stock of political pawns. The vicious circle is repeated.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2020

‘It’s hard to prove’: Why antitrust suits against Facebook face hurdles

Any company breakup may face the skepticism of courts, which have been hesitant about undoing mergers because that can sometimes cause more harm to consumers than good.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2020

When Elliott talks, Masayoshi Son and Softbank listen

Until recently, the U.S.-based hedge fund hasn't been able to scare up much success in Asia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2020

Exxon's activist uses weapons provided by Exxon

The fact the activist led with this straightforward jab speaks to the difficulty inherent to landing the other punch: namely, getting Exxon to look beyond oil and gas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2020

How to vaccinate a nation of skeptics against COVID-19

How to convince people to actually take the shot. Achieving herd immunity may mean at least 80% of people will need the vaccine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2020

Prime Minister Suga makes a $708 billion bet on political survival

The government's fiscal response to the pandemic already dwarfs measures taken after the global financial crisis, as well as the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 8, 2020

Study 'mushiro' and 'kaette' rather than falling behind on your Japanese

The adverbs 'mushiro' and 'kaette' indicate alternative preferences, but the difference lies in whether the alternative comes down to personal judgement.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 6, 2020

Russian state employees describe pressure to join vaccine trials

Some employees are coming under heavy pressure to sign up for the trials, an effort that medical ethicists say may run afoul of ethical norms.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2020

Is Wall Street ready to work on China time?

Many of the Chinese blue-chips have secondary listings in Hong Kong so stockholders should hold on to their shares because that's how they can continue to chase the China dream.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2020

All the happiness money can buy in the winter of COVID-19

While rates of depression and anxiety are up in some countries, many households now have more cash on hand than usual.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2020

What Africa needs now is its own Japan or Singapore

What Africa might need is its own Japan — a pioneering country that can industrialize first, and then invest in the rest of the continent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2020

India’s angry farmers have reason to worry

The third rail of Indian politics has always been agriculture. While the economy has been partly liberalized since opening up to the world in 1991, the process has largely bypassed the three-fifths of Indians who depend for their livelihoods, directly or indirectly, on farming. In September, the government...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 3, 2020

Chefs vs scientists: France's pandemic fight to keep eating out

In France and around the world, business owners have pushed back against curbs sought by scientists to slow the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2020

Why the U.K. approved a COVID-19 vaccine first

Doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be injected starting next week, the government said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2020

China scores big against poverty but the poor haven’t gone away

Almost 90% of the population was below the international poverty threshold in 1981, according to the World Bank; by the 2019, that was under 1%.
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

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 Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2020

Progressives may not like Biden’s foreign policy

Biden has signaled that his national security cabinet will be more centrist than the left flank of his party would like.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 1, 2020

I'm sorry, but I think you can complain a little bit better than that

Japanese is well-known for being an indirect language, but that doesn't mean you can't make your dissatisfaction with a situation clear to others.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2020

Warp speed for clean energy? That won't work.

It might it be easier for the government to subsidize battery research, rather than pre-ordering particular battery units for later distribution? Maybe so, and it would be smart policy.

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