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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2020

Erdogan's political challengers are getting tougher

Neither investors nor the general public seem to be buying Erdogan's promise of a new economic era for Turkey.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2020

We’re never going to mine the asteroid belt

One factor rules out most space mining at the outset: gravity. It guarantees that most of the solar system's best mineral resources are to be found under our feet on Earth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2020

Emmanuel Macron has the same problem as King Louis XVI

French orders of the Pfizer vaccine run to about 45 million, which means around 22 million people can receive the two-shot course.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2020

Did Trump’s impeachment matter in the end?

It's easy to conclude that, without the pandemic, Trump would have won. And if that's correct, it would seem that the impeachment would not have made any difference.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2020

Facebook investors don't need to fear a breakup

If Microsoft Corp.'s antitrust ordeal is at all analogous — over three years from suit to settlement — it could be a long time before the outcome of all this is known.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2020

Sweden’s second wave offers hard reality check

The country has highlighted the danger of thinking any government has found out how to beat the coronavirus.
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.

Longform

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