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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2020

In George Floyd’s city, inequalities are everywhere

Black communities — and businesses — are at a steep disadvantage in Minneapolis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2020

Protests threaten to set back long-awaited reopenings

As the U.S. shifts its attention away from the pandemic, turmoil in the streets could hobble the recovery from COVID-19.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 8, 2020

New Zealand ends social distancing after eliminating COVID-19

New Zealand will remove social distancing requirements after reporting zero active cases of COVID-19, indicating it has achieved its aim of eliminating the virus.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2020

Protesters hit Tokyo and Osaka streets with rallies against racism and police brutality

Protesters said racial discrimination and the treatment of foreigners in Japan are topics often avoided by the media and in public discourse.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2020

The more COVID-19 vaccines, the merrier

With companies and universities around the world working flat out, it's likely we'll end up with a few coronavirus vaccines, not just one.
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2020

COVID-19 patients suffering in silence are the heroes in Japan’s ‘success’

In his June 2 opinion piece, Tomoya Saito paints a rosy picture of "The secret of Japan's success in combating COVID-19," but the contact tracing and public information campaigns that he touts as being exceptional are not: They are average at best when compared to those of peer industrialized nations....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2020

Has racism exacerbated the COVID-19 crisis?

Mass incarceration and other social ills made the world more vulnerable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2020

Don’t only bet on fast vaccines, root for COVID-19 treatments

Everything would have to go right to get a vaccine this year, but several types of treatments may be able to help patients in a matter of months.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2020

Most Americans sympathize with protests and disapprove of Trump's response

A majority of Americans sympathize with nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody and disapprove of President Donald Trump's response to the unrest, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2020

China's border invasion will push India toward the U.S.

India's long history of nonalignment is giving way to the threat of a shared enemy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jun 1, 2020

The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance has lost its way

Criticism of an organization that presumed to represent former 'comfort women' is creating a much-needed opening for public scrutiny of its conduct.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2020

Is the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic now behind us?

Fears of a flare-up in virus cases after lockdown haven't come to pass, though some caution is warranted.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2020

Turkey and Russia are at war, and Libya’s the loser

The failed siege of Tripoli is an opening for peace, but only if the outside players end their proxy war.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2020

Coronavirus hasn’t killed the global balance of power

Americans who hail a new era of global cooperation haven't been paying attention to what China is up to.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2020

We’re going on a staycation

Yes, people are itching to travel, but their first holidays are likely to be close to home.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2020

China’s security law sends Hong Kong residents dashing for exit

For many in Hong Kong who've long feared an erosion of their freedoms under Chinese rule, last week marked a tipping point.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 30, 2020

Public begins to wake up to sheer volume of harassment online

Social media users want abusers to drop their veil of anonymity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2020

How safe are pets from COVID-19?

Back in mid-April, I took my 13-year-old cat to the vet for some tests. They told me his chronic heart disease had worsened, but it was nothing alarming. His condition started to deteriorate a few days later, ultimately leading to a 3 a.m. trip to the emergency room on April 27. The emergency veterinarians...
Reader Mail
May 30, 2020

Not everyone welcomes U.S. Marines

When Kuni Miyake claims "Japan wholeheartedly welcomes the Marines back” in his May 19 opinion piece “A welcome move by the U.S. Marines," he must have been excluding Okinawa.
Reader Mail
May 30, 2020

To learn English, think in English

Regarding Takamitsu Sawa’s Jan. 20 opinion piece “Japan going the wrong way in English-education reform,” one day, I asked one of my classmates at school, a returnee from the States, “How can I be fluent in English?” He replied, “Think everything in English. Try.” Of course, this conversation...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2020

Japan is going for broke, minus the broke part

The prospect of monetary and fiscal coordination means this stimulus bill will get paid. But central bank independence is also on the line.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 29, 2020

Facebook and Twitter chart divergent paths in face of Trump threats

Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. have both sparked the ire of Donald Trump, but the social networks have taken nearly opposite approaches to politics and the president.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2020

Three ways Congress can save the U.S. economy

These measures can work no matter what your ideology.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2020

Boris Johnson leaves the dirty work to everyone else

Britain's prime minister has centralized power, but he doesn't seem to want to use it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 26, 2020

Death of 'Mr. Big' stirs memories of Singapore's gangland past

Early one October morning in 1969, Singapore police officers found the body of a man dumped in a storm drain. He had been stabbed to death, police said, in what became one of the country's most notorious gang killings.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 26, 2020

Hong Kong's leader denies security laws will hurt city's rights and freedoms

Beijing unveiled plans last week for national security legislation for Hong Kong that aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2020

Lockdowns haven’t proved they’re worth the havoc

The U.S. survived the 1968 pandemic without shutting down society, and there isn't much evidence that shutdowns are truly effective this time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2020

NASA should beware of viruses from outer space

As the space agency prepares to bring home Martian soil samples, it needs to update its planetary-protection rules — and soon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2020

China tests global diplomacy and economy

The country risks nations' pushback as it moves ahead with its ambitions under the cover of COVID-19.

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