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JAPAN
Jan 27, 2023

As Japan moves to downgrade COVID, focus shifts to messaging on risks

People will be encouraged to make their own judgments on the risk from the coronavirus, but experts say scientifically sound advice will remain important.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2023

Sudan struggles for attention as violence escalates and human toll grows

With conflict having displaced around 3 million people, aid agencies operating in the country see no end to the deepening crisis.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 14, 2023

China finds no new COVID-19 variants but mutation threat lingers

The news is bolstering hopes that a new variant after omicron — one that could set the world back in its attempts to move past the pandemic — is less likely to emerge.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2023

Japan needs to reassure neighbors on release and safety of treated radioactive water

Scientists have concluded that the plan to discharge the ALPS-treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean is the most realistic solution to the storage issue.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 5, 2023

China COVID data shows no new variant but underreports deaths, WHO says

Global unease has grown about the accuracy of China's reporting of an outbreak that has filled hospitals and overwhelmed some funeral homes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 4, 2023

Most EU countries back pre-departure COVID testing for flights from China

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said last week it did not currently recommend measures for travelers from China.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2022

Three years in, COVID's true death toll still elusive

The difference between the official and real figures could diverge even further next year, with modeling predicting more than a million deaths in China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 28, 2022

U.S. national killed in Saitama was a well-established businessman in Japan

William Bishop Jr. came to Japan in 1974 and eventually went on to start his own health care consultancy. He has been described as “dedicated, hard-working and a real leader.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 22, 2022

Japan approves blood test to detect Alzheimer’s

Japan has approved one of the world’s first blood test kits to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease, paving way for a simpler and speedier diagnosis of the ailment for which a therapy is on the horizon.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 18, 2022

Reports of Beijing COVID deaths fuel speculation of data coverup

China hasn't recorded a COVID-19 death since Dec. 4, but crematorium staffers in Beijing have been quoted as saying they have cremated the bodies of COVID-19 victims.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2022

China’s 'zero-COVID' muddle

The longer Chinese authorities attempt to avoid responsibility and muddle through on COVID-19, the greater the risk to public health.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 9, 2022

Challenging last mile for China's vaccine push after 'zero-COVID' retreat

Health risk analysis firm Airfinity has predicted as many as 2.1 million COVID-19 fatalities at current immunity levels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2022

Japan to raise childbirth allowance to ¥500,000 amid rising costs

Costs for childbirth have been rising in Japan in recent years, with the average total now exceeding the allowance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2022

Are China’s ‘COVID-zero’ protests a game changer?

Xi Jinping's unwillingness thus far to adjust coronavirus containment measures could have grave consequences for the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2022

Police check fears and hurdles keeping Hong Kong migrants out of U.K. professions

Some Hong Kongers fear giving their details to a police force they no longer trust, and the British consulate in Hong Kong stopped facilitating such requests in June.
Demonstrators protest against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean, in Seoul on July 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023

Fukushima water opposition is steeped in anti-science

Skepticism over Japan’s plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant must not give way to scaremongering.
Qin Gang
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 25, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang removed from office after one-month absence

The report did not give a reason for Qin's removal, but said President Xi Jinping signed a presidential order to enact the decision. Top diplomat Wang Yi will replace him.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters following the Senate Republicans weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in April.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2023

After McConnell freezes midsentence, U.S. Senate GOP stands by him

Senate Republicans are standing by their longtime leader, brushing off questions about his health after he froze midsentence at the start of his weekly news conference Wednesday.
China and India both began liberalizing their economies around the same time in the 1980s. But China invested more in human-capital and is now benefiting from that decision.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2023

Unlike China, India cannot be an economic superpower

In the 1980s, the belief among observers was that an authoritarian Chinese regime would mismanage its economy while a democratic India would thrive.
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2023

Simone Biles ready for long-awaited return to gymnastics

After confirming her return to competition last month, Biles said she is still undergoing therapy to help her handle the mental side of the sport.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023

My Number report highlights errors by insurers and local governments

Roughly 20% of surveyed local governments followed the wrong procedures when linking My Number with disability records.
Heat haze permeates the skyline of Manama, Bahrain.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 10, 2023

How is climate change driving dangerous 'wet-bulb' temperatures?

Dubai, for example, is forecast to see air temperatures hover around 43 degrees Celsius. But climate experts say air temperature alone can be misleading.
Logistics companies have started asking truck drivers to use sleep-tracking devices.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2023

Japan truck industry monitors drivers' sleep ahead of overtime cap

Firms are asking drivers to use mattress sleep trackers and wearables as they ready for an expected industry-wide crunch once overtime is limited.
Rice planting in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture. Satellite data could greatly improve how global farmers respond to climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2023

How satellites are helping farmers adapt to global warming

Farther than the eye can see, advances in satellite data are giving global farmers the tools to better manage their fields in a rapidly changing climate.
This undated handout photo provided by the Michigan Technological University shows a M93, "Old Gray Guy," the larger and lighter colored wolf in the front and center.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 1, 2023

How a lone 'immigrant' wolf revived a forest ecosystem

By the 1980s, the wolves were in trouble due to the arrival of canine parvovirus which drove their numbers down from a high of 50 to around 12.
Kohei Saito, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo who appears regularly in Japanese media to discuss his ideas, at home in Tokyo on March 16.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Can shrinking be good for Japan? A Marxist bestseller makes the case.

Saito has tapped into what he describes as a growing disillusionment in Japan with capitalism’s ability to solve the problems people see around them.
Afghans clear debris from a damaged house after an earthquake in Sarbuland, Herat province, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 8, 2023

Afghanistan earthquakes kill 2,053, Taliban says, as death toll spikes

Amid the confusion, the death toll from Saturday's quakes spiked from the 500 reported on Sunday morning.
A dove flies over the debris of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2023

Gazans bombarded by Israel have no hope and no escape

The Palestinian territory, one of the most crowded places on Earth, has been under siege since Saturday in a near-constant bombardment.
A gender-equality supporter protests against discrimination at an event held in Tokyo for International Women's Day in March 2021
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s gender gap has never been wider. Can Kishida close it?

The government emphasizes the need to improve gender equality, but correcting Japan's dismal record requires a nuanced approach.
Road signage near Mai Mahiu, Kenya
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 16, 2023

Mental trauma: African content moderators push Big Tech on rights

Thousands are hired to scour social media for graphic content, but many allege irregular pay, union-busting and inadequate mental health support.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers