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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 3, 2020

Armed with good data, engineers wage quiet battle for cleaner air

As countries try to slash air pollution and step up action on climate change, many are looking at a key culprit: tailpipes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 2, 2020

The unstoppable rise of Regal Lily

Regal Lily is supposed to be on tour at the moment. But instead of enjoying what the band’s members like about touring — eating hotel breakfasts, trying local dishes or simply exploring new towns — they’re staying put. There will be no early April show at Mynavi Blitz Akasaka, Tokyo, wrapping...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2020

NSC change prepares Japan for new global realities

Japan is moving toward a wiser decision-making process when it comes to key security questions.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2020

How a gulf prince charmed Indonesia's Jokowi and poured money into the country

During a visit last summer where he strolled through the tropical gardens next to Indonesia’s summer Presidential Palace, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince offered to build a grand mosque for his host, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. If that seemed like a generous gesture, the two men struck a bigger bargain within...
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 31, 2020

U.S. spies unclear on COVID-19 spread in China, North Korea and Russia

As U.S. spy agencies seek to assemble a precise picture of the world's coronavirus outbreaks, they are finding serious gaps in their ability to assess the situation in China, Russia and North Korea, according to five U.S. government sources familiar with the intelligence reporting.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2020

Once-in-a-century pandemic promises to reshape our world

The geostrategic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis will likely hold major implications for Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic fuels trend toward smaller funerals in Japan

From dispatching Buddhist monks to connecting grieving families with affordable funeral homes, Osaka-based end-of-life startup Uniquest Inc. is among the many firms that have been capitalizing on the growing preference toward simple, cheaper funerals and greater efficiency and personalization of services....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 29, 2020

A leap from academia to first Armenian ambassador

As ambassador of a country with one of the longest histories in the world, Grant Pogosyan is eager to share his homeland's unique culture with Japan. Just as unique, however, is Pogosyan's path to becoming the first ambassador for Armenia in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2020

Japanese hotels lose out on Olympic bet as coronavirus spreads

The Osaka Corona Hotel has been eerily quiet and empty the past few weeks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2020

Shiho Sakamoto: Designing wagashi for the 21st century

Wagashi designer Shiho Sakamoto is embracing technology, using Instagram, video and even 3D printing to introduce wagashi sweets to new generations around the world.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2020

Stacks of urns in Wuhan prompt new questions about virus's toll

The long lines and stacks of ash urns greeting family members of the dead at funeral homes in Wuhan are spurring questions about the true scale of coronavirus casualties at the epicenter of the outbreak, renewing pressure on a Chinese government struggling to control its containment narrative.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 27, 2020

Hanshin's Shintaro Fujinami one of three Tigers to test positive for coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis has reached Japanese baseball, with the Hanshin Tigers announcing Friday three players had tested positive for the virus.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2020

Squarepusher speaks up for a little human kindness

In 2016, shortly after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Tom Jenkinson released a plaintive protest song under his Squarepusher alias, titled “MIDI Sans Frontieres.” Though he’s better known for maximalist explosions of breakbeats, hyperactive acid synths and fusion-jazz frippery,...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Mar 26, 2020

Olympic delay could send Samurai Japan back to drawing board

One of the common threads in the comments from many of Japan’s top players before spring training was about how much each was motivated by the prospect of trying to win gold on home soil during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 26, 2020

Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami to have test for coronavirus

Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami will undergo a PCR test for the coronavirus, the team announced on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2020

Osaka court rejects retrial over Wakayama curry poisoning murders

The Osaka High Court has rejected a retrial petition by an inmate who was sentenced to death for murdering four and sickening over 60 others in 1998, by poisoning curry served at a festival in Wakayama Prefecture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2020

Japan could face year-long slump if 'cursed' Olympics canceled

A canceled or postponed Olympics would likely result in Japan's economy shrinking for the longest stretch since the global financial crisis, according to some economists.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 21, 2020

Why is Japan still a coronavirus outlier?

How has Japan seemingly escaped the spread of the coronavirus when other countries have suffered so badly?
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2020

Tax agency bureaus in Japan on high alert for rise in consumption tax fraud

Tax authorities are preparing to act against a possible increase in abuses of a rule that exempts export transactions from sales levies following October's consumption tax hike from 8 percent to 10 percent.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 21, 2020

Finland retains crown as world's happiest country

Finland has once again been crowned as the world's happiest country, extending its lead over Denmark and Switzerland, according to a United Nations-affiliated research network.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2020

Google critics see its Firebase tools as another squeeze play

Some app developers say Google LLC is increasingly pressing them to embed code in their own products that will deepen Google's access to data on consumers, giving the company a leg up on rivals.
Reader Mail
Mar 20, 2020

School closures are a cruel blow to children

About 300 million children worldwide are unable to go to school, not because of war, terrorist attack or natural disaster, but because of the coronavirus ("School halted for 290 million worldwide" in the March 6 edition). As a student, I would like to share my opinion about this unparalleled situation....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 19, 2020

Sunrockers big man Sebastian Saiz's thoughts drift to Spain as pandemic intensifies

Playing the game he professes to love, Sebastian Saiz was back in familiar surroundings on Sunday afternoon.
Figure Skating
Mar 19, 2020

Alexandra Trusova leads quad revolution in debut senior season

Writers dub her the "Quad Queen."
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2020

Keeping the elderly in the labor market longer

Legislation that has been approved by the Lower House will oblige employers to "make efforts" to secure job opportunities for their employees until they turn 70 if they wish to keep working. A key part of the social security reform pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the measure aims to make up for...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2020

New Zealand decriminalizes abortion in historic reform

New Zealand has passed a landmark bill that treats abortion as a health issue rather than a crime, a major reform in laws that have been unchanged for more than four decades.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami