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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 31, 2020

Virus-shortened B. League season produced memorable performances

Despite last Friday's abrupt end to the B. League season, the campaign gave fans a number of memorable feats since its opening weekend last October.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 31, 2020

Five coronavirus hunters on the front lines of the pandemic

Developing a vaccine or a treatment for a newly discovered virus is a painstakingly slow and detailed endeavor. Finding a compound that works, testing it in animals, and then rolling it out to clinical trials in humans can take years. And even the top experts in virology and epidemiology typically toil...
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 30, 2020

Ken Shimura’s entertainment legacy spans generations

Entertainer Ken Shimura didn’t belong to any single generation. Following news that the 70-year-old comedian had died on Sunday from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, TV broadcasters on Monday featured both Shimura’s contemporaries and much younger personalities visibly upset over his passing.
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
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2020

Tabletop drill of virus response aided South Korea when the real thing hit

A South Korean tabletop exercise on emergency responses to a fictional mysterious outbreak led directly to tools the country deployed less than a month later to manage the arrival and spread of the coronavirus, one of the experts involved said
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 30, 2020

Title-hungry Harry Kane can't guarantee he will stay with Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane said Sunday that he could leave the Premier League club if the team does not progress in the right direction as he wants to win trophies "sooner rather than later."
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 29, 2020

NFL draft goes from extravaganza to unadorned this year

An NFL draft handled remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic is the latest twist to an event that has become as popular as any pro football happening short of the Super Bowl.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2020

Global wave of consumer default underway, beginning in China

Like millions of people around the world, Zhang Chunzi borrowed money she thought she would be able to repay. Then the new coronavirus changed everything.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Mar 29, 2020

Disappointed Naomi Osaka voices support for postponement of Tokyo Olympics

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, the poster girl of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, took to social media on Saturday to show her support for the decision to postpone the games until next year.
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
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 28, 2020

Face masks can foster a false sense of security

What’s happening in Japan is written all over our faces — our blank, expressionless, masked faces. Never before, it seems safe to say, have so many people gone about masked.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2020

Almost 1 in 4 Americans lost job or were furloughed because of coronavirus, poll shows

Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults said they have been laid off or furloughed during the coronavirus outbreak, yet a bipartisan majority of Americans wants businesses to remain closed to slow the spread of the deadly virus despite its impact on the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 28, 2020

Vaping could compound health risks tied to new coronavirus, U.S. FDA says

Vaping may leave users with underlying health conditions at higher risk of serious complications if they contract the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Mar 27, 2020

B. League cancels remainder of season, playoffs

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the B. League ran out of all options but one: canceling the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2020

Asia's 50 Best Restaurants is a somber countdown for an industry and continent in crisis

In the latest edition of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings, Singapore's Odette has retained its No.1 position for a second straight year, ahead of The Chairman in Hong Kong and Tokyo's Den. But the announcement on Tuesday was overshadowed by the escalating coronavirus pandemic that has swept the continent.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2020

Mali opposition leader Soumalia Cisse abducted days before election

Gunmen abducted Soumaila Cisse, the leader of Mali's main opposition party, and members of his campaign team days before parliamentary polls.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2020

Alibaba suffers culture conflicts

At Lazada, the Southeast Asian arm of Alibaba Group Holding, staffers are furious over demands that they submit health reports daily and other coronavirus-prevention steps seen as too invasive, highlighting a long-running culture clash with management from China.
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,...
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2020

Tokyo Olympics delay rekindles debate over Abe’s political future

Speculation over when Abe might dissolve the Lower House for a snap election has resurfaced.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2020

Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffers coral bleaching again

Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef has suffered its third mass coral bleaching in five years, according to early results of aerial surveys over the World Heritage site.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic fells first European government, in Kosovo

Kosovo lawmakers voted to remove Prime Minister Albin Kurti, becoming the first nation in Europe to vote out a government over the way it handled the coronavirus outbreak.
WORLD
Mar 25, 2020

Istanbul prosecutor indicts Saudi suspects for Khashoggi killing

Istanbul prosecutors said on Wednesday they had prepared an indictment against a close aide to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a former deputy head of general intelligence over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 25, 2020

Gunmen in Afghanistan kill 25 in raid on Sikh complex

Unidentified gunmen and suicide bombers raided a Sikh religious complex in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Wednesday, killing 25 people before security forces killed all of the attackers, the government said.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 25, 2020

Maverick presidents Bolsonaro in Brazil and Lopez Obrador in Mexico both in denial over COVID-19

The presidents of Mexico and Brazil scored stunning election victories in 2018 in defiance of the political establishment, but now their unwillingness to follow consensus on the coronavirus pandemic has left the two increasingly exposed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 25, 2020

Lee Ufan: The same but different

Lee Ufan’s new paintings look very different depending on where you are standing. From a distance, when you can take in several of the large canvases at the same time, abstract shapes seem to emphatically announce themselves as existing; however, they are also pointedly ambiguous as to what they are....

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji