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Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 21, 2020

U.S. coronavirus deaths top 42,000 as protesters demand end to restrictions

U.S. coronavirus deaths topped 42,000 on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as more protesters gathered in state capitals to demand an early end to the lockdowns, while officials pleaded for patience until more testing becomes available.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2020

Can China end its wildlife trade?

The government's latest crackdown on the $75 billion business won't work. Here's what might.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2020

With Japan-wide emergency, Abe highlights sense of crisis over virus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday evening pressed for cooperation from all citizens in the fight against the spreading coronavirus following his decision to expand the state of emergency nationwide.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2020

Japan's airlines fly empty domestic flights as they stick to schedule

Japan's top airlines are operating a majority of their domestic capacity even though COVID-19 has caused seats on flights to be left mostly empty, amid a lack of clear government directives on the functioning of transport infrastructure during the crisis.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2020

Telework giving the global economy a glimpse of the virtual future

The lockdown gripping much of the world economy has spurred a real-time stress test of the long-heralded digital future.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2020

SoftBank foresees $12.5 billion loss as startup bets backfire

The company expects to record a u00a51.8 trillion ($16.7 billion) loss from its Vision Fund and another u00a5800 billion in losses from SoftBank's own investments.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2020

Tribe’s climate change plight highlights challenge for Native Americans

For several years, Fawn Sharp has seen her tribe on the coastline of Washington state lurch from crisis to crisis: rising sea levels have flooded the Quinault Indian Nation’s main village, and its staple sockeye salmon in nearby rivers have all but disappeared — a direct hit to the tribe’s finances...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 14, 2020

Outlook uncertain for Japanese-language exams

Japanese-language exams are in an uncertain state due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus around the world. Your Japanese study doesn't need to stop, though.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 11, 2020

Counting the cost of postponing the Tokyo Olympics

Nearly a month before the decision was announced to postpone the 2020 Olympics, the media was already speculating over their fate. On Feb. 24, the headline in Nikkan Gendai read, “Relinquishing of the Tokyo Olympics would mean ¥20 trillion in economic losses.”
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 10, 2020

Wuhan rent protest shows unrest brewing in China after lockdown

Dozens of small shop owners protested outside one of Wuhan’s biggest shopping malls to demand a cut in rent, in one of the first signs of unrest since authorities lifted a lockdown at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2020

A car boom in Wuhan brings hope for post-lockdown recovery

If a stream of visitors to auto dealerships in the virus-hit city is any indication, the recovery of the car business in China and perhaps the world could be rapid.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2020

China corporate governance in doubt after two accounting scandals in week

China’s second accounting scandal in less than a week is underscoring concern over lax corporate governance at some of its fastest-growing companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2020

Setting ‘simple’ standards is critical diplomacy

China is trying to put its stamp on “standard setting,” a little understood and even less appreciated dimension of international engagement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 7, 2020

How to embrace the spirit of altruism

Success in life or work is determined by attitude multiplied by effort and ability.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 6, 2020

Some WeWork staff planned their lives around a stock deal that just collapsed

Teddy Kramer worked at WeWork from 2013 to 2015. When he left the company, he had been a director of new market development, helping the coworking startup open new offices in different regions. He’d put in the time and been granted shares in the company. At first, he thought he might be able to sell...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Apr 5, 2020

Hopes firm for continued partnership amid COVID-19

A sailing enthusiast, Australian Ambassador Richard Court can sometimes be found at Enoshima Yacht Harbor or the Hayama Marina, indulging in his hobby and love of the ocean.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 5, 2020

In graying Japan, the market for home shopping is still maturing

The suit-clad television presenter makes breathless promises about the qualities of the Hitachi rice cooker he is pitching, describing how the induction heating steam pressure system allows the aluminum pot to produce the perfect batch of Japan’s staple food with a fluffy yet firm texture and a sweet...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2020

Businessman paid ¥881 million by Tokyo's Olympic bid committee lobbied figure at center of French graft probe

A businessman who received millions of dollars for his work on Tokyo's successful campaign to host the 2020 Olympics, which were postponed in March due to COVID-19, has said he played a key role in securing the support of a former Olympics powerbroker suspected by French prosecutors of taking bribes...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2020

Boosting resilience to COVID-19

The resilience that helped the world rebound from the Great Recession will be needed again with COVID-19.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2020

Boosting resilience to COVID-19

The resilience that helped the world rebound from the Great Recession will be needed again with COVID-19.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 2, 2020

Policy goal: How to get from good to great

As Japanese and global policymakers are rushing to design policies to counter the looming economic depression, advice from one of my favorite economists, Jean-Baptiste Say, comes to mind. In 1803 he wrote: “In policy as well as in morality, the grand secret is not to constrain the actions, but to awaken...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 1, 2020

Over half of Americans are postponing their weddings as industry reels

One of the last weddings performed in public in Las Vegas was on St. Patrick’s Day. The groom wore a dark suit. The bride wore a rockabilly-style black halter dress. The minister was Slash from Guns N’ Roses — or, rather, a licensed officiant performing as the shaggy-maned, top-hatted guitarist....
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....
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Mar 29, 2020

A closer look at Kansai Electric and its gift-giving scandal

Earlier this month, Kansai Electric Power Co. concluded that scores of its employees had received cash and gifts worth hundreds of millions of yen from an influential politician in a Fukui Prefecture town where the utility operates a nuclear power plant. The revelations by Kepco's investigative panel...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb