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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 2, 2020

With suicide note and lawsuit, Moritomo scandal back to haunt Abe

With the publication of a suicide note by a former Finance Ministry official and subsequent lawsuit by his widow, the Moritomo Gakuen scandal has returned to haunt Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But with Abe saying the issue has been settled and Japan finding itself in the midst of the coronavirus crisis,...
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2020

Financial stimulus in rich countries could worsen fates of poorer economies

A massive exodus of capital from emerging economies has left many in a Catch-22 position, where adopting the kinds of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures the rich world is deploying could perversely make things worse.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2020

Mass disinfections to combat coronavirus pose another health hazard

A drone dispersed clouds of disinfectant in the sky above Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya on Tuesday, a response to the coronavirus pandemic which is catching on around the world despite warnings from health experts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 1, 2020

The mask middlemen: How pop-up brokers seek big paydays in a frenzied pandemic market

Brian Kolfage, a Florida military veteran, recently convinced Americans to donate millions of dollars for a privately built wall on the U.S. southern border. Now he has jumped into a new venture: hawking millions of protective face masks that are in critically short supply during the coronavirus pandemic....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 1, 2020

Meet the expat comedians who keep Tokyo smiling

Probably the biggest paradox of stand-up comedy is that while there are no schools of humor — no Bachelor of Laughs degree, not even a “funny” skill on Linkedin to endorse your friend for — stand-up comedians are out there in good numbers. Even in Tokyo, where speaking English can be a struggle,...
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
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2020

A virus to kill populism, or make it stronger?

Will the pandemic makes or break the populist leaders that the last global crisis gave rise to?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2020

Crisis response shows Trump isn’t a dictator

The U.S. president has shied away from trying to grab power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2020

Keep a tight rein on virus-tracking tools

Tools that democracies need to fight a pandemic are not appropriate when it's over.
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
SPORTS
Mar 31, 2020

North American teams face long struggle to draw fans when outbreak subsides

When North American sports leagues return to action after the coronavirus crisis, questions are sure to linger over whether the fans will be willing, or have the resources, to pack stadiums as they once did, sports analysts have said.
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...
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
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
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 29, 2020

Tax incentives needed to promote recurrent education

There are no countries in the world that do not wish for eternal prosperity. Nothing can ensure such prosperity except education of their people. Many people may take that to mean school education for children and youth. However, what will be far more important going forward will be recurrent education,...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2020

Vitriol and violence: A coronavirus death exposes paranoia in India

When Satyaki Mitra's father developed a mild fever in mid-March, the graduate student in Philadelphia wasn't especially worried. He told his 57-year-old father, living in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, to get tested for the new coronavirus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2020

Fed brings the global financial system back from the abyss

Sitting calmly in front of a bookshelf filled with thick volumes of the "Federal Reserve Bulletin," Jerome Powell this week set out to offer a simple explanation for the complicated steps the U.S. central bank is taking to relieve dire stresses in the global financial system.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2020

Flying low: The battle over Tokyo’s airspace

Haneda Airport's new flight paths commence despite concerns from aviation experts and public opposition.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 28, 2020

Winning the media battle against COVID-19

On March 12, the Sankei Shimbun ran an editorial urging the media to refrain from criticizing the government for its handling of the coronavirus emergency. The Sankei Shimbun was elaborating on a complaint made by former TV announcer Yoshiko Sakurai that the press was not properly instilling in the public...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 28, 2020

Postponement of 2020 Olympics sends social media into a frenzy

It was only a matter of time before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to change tack. After months of speculation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday night that the games would be postponed until 2021.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 28, 2020

The seemingly perfect world of author Clarissa Goenawan

Set in Japan, Clarissa Goenawan's eagerly anticipated second novel, 'The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida,' has a winsome tone, harkening to the early works of Banana Yoshimoto.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 28, 2020

Joseph Everett: Learn to make your own healthy decisions

Joseph Everett shares what he's learned as a YouTuber
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Mar 28, 2020

Tokyo revealed: Atmospheric, open-air antique markets

Oedo Antique Market
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2020

COVID-19 transmission: What we know

There is not yet an ironclad scientific consensus on exactly how the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is spreading, but experts are getting a pretty good sense of it. That understanding needs to be central to our strategy of combatting the virus with minimal collateral damage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2020

Budget in hand, Abe shifts focus to pandemic response as economy reels

Prime Minister Abe's team is working on steps to save jobs and spark a v-shaped recovery, but is money all it takes?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2020

U.K. has no clear plan if 'Team Johnson' is incapacitated by coronavirus

What would happen if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's case of coronavirus — so far he has "mild symptoms" — were to become more serious or even incapacitate him and his team? Under Britain's uncodified constitution, the answer is unclear.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past