Search - 2020

 
 
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
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 4, 2020

How to design a lockdown

Governments must consider the psychological impact of COVID-19 containment measures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Apr 4, 2020

Anime cons ‘will never be the same’ after the coronavirus

The spread of COVID-19 has caused many large-scale events to be cancelled, including a lot of anime fan conventions. The question now is, will these events survive to cosplay another day?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 4, 2020

Defining masculinity in a brave new world of despair

Dad works in a bank. “For a man, work is everything” — that’s his motto. It was his father’s before him. Unquestioned and undoubted, it entered his bloodstream.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2020

The shape of a Japan-U.K. free trade agreement

While Tokyo never wanted to see Brexit happen, it now has to make the most of it.
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 / World
Apr 3, 2020

How to design a lockdown

Governments must consider the psychological impact of COVID-19 containment measures.
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
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2020

Demand for health gadgets soars amid lockdowns

Fitness-tracking gadgets are selling out, home exercise classes have never been more popular and robotics crews are pivoting to making sanitation robots. The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a seismic wave of health awareness and anxiety, which is energizing a new category of virus-fighting tech.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2020

SoftBank abandons $3 billion WeWork share purchase deal

SoftBank Group Corp. is scrapping an agreement to spend $3 billion (¥322 billion) to buy WeWork stock from former CEO Adam Neumann and other shareholders, despite threats of legal action from some members of the company’s board.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2020

Amid shutdowns elsewhere, government plans to continue Diet business as usual

While Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has urged residents in the capital to work from home, and the nation appears to be inching toward declaring a state of emergency over rapid spread of COVID-19, the government seems set to maintain business as usual — at least for now.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2020

Four priorities for a global pandemic strategy

The world initially met the COVID-19 crisis in an uncoordinated fashion, with too many countries ignoring the warning signs and going it alone. It is now clear that the only way out of it is together.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 1, 2020

Free movement of young wrestlers could help sumo build stronger base

Two significant changes in status took place after the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 1, 2020

Japan’s art institutions struggle to cope with the COVID-19 crisis

Since the quarantine of the Diamond Princess, Japan has gone from being one of the world’s most at-risk countries to lucky outlier, to being again fearful of COVID-19 getting out of control.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 31, 2020

The programmed end to Japan’s coronavirus ‘Mizaru’ policy

It's now time for the nation to face the COVID-19 crisis bravely and proactively.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2020

Abe and deputy Aso avoid joint meetings as lockdown pressure builds

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his deputy won't attend meetings together to cut coronavirus risks as pressure for a lockdown builds, with domestic cases topping 2,000 and a minister saying the country's containment strategy was stretched to the limit.
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.
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
WORLD / Politics
Mar 30, 2020

Biden admits ‘frustration’ as he demands urgency from Trump on virus

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden said he feels "frustration” with the U.S. coronavirus response and that it’s his role to say what he believes President Donald Trump needs to do.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 30, 2020

Fashion week is compelled to go online

Japan's fashion industry was hit hard by the March cancellation of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo, saved only by livestreaming and online content as a way to keep fans informed.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Mar 30, 2020

We live in neither East nor West

With COVID-19 pulling the world apart, it's the people, from healthworkers to thoughtful neighbors that can bring it back together.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2020

China’s misplaced pandemic propaganda

Barely a month ago, China was in the grip of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of new infections were confirmed every day. Hospitals were overwhelmed. People were dying by the hundreds. People couldn’t leave their homes. But the government’s draconian lockdown seems to have worked: The...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2020

SoftBank’s big bet on sharing economy backfires with coronavirus

Masayoshi Son has been among the most fervent believers in the sharing economy, investing billions in startups that help people split the use of cars, rooms and offices.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2020

Abe urges vigilance to avoid COVID-19 spike and vows extraordinary steps to aid economy

The prime minister said the virus battle would be a long one, especially if people drop their guard, but pledged economic relief surpassing that for the 2008 financial crisis.
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.

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