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BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 23, 2020

Web-conferencing biz booming as pandemic sends Japan's workers online

Japan’s biggest power producer, Jera Co., holds executive and other important meetings on the internet and, except for power plant personnel, about 1,300 of the 1,700 employees at its headquarters and branch offices worked from home last week in response to the government’s call to curb social interaction...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2020

Japan pump price down for 13th straight week

The average retail gasoline price in Japan as of Monday fell ¥1 from a week before to ¥130.9 per liter, down for the 13th consecutive week, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2020

Video games see 35% sales jump amid pandemic

With large portions of the U.S. population quarantined at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for video games to provide entertainment is growing dramatically.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2020

Netflix promises it won’t run out of TV shows during the pandemic

Faced with an unprecedented global health crisis that has frozen businesses around the world, Netflix Inc. is reassuring customers (and investors) that it won’t run out of new TV shows or movies anytime soon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2020

Don’t worry, everything will get back to ‘normal’ in America

Once the hazard of coronavirus is gone, the inequities of daily will return with a vengeance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 21, 2020

Ep. 40 ‘Never Forgive Luigi’

"Terrace House" is shutting its doors, for now. The big news this week was that, according to the show's official Twitter account, production would be shut down due to the current outbreak of COVID-19. That means this week's episode is the last new one we'll be seeing for a while, so savor each sip of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 19, 2020

Visit the workplaces of Japan’s artisans while staying at home

Sheltering in place may just get you thinking more about design. Luckily, there are plenty of videos online that can help in this endeavor.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 18, 2020

It’s a little tough to truly feel free in a time of pestilence

Humanity is eternally vulnerable to the 'unknown' and there's not much that we know about the new coronavirus.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 18, 2020

Locale and Eatrip offer takeout and veggie boxes to support their suppliers

COVID-19 implications are reverberating up and down the food chain, and those with strong links to the restaurants they supply are definitely feeling the effects. Several Tokyo chefs are taking steps to protect their valued farmers, fishermen and other food producers.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2020

Akie Abe criticized for taking group tour in Oita during pandemic

Her reported activity took place a day after her husband sounded the alarm over the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.
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.”
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 11, 2020

Japan's streaming situation improved just in time to self-isolate

Doing your part to flatten the coronavirus curve by staying home? Luckily, the streaming situation has improved over the past few years so you don't have to be bored. And with local options, maybe you can pick up some Japanese while you catch up on pop culture?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 11, 2020

To meat, or not to meat: The future of Japanese cellular agriculture

Would you notice if the cubed meat in your cup noodle wasn’t “real” meat? If you did, would you care? What if the future of our meat supply counted on it?
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 10, 2020

Ep. 39 ‘Always Remembered’

Now, more than ever, I need the sweet escape of TV drama as a reminder of a time when we weren’t in the throes of a pandemic. Although the past few episodes of “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” were hard to watch, this episode delivered more than enough heartwarming charm to pull me back into the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 10, 2020

Shortage spurs rush on materials for DIY virus masks in Hokkaido

A nationwide shortage of face masks amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak has sparked a rise in the number of people who make homemade masks using cloth as a substitution for medical gauze as protection against the novel coronavirus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2020

Impossible dilemma? World watches Italy as firms plead to return to work

Many Italian companies and academics are pressing the government to reopen factories to prevent an economic catastrophe, as the world watches how the first Western country to impose a lockdown can extricate itself from the unprecedented measures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 4, 2020

Who suffers the most from the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?

Media outlets have long been trying to figure out what cancellation or postponement of the games would mean to Japan economically. They now have a much better idea.
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
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 3, 2020

Ep. 38 'Case of The Costume Incident'

We at The Japan Times have described “Terrace House” on multiple occasions as the ultimate show to help you unwind after a long day. That's mostly because there's none of the intense, emotionally triggering drama that other reality TV shows tend to rely on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2020

Actress Aoi Mizuhara explores Asian family values in 'The Farewell,' her Hollywood debut

Japanese actress Aoi Mizuhara explores Asian family values in her debut Hollywood film, 'The Farewell,' which is set for release in Japan in April.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2020

U.S. jobless claims soar to once-unthinkable record 6.65 million

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits soared to a record 6.65 million last week, a level unimaginable just a month ago.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 3, 2020

Global coronavirus cases surpass 1 million

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths as the pandemic further exploded in the United States and the death toll climbed in Spain and Italy, according to a Reuters tally of official data.
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,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Apr 1, 2020

Ep. 37 'Another Terrace!!'

Most weeks, watching “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” is a fun indulgence that lets viewers bask in the low-stakes drama of six 20-somethings (and an occasional 30-something) pursuing crushes, following their dreams, going on dates and cooking meals. But Episode 37 was different because when it comes...
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...
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.

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