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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 8, 2022

Rapid nose swab tests for COVID may not detect omicron quickly enough

Manufacturers should seek special approval to allow users to safely collect samples from the throat as well, according to an infectious diseases expert.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 8, 2022

Sidney Poitier, who paved the way for Black actors in film, dies at 94

Poitier, who established himself as Hollywood's first Black matinee idol, died Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead: Reckonings
Jan 7, 2022

China bets on a common prosperity

China's leaders believe their country is on the verge of a transformation into a truly “modern socialist economy.” They're not alone.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2022

China can have cheap coal or common prosperity. Not both.

Operating 24 hours a day, the only way coal mines can increase output in a hurry is to skimp on maintenance, making for a dangerous situation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2022

Japan's security role and Taiwan seen in focus at 'two-plus-two' talks with U.S.

Tension over democratically ruled Taiwan has risen over the past two years as China steps up military and diplomatic pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2022

Japan’s beloved Super Dry beer to get first-ever recipe change

The company claims the new formula, which will go on sale next month, will improve the drinkability and aroma of the beverage while maintaining its hallmark crispness.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 6, 2022

COVID-19 testing policies under scrutiny worldwide as omicron surge drives up demand

This time last year, vaccines offered hope that the pandemic might be over by now. Instead, the new variant is overloading public health systems.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 6, 2022

No. 1 Novak Djokovic denied entry to Australia

There has been enormous backlash to the decision to grant Djokovic a medical exemption for the Australian Open.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2022

Toshiba’s No. 2 shareholder steps up fight over breakup plan

Singapore-based 3D Investment Partners is requesting a vote on Toshiba's proposed split, which must be supported by at least two-thirds of stockholders.
Thinly sliced puffer fish sashimi. The dish is often served at high-end restaurants in Japan, where chefs must hold a license proving they can safely slice around organs that contain a lethal poison.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2024

Japanese 10-year-old passes test for preparing deadly fugu

Fifth grader Karin Tabira passed a test this summer that certifies her to slice and gut the fish for consumption.
Alimentation Couche-Tard said it is willing to engage in confidential discussions with 7-Eleven operator Seven & I Holdings and is keen on still pursuing an acquisition.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024

Couche-Tard pushes for Seven & I deal talks after rejection

A potential deal would create a global convenience store behemoth with more than 100,000 stores.
Komeito Secretary-General Keiichi Ishii
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Keiichi Ishii set to replace Natsuo Yamaguchi as Komeito chief

The move would mark the first change in party leadership since 2009.
A view shows a banner informing of the upcoming governor's election in the town of Kurchatov in the Kursk Region of Russia on Aug. 27.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Putin loyalists set to win local elections in war-hit Russian regions

Results of the tightly controlled local elections are already being interpreted in Russia as a vote of confidence in Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.
People chant slogans as they participate in a protest one month after the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital in Kolkata on Sunday
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 9, 2024

Worldwide protests held over Indian trainee medic's rape and murder

A suspect has been arrested along with the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College, where the rape and murder victim had been studying.
Atsushi Sakima (center) celebrates his victory in the Ginowan mayoral election with his supporters in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Ruling camp-backed candidate wins Ginowan mayoral election

Atsushi Sakima, a former Ginowan mayor, defeated Isao Tobaru, a former member of the Ginowan assembly, and corporate representative Takashi Higa.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, accused of workplace bullying, testifies to an investigative panel in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Nippon Ishin calls on Hyogo governor to resign over bullying claims

Nippon Ishin’s move is expected to be a politically fatal blow for Motohiko Saito, as he had the party’s support when he was elected as an independent.
Redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien district has trees in the area marked according to their status — trees marked in red were to be cut down in the original plan while those in blue were to be transplanted. In the updated plan, trees marked in red will no longer be felled, and those in blue will remain where they are.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2024

Updated Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan to keep more trees

Fewer trees will be felled and more new ones planted, while construction will also take place further away from the park's iconic ginkgo trees.
An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington in 2020.
WORLD / Society
Sep 10, 2024

U.S. says alleged white supremacists tried to use Telegram to spark race war

U.S. prosecutors unveiled criminal charges on Monday against two alleged leaders of a white supremacist gang, saying they used the Telegram social media site to solicit attacks on Black, Jewish, LGBTQ people and immigrants aiming to incite a race war.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a speech Monday marking the 76th anniversary of his country's founding to reiterate a pledge to exponentially increase the number of nuclear weapons Pyongyang possesses.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

North Korea's Kim says 'no limit' on number of nukes country builds

The policy is a response to the “grave threat” posed by an expanding U.S.-led “nuclear-based military bloc” surrounding his country, he said.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sits between FBI Director Christopher Wray and Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general, during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, in Washington on Sept. 4. Federal prosecutors say Russia secretly paid the American company Tenet Media to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Russia focusing on American social media stars to covertly influence voters

The approach is widely viewed by American security agencies as one of Russia’s preferred tactics this cycle.
A law enforcement officer stands guard in front of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on May 15.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Ukraine summons Iranian diplomat as Tehran denies missile transfer to Russia

CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
A displaced women stands in front of her tent, which was damaged by an Israeli strike, in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD
Sep 10, 2024

Dozens killed and wounded as Israeli conducts strike on Gaza tent camp

At least 65 people had been killed or wounded, the enclave's civil emergency service said, as Israel's military said it had targeted a Hamas command center.
Russian-British political activist, journalist, author, filmmaker and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza poses during a photo session in Paris on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Freed Kremlin opponent urges against 'face-saving exit' from Ukraine for Putin

In an interview in Paris, Vladimir Kara-Murza predicted that he would be able to return to his homeland as the Russian president's "regime" would not last.
Masato Kanda, Japan's former top currency diplomat, led massive bouts of yen-buying intervention in the currency markets in 2022 and 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2024

Japan nominates ex-currency diplomat Kanda to head ADB

Since its 1966 founding, the ADB's top post has always gone to a Japanese national, making Kanda a strong candidate.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announces his entry into the LDP leadership race in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Kato announces bid for LDP presidency, adding uncertainty to race

While the former chief Cabinet secretary's chances of winning are considered minimal, his candidacy adds an extra layer of unpredictability.
Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state, during a news conference in London on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Russia received missiles from Iran, U.S. says as it piles on sanctions

Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract in December with Iranian officials for ballistic missile systems.
Palestinians look at the destruction following Israeli airstrikes in the humanitarian zone known as Mawasi, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Israel offers Hamas leader safe exit from Gaza in a bid to end the war

A senior Israeli official said he put the offer of safe passage on the table for Hamas a day and a half ago but declined to characterize the response so far.

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