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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.
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
MORE SPORTS
Apr 1, 2020

Sports streaming service DAZN to stop paying rights fees to leagues: source

Streaming service DAZN has told sports leagues it will not pay rights fees for any suspended or canceled games amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a source familiar with the matter.
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
WORLD
Apr 1, 2020

U.S. health officials eye face mask recommendation amid shortages

U.S. health officials said on Tuesday they are discussing whether to recommend the general public wear face masks as a way to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus, but that it was too soon to take that step.
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.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 1, 2020

Brave Thunders players regret early end to stellar season

There was no one to blame, but it was certainly a disappointing way to end the season for the Kawasaki Brave Thunders.
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
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2020

Forest fire kills 19 in China's Sichuan province, state media reports

A forest fire that is threatening an LPG storage site and two petrol stations has killed 19 people, including 18 firefighters, in southwest China's Sichuan province, state news agency Xinhua and city officials reported on Tuesday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 31, 2020

Virus-shortened B. League season produced memorable performances

Despite last Friday's abrupt end to the B. League season, the campaign gave fans a number of memorable feats since its opening weekend last October.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2020

Tokyo announces 13 additional cases of coronavirus

Tokyo reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus Monday, a surprisingly low number following a string of days with ever-increasing numbers. The total for Tokyo is now 443.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2020

Can a dictatorship better control COVID-19?

What a nation truly needs in fighting a deadly virus like COVID-19 is the strong and spontaneous will of ordinary citizens.
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
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2020

SoftBank shares tumble 10% after OneWeb files for bankruptcy

SoftBank Group Corp. fell as much as 10 percent after a provider of satellite-based internet service that it invested in filed for bankruptcy, ceding some gains from an unprecedented plan to sell assets and buy back shares.
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...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2020

Steps limited for Japan's government even if it declares coronavirus emergency

With a skyrocketing number of new COVID-19 patients over the last few days, Japan appears to be edging closer to declaring a state of emergency, a measure the central government has characterized as a last resort in the battle against the deadly virus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2020

11 flyers amid a sea of seats: Airlines' woes dwarf U.S. aid

Miguel Diaz's JetBlue flight from New York to Orlando cost just $79 with a checked bag and was nearly empty. The 11 passengers each had a row of seats to themselves, spaced at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart to maintain social distancing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2020

Leave the COVID-19 data analysis to the experts

Real experts know the dangers of winging it.

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