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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2020

Health experts call pandemic a window into future climate threats

The coronavirus pandemic is a preview of the types of global health threats that will emerge as the planet becomes hotter, and how it is tackled has implications for dealing with climate threats as well, health experts said on Tuesday.
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,...
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 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
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 31, 2020

Japan factory output slows, with worse expected as virus grips economy

Industrial output rose in February at a slower pace than the previous month and factories believe production plunged in March, adding to growing signs that the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on an economy already on the cusp of recession.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2020

U.S. base workers set for furlough in blow to South Korea alliance

The U.S. military is set to put almost half of its 8,500 South Korean civilian workers on furlough, as the two sides bicker over the Trump administration’s demands for a massive increase in troop funding.
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
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic fuels trend toward smaller funerals in Japan

From dispatching Buddhist monks to connecting grieving families with affordable funeral homes, Osaka-based end-of-life startup Uniquest Inc. is among the many firms that have been capitalizing on the growing preference toward simple, cheaper funerals and greater efficiency and personalization of services....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2020

‘Jobs for life’ in South Korea and Japan set to cushion virus blow

A longtime thorn for businesses and productivity in Japan and South Korea is set to prove a bulwark for those economies as the coronavirus threatens millions of jobs around the world.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2020

Tabletop drill of virus response aided South Korea when the real thing hit

A South Korean tabletop exercise on emergency responses to a fictional mysterious outbreak led directly to tools the country deployed less than a month later to manage the arrival and spread of the coronavirus, one of the experts involved said
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
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2020

Snow and store closures keep Tokyo crowds at bay over critical coronavirus weekend

A rare late-March snowfall coupled with numerous store closures helped keep Tokyo residents indoors Sunday, day two of a crucial weekend in the city's attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2020

Global wave of consumer default underway, beginning in China

Like millions of people around the world, Zhang Chunzi borrowed money she thought she would be able to repay. Then the new coronavirus changed everything.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2020

Shiho Sakamoto: Designing wagashi for the 21st century

Wagashi designer Shiho Sakamoto is embracing technology, using Instagram, video and even 3D printing to introduce wagashi sweets to new generations around the world.
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.
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Mar 28, 2020

'The Salaryman' review: Spilling the secrets of Japan's everyman

Alongside its humor, Michael Thuresson's recent memoir, "The Salaryman," provides an insightful look at Japan's corporate workforce. In 2008, Thuresson was a 32-year-old product manager at a small LA software startup who suddenly landed a high-paying job with a Japanese corporation of over 50,000 employees....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2020

China's Wuhan, where the new coronavirus emerged, begins to lift its lockdown

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month lockdown on Saturday by restarting some metro services and reopening borders, allowing some semblance of normality to return and families to reunite.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Mar 28, 2020

Players react to cancellation of season's final weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic

After the B. League announced the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign due to the COVID-19 outbreak on Friday, some players shared their mixed emotions about this season, which ended abruptly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2020

Nomura's new CEO faces tough initiation juggling overhaul and virus

It was supposed to be a smooth transition for Nomura Holdings Inc.'s new boss. Then the coronavirus struck.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2020

Tokyo heads into critical weekend facing risk of coronavirus lockdown

Tokyo stands at a critical juncture this weekend as a request for residents to isolate themselves aims to prevent a major spike in cases of the novel coronavirus and help avoid a citywide lockdown.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 27, 2020

Kagura dance winning over young women

Kagura, a form of Shinto theatrical dance, is increasingly winning the hearts of young women in Shimane Prefecture, carving out a new fan base in the traditionally male-dominated music ritual that is grappling with a shortage of successors.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2020

Is the pandemic a moment of promise or peril?

We are about to make a historical step — hopefully forward — as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2020

Squarepusher speaks up for a little human kindness

In 2016, shortly after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Tom Jenkinson released a plaintive protest song under his Squarepusher alias, titled “MIDI Sans Frontieres.” Though he’s better known for maximalist explosions of breakbeats, hyperactive acid synths and fusion-jazz frippery,...
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2020

Tokyo inches toward lockdown as virus cases climb and national emergency looms

On Thursday the central government created a special task force to devise ways for the country to better respond to the outbreak.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2020

Tokyo shoppers rush out after governor’s call to stay in to curb virus

Shelves were cleared of bottled water, meat, cup ramen and spaghetti.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2020

Japan coronavirus task force may set stage for state of emergency

The government on Thursday set up a special task force to combat the spread of the coronavirus, clearing an important prerequisite toward any declaration of a state of emergency.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 26, 2020

Spring Basho provided unique experience but raised concerns

The just-finished Spring Grand Sumo Tournament has left us writers with a wealth of storylines.

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