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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2020

One battle Boris Johnson is clearly winning

The COVID-19 crisis gives the U.K. prime minister a huge bounce.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2020

Once-in-a-century pandemic promises to reshape our world

The geostrategic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis will likely hold major implications for Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2020

Tokyo firm urges caution against surge in coronavirus-related disinformation on April Fools' Day

A Tokyo-based risk management firm is cautioning against a potential surge in coronavirus-related disinformation on April Fools' Day, alarmed by the recent spread of what it perceives to be baseless rumors on social media that the government is secretly preparing for the start of a Tokyo lockdown that...
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
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
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
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
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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2020

Tokyo DJs and owners say closing clubs to curb virus is easier said than done

Clubs and bars are facing pressure to close their doors as the new coronavirus spreads throughout Japan's major cities. As a result, those who make a living from the clubbing industry are also facing tough financial prospects.
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
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Mar 30, 2020

Keeping safe and occupied indoors

We are all a little confused and stressed about the spread of Covid-19. But are there any ideas out there that might help us stay healthy and occupied during this time of uncertainty?
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
COMMUNITY / Issues / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 30, 2020

Facing the COVID-19 crisis in Japan with a disability

One thing that's clear about the coronavirus pandemic is that if even one person is left behind, it could prove disastrous to us all.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 30, 2020

Passengers on ‘death ship’ plead for rescue as coronavirus strikes

For passengers on a Holland America Line cruise ship, a fun-filled voyage on the luxury liner is quickly turning into a nightmare with deteriorating conditions on board and fears of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak after four travelers died and two others were infected.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 29, 2020

A leap from academia to first Armenian ambassador

As ambassador of a country with one of the longest histories in the world, Grant Pogosyan is eager to share his homeland's unique culture with Japan. Just as unique, however, is Pogosyan's path to becoming the first ambassador for Armenia in Japan.
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
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 29, 2020

Tax incentives needed to promote recurrent education

There are no countries in the world that do not wish for eternal prosperity. Nothing can ensure such prosperity except education of their people. Many people may take that to mean school education for children and youth. However, what will be far more important going forward will be recurrent education,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2020

Remembering the ‘Spanish flu’ in Asia

The eruption of COVID-19 has focused the attention of the world’s political authorities, but has also made them cognizant of past experience. As we know, the “Spanish Flu,” so named because initial media reports suggested that the influenza originated in Spain rather than in U.S. Army training...
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.
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...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2020

Japan restaurants embrace takeout and seek regulars’ help in COVID-19 crisis

Restaurants in Japan are navigating rough waters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring new ideas as they try to come up with ways to remain afloat.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 29, 2020

NFL draft goes from extravaganza to unadorned this year

An NFL draft handled remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic is the latest twist to an event that has become as popular as any pro football happening short of the Super Bowl.

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