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Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2020

A kiss is just a kiss — except when it spreads a virus

King Henry VI of England banned kissing in 1439 to battle the plague. As the world confronts the coronavirus spreading from China, some health authorities are again urging people to refrain from physical displays of affection.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2020

Negative U.S. yields in sight as virus spurs recession bets

With a flurry of fresh COVID-19 cases and early signs of how severe the hit on the global economy could be, seasoned strategists are now warning that U.S. growth could come to a halt this year and that some Treasury yields may drop below zero — possibly as soon as this week.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Mar 2, 2020

Knockout games with a twist

Nioh 2 has really demonic players; One Punch Man is late to the game, but in a good way; and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon ditches the trainers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 2, 2020

Anime's evolution in lands down under

For the past quarter century, fans of Japanese pop culture in Australia and New Zealand have been served almost exclusively by a single distributor: Madman.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2020

'Moment of truth:' Pete Buttigieg drops out of Democratic race two days before Super Tuesday

Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday, saying he no longer saw a change of winning, the day after fellow moderate Joe Biden won a big victory in South Carolina.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Mar 1, 2020

Coastal town opens up to sailors, cyclists

Onomichi Mayor Yūkō Hiratani shared some of the city's recent efforts to attract more tourists during a recent interview with The Japan Times at his office in the new city hall that opened in January.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 1, 2020

An ongoing pursuit of collaboration, innovation

For Italian Ambassador Giorgio Starace, the partnership between Japanese and Italian companies is a natural fit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 1, 2020

The persecution and lonely death of a Uyghur scholar

How Japanese supporters worked to secure the freedom of imprisoned Uighur scholar Tohti Tunyaz is a story worth telling.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2020

South Korea closes churches as coronavirus tally passes 3,700

Churches were closed in South Korea on Sunday with many holding online services instead as authorities fought to rein in public gatherings, with 586 new coronavirus infections taking the tally to 3,736 cases.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2020

Abe uses news conference to battle criticism — and coronavirus

In a rare weekend broadcast, Abe made an unusually emotional appeal for public cooperation and attempted to soften the blow of his government's containment measures.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 1, 2020

Birhanu Legese wins Tokyo Marathon title as Suguru Osako sets new national record

Reigning champion Birhanu Legese successfully defended his title while local star Suguru Osako got closer to securing the final spot on Japan's Olympic team with a national-record-setting performance in the men's race at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2020

South Korea launches 'drive-thru' coronavirus testing facilities as demand soars

From inside his car, a driver is checked for any fever or breathing difficulties by medical staff in protective clothing and goggles who lean in through the window at a new drive-thru coronavirus clinic in South Korea.
WORLD
Mar 1, 2020

Italian regional chief sorry for saying Chinese eat 'live mice'

The governor of Veneto, one of the regions worst hit by an outbreak in Italy of coronavirus, apologized on Saturday for criticising China over the contagion and saying Chinese people "eat live mice."
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2020

Armed conflict response fears linger as MSDF's Middle East mission starts

With the Maritime Self-Defense Force having fully started its information-gathering mission in the Middle East as part of the effort to ensure sea lane safety there, concerns over what its contingent can effectively do to that end—given its operational limits—continue to grip the government.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2020

SDF toughens penalties for power harassment and bullying as recruitment lags in Japan

The Self-Defense Forces will introduce on Sunday stricter punishment standards for power harassment and bullying.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2020

Overlooked no more: 'Malay first' Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin takes the reins in Malaysia

Long overshadowed by colorful contemporaries, the man who emerged from a week of turmoil as Malaysia's new prime minister on Sunday is a publicity-shy picture of conservatism.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020

A Tokyo prosecutor's delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism

Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2020

Joe Biden projected as big South Carolina winner, blunting momentum of front-runner Bernie Sanders

Joe Biden was projected to score a commanding win in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Saturday, reviving his faltering White House campaign and halting the surge of national front-runner Bernie Sanders, who appeared headed to a distant second-place finish.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 29, 2020

In dramatic broadcast, Abe asks public to fight virus and announces steps to ease pain of school closures

Addressing a nation gripped by uncertainty, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday made a televised appeal for public cooperation in the "fight against the invisible and unknown virus" and tried to soften the blow from his government's abrupt and disruptive containment measures.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 29, 2020

Giants and Swallows compete without familiar sights and sounds at ballpark

The return of pro baseball to Tokyo Dome on Saturday night was greeted by a jarring silence.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 29, 2020

Classic kicks: Japan’s sneaker obsession rebounds

The 1990s sneaker craze eventually cooled off, but over the past four or five years a new wave has risen, towering over anything that came before.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 29, 2020

Who really controls the airspace over central Japan?

A good portion of the airspace over central Japan has been reserved for the exclusive use of the U.S. military since the end of World War II, a fact that isn't widely known in Japan. Over the past several weeks, however, it has become a sudden reality to thousands of Tokyoites and residents of Kawasaki...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 29, 2020

Kansai businesses suffer as COVID-19 alarm hurts tourism

The Japanese expression "kankodori ga naku" (literally, "the cuckoo sings") is frequently used to describe a business slump.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 29, 2020

Off the eaten trail: The growth of gastronomy tourism in Japan

Offering creative culinary experiences across the country, tourism companies like ByFood and Arigato Japan Food Tours are taking the lead as Japan hopes to become a 'tourism-oriented country' by 2030.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 29, 2020

Maison: The house that Sota Atsumi built

"Why did I leave Japan? I guess it's because I had nothing to do back home," says Paris-based chef Sota Atsumi as he takes a coffee break from prepping scallops for his dinner guests. "I didn't study much, so enrolling in a university was not an option. I wanted to be a professional snowboarder but I...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 29, 2020

Izakaya Aobadai: Classic soba, new-wave sake and cherry-tree views

It's an excellent sign when the first sight that greets you at a restaurant is a gleaming refrigerator filled with some of the best sake in Japan. When the next thing you see is a room set aside for rolling out and cutting soba noodles, it's even better. To find both of these as you enter LDH Kitchen...

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