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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 13, 2020

Prosecutor gambling scandal lifts veil on press access in Japan

Will the incident prompt any major media outlet to change its ways when socializing with sources?
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2020

Tokyo reports 25 virus cases, exceeding key threshold for two days in a row

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said it confirmed 25 coronavirus infections on Friday as it further eased restrictions on business activities to get the economy back on its feet.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2020

Tokyo to move to third and final stage of reopening

The capital lifted its coronavirus alert and will move to the third phase of its plan to reboot businesses on Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2020

Tokyo coronavirus cases exceed 20 for first time in five days

Keeping the weekly average of daily cases under 20 is one of Tokyo's criteria for relaxing business restrictions.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 6, 2020

Olympics and UFOs can't shift COVID-19 from the spotlight

First, some glum news: John Coates, head of the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission, was quoted in The Australian on May 21 as expressing doubt over prospects for the Tokyo Olympics to be held in summer next year. Coates went on record as saying the decision on whether or not...
Special Supplements / Work from Home Special
May 25, 2020

Purpose, respect, fairness: The 3 ingredients for happiness at work

In this time of global crisis, work can seem more stressful and overwhelming than ever. Many of us are confronted with a new daily reality, whether it's having to work in isolation, being afraid for our livelihood, or having to work overtime to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 23, 2020

Rats, bugs, crooks and trucks share media spotlight amid pandemic

With city dwellers around the world in lockdown, increasing reports have surfaced about wild animals infiltrating urban areas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2020

A tithe approach to volunteering in our post-pandemic world

The rewards of volunteering are enormous for one's self and community.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 9, 2020

A pandemic potpourri of Golden Week news gems

As if the COVID-19 pandemic didn't give Japan enough things to worry about, the unseasonably warm winter and resulting lack of snow may spell severe shortages of water by this summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 25, 2020

Pundits pore over pandemic's impact on employment

Asahi Geino warns warns that economic calamities from the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to arrive in the form of three successive waves. The third wave, if it comes, will make the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987 seem like a picnic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2020

A car boom in Wuhan brings hope for post-lockdown recovery

If a stream of visitors to auto dealerships in the virus-hit city is any indication, the recovery of the car business in China and perhaps the world could be rapid.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 21, 2020

Why are Japan’s millennials shunning alcohol?

Some time before the coronavirus outbreak put a damper on this year’s hanami (blossom viewing) parties and other social activities, the media had already noted that the decline in alcohol consumption by younger Japanese has been accelerating. This phenomenon even made the front page of the Nikkei Marketing...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 14, 2020

The panic buying of toiletries: It's like 1973 all over again

Where are all the masks? And where's the toilet paper? Nikkei Business (Feb. 28) suggested that panic buying in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, which also occurred in eastern Japan following the catastrophic earthquake of March 2011, may be influenced in part by people's collective memory — particularly...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 1, 2020

Shinjiro Koizumi's paternity leave raises a few eyebrows

Shortly before Shinjiro Koizumi’s wife, Christel Takigawa, gave birth to a baby boy last month, the environment minister told reporters during a regular news conference he would be taking time off for paternity leave. It was a revelation that surprised some because after the pair had revealed she was...
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2020

Reducing work hours good for the environment

Manami Chiba's letter "Shorter hours good for work and people" in the Dec. 22 edition sounds like an affirmative argument I heard late last month at an event that is perhaps the epitome of English education in this nation — the All-Japan High School English Debate Tournament.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 4, 2020

From hangover cures to prairie dogs, tabloids end 2019 with a bang

For their final issues of December, the weeklies — their covers trimmed in gold color (except for the Sunday Mainichi, which came out in yellow-orange) — typically publish two-week bumper issues with extra pages. This gives many of them leeway to write about lots of timely topics. For instance, journalist...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2019

Tesla delivers its first China-built cars in Shanghai

Tesla Inc. is about to find out whether the second time is the charm for Elon Musk making bold predictions about how many cars the company can build and sell.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 26, 2019

Not so lonely this Christmas: Britain's ethical businesses tackle isolation epidemic

Babies bounced on parents' knees, toddlers danced around the room and crackers were pulled with the elderly care home residents in their armchairs as everyone sang along to a medley of Christmas songs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 21, 2019

Japanese media pundits deliver their verdicts on 2019's hit products

While consumers may take ownership of certain products for granted, there's something reaffirming about acquiring a product that's been designated a hit, and my experiences over the years tell me Japanese aren't especially different from other nationalities in this regard.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 'Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020' Recaps
Dec 13, 2019

Ep. 25 'The Girls Can't Do It'

Part 3 of "Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020" is not messing around. The most recent episode was filled to the brim with surprising moments and it's hard to know what to expect in the weeks ahead.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 30, 2019

A world in disarray but Japan appears to sidestep turmoil

The world is furious.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2019

Overuse of Japan's medical system may be complicating treatment

One of the criticisms of the “Medicare for All” government-run health care scheme proposed by U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is that eliminating all limits to treatment would lead to "overuse" of the medical care system, meaning people would be seeing...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 9, 2019

2020 races move north to Sapporo as cooler heads prevail

"It's like you're submerged underwater, but the water is boiling, and you're kind of halfway cooked" — that's how one distance runner described conditions at the women's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha on Sept. 27-28.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2019

Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai resigns over wife's alleged election law breach

The resignation marks the second departure from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet in just a week after trade minister Isshu Sugawara resigned Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 21, 2019

Let's discuss climate activist Greta Thunberg

Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg opened the United Nations Climate Action Summit last month with an angry condemnation of world leaders for failing to take strong measures to combat climate change — 'How dare you,' she said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 24, 2019

'How dare you': Teen activist Greta Thunberg angrily tells U.N. climate summit 'you have stolen my dreams'

Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Monday opened the United Nations Climate Action Summit with an angry condemnation of world leaders for failing to take strong measures to combat climate change — "How dare you," she said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2019

Confusion reigns over scope of the forthcoming tax hike

When the government raised the consumption tax from 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014, Japan suffered a recession. One possible indicator if such a downturn will happen prior to next month's long-delayed hike to 10 percent is how much people are spending now in anticipation of the increase. On Sept....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Women of Taste
Sep 7, 2019

Takako Yoshino's growing community of farmers

With the average age of farmers in Japan over 65 and predicted to decline in the next decade, Takako Yoshino hopes to inspire a new generation of younger farmers.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan