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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2020

How the Biden administration can help get the U.S. vaccinated

If fewer than four out of five people are vaccinated, it may not be enough to stem the coronavirus's spread.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2020

China targets Jack Ma’s Alibaba empire in monopoly probe

China has begun an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and summoned affiliate Ant Group Co. to a high-level meeting over financial regulations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Dec 21, 2020

A summer of solidarity: Looking back on the Black Lives Matter marches in Japan

COVID-19 wasn't the only story of 2020. In May, footage of the murder of George Floyd was posted online and resulted in a month of protest in the U.S. and in Japan.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2020

Hayabusa2's successful mission may help us reclaim our own past

Science now allows us to pluck pieces of our history from asteroids as they whiz by.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 5, 2020

‘Family Crests of Japan’: For the miniaturist who appreciates fine details

This comprehensive overview of Japanese family crests delves into the motifs and geometries that fill even the simplest designs with meaning.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 2, 2020

An America in decline and the dangers that entails

The U.S. has dealt with the question of decline more than once in the postwar era.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 2, 2020

Is China laying claim to kimchi, too? Some South Koreans think so.

A spat is raging this week over a Chinese state tabloid's claim that China had 'led” the development of an international standard for paocai, or pickled vegetables.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 1, 2020

China’s fight with Australia risks backfiring as Biden era nears

To Beijing, the attacks on Australia are meant to deter others like Canada, the European Union and Japan from joining a U.S.-led campaign to counter China's rise.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2020

Japan's Go To Travel campaign sparks debate on links to COVID-19 spread

National leaders are reluctant to scrap the stimulus, which has been hailed for injecting trillions of yen into the economy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 25, 2020

Climate scientists turn Mount Everest into a lab

Climate science started on mountaintops. John Tyndall was a mid-19th-century British scientist and devoted mountaineer who scaled several Continental peaks, making the first recorded trip up Switzerland's Weisshorn. He sketched out the glaciers he saw there, and how they moved. By 1859, he’d become...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2020

The secret origins of China’s 40-year plan to end carbon emissions

With a September speech to the United Nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping put a 2060 end date on his country's contribution to global warming, taking almost the whole world by surprise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 15, 2020

Japanese fashion tackles the issues of the moment

From practical masks and saving sento culture to provocative commentary on gender, brands and designers find their moment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 12, 2020

Multidisciplinary collection in Tokyo depicts a paradox of restraint and restriction

The Fergus McCaffrey gallery has curated works that explore social and regional boundaries as well as the confinements of genre and convention.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2020

China's lesson from the U.S. election? No, thanks.

Beijing has made clear it hopes that a change in the U.S. administration will lead to an improvement in the bilateral relationship.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Nov 5, 2020

Derailing of Jack Ma’s Ant IPO shows Xi Jinping is in charge

For global investors, the episode is likely to reinforce the notion that the Communist Party calls all the shots when it comes to major business decisions.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2020

Social media companies survived U.S. Election Day. More tests loom.

For months, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube prepared to clamp down on misinformation on Election Day in the U.S.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2020

China is planning a bigger Ant crackdown with bank funding curbs

China abruptly halted Ant's IPO after summoning Ma to a meeting earlier in the week to outline an array of concerns and new regulations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2020

How to think about a contested U.S. election

The surge in mail-in and early voting amid the pandemic meant that the chances of knowing whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden won sometime Tuesday night was very low.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2020

Jack Ma gets a warning from China on Ant’s rapid expansion

Sources said Ant's leadership team was told the company will face increased scrutiny and be subject to restrictions on capital and leverage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2020

Some statistics to enliven election night

Never mind the geysers of overheated 2020 rhetoric about a constitutional crisis. Tuesday evening in the U.S., the nation will likely know that Vice President Walter Mondale's elegant words of concession on election night 40 years ago are still apposite: "The American people quietly wielded their staggering...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2020

U.S. says coronavirus can’t be controlled. China aims to prove it wrong.

The United States is hitting records in daily coronavirus cases. But China, the country first afflicted with the scourge, is having a different experience.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2020

COVID-19 explodes the myth that women ‘opt’ out of the workforce

While time away from work is often portrayed as a choice for women, the evidence shows that it's usually a choice reluctantly made.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2020

Socialism is no longer just a specter

Today, counter-COVID-19 spending already is approximately five times larger than that triggered by the Great Recession of 2008.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2020

‘Handmade in Japan’: A cross-country journey with traditional artisans

Irwin Wong's personal project, which began with photos of craftspeople he admired, is now an insightful deep dive on Japan's traditional crafts.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 23, 2020

China warns on ‘red lines’ as it remembers its only war with U.S.

Beijing is going all out in remembrance of its participation in the Korean War, sending a message to Washington that it's not intimidated by American military might.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2020

Contemporary performing arts festival stays open to new possibilities despite COVID-19

Festival/Tokyo, known for its focus on young artists and edgy productions, has shifted the annual festival's emphasis from live performances to online ones.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 14, 2020

Understanding Japan’s future security relationships

Could the world be seeing the underpinnings of a new NATO-like alliance in Asia with the Quad? What would Japan's role even be in such a security arrangement?
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 14, 2020

Coronavirus reinfections are real but very, very rare

Experts discuss what is known about reinfections with the coronavirus, and what the phenomenon means for vaccinations and the course of the pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 8, 2020

Kyotographie 2020 adapts to an unpredictable world

Organizers say they chose “Vision” for the theme of this year's photography festival as a response to recent social, political and environmental turmoil.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 2, 2020

Trump tests positive for COVID-19, and the world shudders

Once again, the world shuddered at news about President Donald Trump. This time, it wasn’t something Trump said or did, but rather the announcement early Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?