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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 5, 2020

In graying Japan, the market for home shopping is still maturing

The suit-clad television presenter makes breathless promises about the qualities of the Hitachi rice cooker he is pitching, describing how the induction heating steam pressure system allows the aluminum pot to produce the perfect batch of Japan’s staple food with a fluffy yet firm texture and a sweet...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2020

Could Keir Starmer be U.K. Labour’s knight in dull armor?

After a decade in the political wasteland, members of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party have chosen a moderate, unflashy lawyer as their new leader. Their hope is that turning the page on the socialist radical Jeremy Corbyn, who was resoundingly rejected by voters last year, will see them re-take...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2020

New U.K. Labour leader Keir Starmer to work with Johnson on coronavirus

Britain’s opposition Labour Party elected Keir Starmer as leader, putting a moderate lawyer with an eye for detail in charge as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus comes under fire.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 4, 2020

Breaking ground: Young farmers embrace urban agriculture in Tokyo

Kei Kawana’s kingdom is Neighbor’s Farm, a 2,000-square-meter plot overlooked by the Tama Monorail, which regularly zips by overhead. This March, she celebrated her first year of agricultural activity, the culmination of many years of patient work, planning and wading through bureaucracy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 4, 2020

When you can’t travel in actual reality, go virtual

During these strange days, the idea of online anything is proving more attractive — and vital. Families experience first-time conference calls, while musicians around the world put on internet gigs for locked-down audiences. Travel, too, is just a tap away, thanks to virtual reality.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 3, 2020

Armed with good data, engineers wage quiet battle for cleaner air

As countries try to slash air pollution and step up action on climate change, many are looking at a key culprit: tailpipes.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2020

Financial stimulus in rich countries could worsen fates of poorer economies

A massive exodus of capital from emerging economies has left many in a Catch-22 position, where adopting the kinds of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures the rich world is deploying could perversely make things worse.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 2, 2020

The unstoppable rise of Regal Lily

Regal Lily is supposed to be on tour at the moment. But instead of enjoying what the band’s members like about touring — eating hotel breakfasts, trying local dishes or simply exploring new towns — they’re staying put. There will be no early April show at Mynavi Blitz Akasaka, Tokyo, wrapping...
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,...
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
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
SOCCER
Mar 30, 2020

Title-hungry Harry Kane can't guarantee he will stay with Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane said Sunday that he could leave the Premier League club if the team does not progress in the right direction as he wants to win trophies "sooner rather than later."
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.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2020

U.S. immigration rules bar thousands of foreign nurses

As the coronavirus pandemic threatens to strain nursing staffs at hospitals across the United States, Melanie N. Beckham knows where to find reinforcements. But first, the Trump administration needs to give its approval.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2020

Japanese hotels lose out on Olympic bet as coronavirus spreads

The Osaka Corona Hotel has been eerily quiet and empty the past few weeks.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Mar 28, 2020

Mitsukuni Baba: Japanese culture blossoms in the Windy City

As executive director of the Japan America Society of Chicago (JASC), Mitsukuni Baba plays an integral role in introducing Japan to the people of Chicago in terms of business, politics, education and culture.
Japan Times
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.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 28, 2020

Dealing with anxiety during a global pandemic

As coronavirus news floods our social feeds, it's important to take care of our mental well-being as well as our physical conditions.
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
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 27, 2020

Fukui looks back at prefecture’s first nuclear reactor

Japan’s first commercial light-water nuclear reactor started operations in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, on March 14, 1970.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2020

Fossil-fuel giant Russia tiptoes toward low-carbon future

Fossil fuel-rich Russia has for the first time set out a greener economic path for the coming three decades, in a long-term, low-carbon development plan released this week.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 27, 2020

Hanshin's Shintaro Fujinami one of three Tigers to test positive for coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis has reached Japanese baseball, with the Hanshin Tigers announcing Friday three players had tested positive for the virus.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2020

Nearly all Vietnamese minors at Dutch asylum centers were trafficked out, official says

Almost all the Vietnamese children who arrived in Dutch asylum centers in recent years disappeared and were probably trafficked, the Dutch government adviser on human trafficking has said.
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,...
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2020

A falling yen may not be the economic cure Japan seeks

Fallout from the coronavirus outbreak may finally lift the curse of the safe-haven yen for Japan, but policymakers fear fiscal laxity could lead to a freefall for the currency eventually, undermining efforts to cushion the economy from the pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2020

Ron Carter: A record-breaking jazz legend returns to Tokyo

"I think people still want to hear the old man playing on an antique,” says Ron Carter. “And as long as they want that idea, I’m kind of available.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 25, 2020

Lee Ufan: The same but different

Lee Ufan’s new paintings look very different depending on where you are standing. From a distance, when you can take in several of the large canvases at the same time, abstract shapes seem to emphatically announce themselves as existing; however, they are also pointedly ambiguous as to what they are....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2020

Japan supermarket sales rise amid virus scare in February

Supermarket sales in Japan in February grew at their fastest pace in over four years as consumers bought more food to eat at home amid the new coronavirus scare, industry data showed Tuesday.

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Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat