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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 11, 2019

China struggles to ease concerns over 'Belt and Road' initiative as summit looms

China is struggling to ease worries about President Xi Jinping's signature plan to build a new Silk Road as it readies for a major summit in late April, especially among Western nations wary about debt, transparency and Chinese influence.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 10, 2019

Two English teachers stand up for their rights and win — a valuable lesson for anyone working in Japan

The closure of 51 Coco Juku eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan last week, with more to come in June, illustrates just how unstable the English teaching market can be. Companies that used to provide fairly well-paying jobs are now, in many cases, restructuring them into something that resembles...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2019

Trump to tout green bona fides while gutting environmental rules

Donald Trump is preparing a novel campaign strategy for a president who's pulling the U.S. from the international Paris accord on climate change, cheerleading for coal, one of the dirtiest source of power, and suggesting that wind turbines cause cancer.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 6, 2019

Of those subject to Trump travel ban, only 6% got waivers

The U.S. government granted waivers to just 6 percent of visa applicants subject to its travel ban on a handful of countries during the first 11 months of the ban, new data show.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2019

Genetically modified mice at $17,000 a pair in high demand as China bids to be biomedical powerhouse

Sacks of pungent animal feed cram the corridors of a Cyagen Biosciences Inc. center for laboratory mice in southern China, maximizing space for rodents that sell for as much as $17,000 a pair.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 5, 2019

Avant-garde artist creates bridges between life and death

With a strong belief that her role is to connect the invisible with the visible world through art, contemporary artist Miwa Komatsu continues to depict otherworldly creatures. People can’t help but be intrigued by the powerful and colorful images of seemingly frightening, yet strangely charming, creatures...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2019

King Xi? Trump says he gave Chinese president monarch moniker based on job-for-life gambit

King Xi. That's what U.S. President Donald Trump says he called Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the American president's 2017 state visit to Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2019

European Union confronts the China challenge

As Europe contemplates a harder line against China, Japan's reinvigorated relationship with the EU assumes greater significance.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2019

In first reaction to raid, North Korea brands Madrid embassy break-in 'a grave terrorist attack'

North Korea has called a February raid on its embassy in Spain by a shadowy anti-regime group "a grave terrorist attack," state-run media said Sunday in Pyongyang's first reaction to the break-in.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Mar 30, 2019

Defining the Heisei Era: Japan deals with death, disasters and a feeling of insecurity

Post-disaster Tohoku has been rife with supernatural sightings.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2019

AstraZeneca bets $6.9 billion that Daiichi Sankyo therapy will transform cancer treatment

Britain's AstraZeneca's biggest deal in recent memory give it access to the Japanese drugmaker's promising but difficult to pronounce cancer treatment: trastuzumab deruxtecan.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 29, 2019

Puerto Rico governor slams 'bully' Trump as hurricane relief fight rages on

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who has clashed with President Donald Trump over disaster aid and has complained that residents of the U.S. territory are treated like "second-class citizens," indicated that he's tired of being pushed around by the White House.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2019

Worried about Huawei? Take a closer look at Tencent

The social media giant is a growing global force, and it does Beijing's bidding.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB Preview
Mar 28, 2019

Central League clubs enter 2019 hoping to dethrone Carp

The following is the last of a two-part NPB preview ending with the 2019 Central League.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Mar 28, 2019

Hip-hop's anime crush is beautiful

Takashi Murakami's work on Billie Eilish's new video for "You Should See Me in a Crown" is the latest example of Western music's ongoing love affair with Japanese anime. And while it may seem obvious — American kids who like anime and grow up to be musicians are going to pay respect — it's still...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 28, 2019

Veteran coach Bob Nash confident in Jun Nakanishi as Fukuoka's new GM

Jun Nakanishi launched his pro basketball career during a period of major changes — nonstop expansion for a decade — here. And so he has witnessed the ups and downs of Japan pro basketball since the inception of the now-disbanded bj-league in 2005.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 28, 2019

Who might be the prime minister to inherit the Brexit mess if Theresa May quits?

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday offered to quit if her twice-defeated EU divorce deal passes, in a last-ditch attempt to persuade euroskeptics to back it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's unusual Nissan perk: $601,000 Stanford tuition fees for his kids

Nissan Motor Co. paid tuition for all four of ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn's children when they attended Stanford University between 2004 and 2015, according to people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 26, 2019

Pentagon calls missile defense system's intercept of ICBM-class target a 'success'

In a move that could have ramifications for defending the United States from North Korean nuclear weapons, the U.S. said Monday that it had successfully conducted a "salvo" intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile-class target — the first test of its kind.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 25, 2019

Sunflowers captain Asami Yoshida bids farewell to the game

Asami Yoshida, one of the greatest players in Japanese women's basketball history, announced her retirement on Monday, saying that she can no longer motivate herself even with the Tokyo Olympics drawing near.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2019

Has America gone socialist?

Americans now broadly support government programs that would be considered socialism in other countries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2019

Flower power: A Tokyo florist's decision to close his shop amid a shrinking market affects a wider community

It's 2:30 a.m. and dark outside. Tsuyoshi Hirasawa can see his breath in the February chill as he turns the key in the ignition of his white Honda minivan. The large hands gripping the steering wheel are rough and leathery from years of working with water, soil and the stems and branches of plants he...
JAPAN / WAW! and W20 Special
Mar 22, 2019

Meetings aim to close gender gaps, promote diversity

This year, Japan will host the G20 summit in June in Osaka, as well as the fifth World Assembly for Women (WAW!) and the Women 20 (W20) Japan 2019, which will be held jointly at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo in Chiyoda Ward on March 23 and 24.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 21, 2019

Tomomi Inada's uphill battle to 'promote understanding' of LGBT issues in Japan

Tomomi Inada isn't trying to get Japan to legalize same-sex marriage or ban discrimination against gay citizens. The conservative lawmaker just wants to "promote understanding" of LGBT issues.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.