Tag - covid-19

 
 

COVID 19

Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024
In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics
As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024
As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19
Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has contracted COVID-19, forcing him to cancel an appearance before a key Latino advocacy group.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 18, 2024
Biden’s COVID-19 case delivers latest blow to hard-luck campaign
While U.S. President Joe Biden's symptoms are mild, the COVID-19 diagnosis removes him from the campaign trail and thrusts his health back into the spotlight.
A child receives an oral Malaria vaccine in Lilongwe, Malawi.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2024
Rising conflicts globally slowed childhood vaccination rate in 2023, U.N. says
About 14.5 million children failed to get vaccinated in 2023, compared with 13.9 million a year earlier, according to U.N. estimates.
Although air travel in Asia has picked up since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still below 2019 levels, with many passengers preferring to travel shorter distances.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2024
Asian airlines face a cold summer
Despite seemingly positive results, air travel in Asia hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, with many of the continent's travelers preferring to stay closer to home.
The revised action plan for Japan's response to outbreaks of new infectious diseases requires the government to take action to raise awareness about vaccinations, reflecting concerns expressed by many of those who submitted public comments over the revision.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2024
Japan adopts revised action plan for infectious diseases
The government will implement the plan flexibly while taking into consideration the impact of the measures on people's lives.
Uncompleted residential buildings in Shenyang, China. The Chinese government is trying to support the real estate sector as a property crisis and other economic ailments drag on.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 27, 2024
What will it take for China to regain market confidence?
Xi came to power promising high-quality development instead of growth at all costs. But first, his government must tackle structural problems embedded in China's economy.
Internal affairs minister Takeaki Matsumoto bows after a bill to revise the local autonomy law was approved at a plenary meeting of the Upper House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2024
Japan enacts bill for emergency state power over local governments
The purpose is to make sure that Japan can respond quickly to incidents not presupposed by existing laws.
Students receive school lunch at Senju Aoba Junior High School in Tokyo in June 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 17, 2024
Obesity increased among children in Japan during pandemic
The study analyzed the health checkup data of about 186,000 people who graduated from junior high school between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2022.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024
How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery
A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
The US economic engine has pulled in an increasing share of global capital.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2024
How the U.S. mopped up a third of global capital flows since COVID-19
The U.S. also pulled in a fresh wave of foreign direct investment thanks to billions of dollars worth of incentives.
By April 2024, dengue fever cases in the Americas passed the total for the previous year.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 15, 2024
What's behind the post-COVID surge in communicable diseases?
Many regions have reported at least one infectious disease resurgence that’s at least ten times worse than the prepandemic baseline.
A health worker puts on an adhesive bandage after inoculating a man with a booster shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Manila in January 2022.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2024
U.S. ran secret anti-vaccine campaign to undermine China during pandemic
The clandestine operation aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China.
Empress Emerita Michiko visits Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024
Japan's former Empress Michiko recovers from COVID-19
The former empress tested negative for the COVID on Monday morning.
A health worker prepares a dose of the Covishield vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and manufactured by Serum Institute of India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024
World’s largest vaccine maker sees demand doubling in five years
Serum Institute of India plans to double its vaccine production to 3 billion doses annually over five years, expecting a surge in demand as global health budgets rise.
The World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2024
WHO countries prolong talks on pandemic accord
Despite increasing momentum in recent months, only 17 of the draft agreement's articles had been fully approved by countries by the deadline.
A bid-rigging case represents the first time the Japan Fair Trade Commission has issued a cease-and-desist order order over a project related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2024
FTC issues cease-and-desist orders to JTB and other travel agencies
It is the first time the antitrust watchdog has issued such an order over a project related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A bill to revise the local autonomy law clears the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024
Japan's Lower House passes bill for state power in emergencies
The revision is aimed at enabling swift responses for ensuring citizens' safety.
Shigeru Omi, then-Japan's top COVID-19 advisor, speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in April 2022. A study published this month has shown that many experts who spoke to the media about COVID-19 in Japan were harassed by the public.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024
Many COVID experts in Japan harassed after speaking to media, survey shows
The research conducted by a professor at Waseda University is Japan’s first comprehensive survey on threats targeting COVID-19 experts.
The H5N1 bird flu virus, which has been found in cattle, is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2024
The bird flu outbreak brings more questions than answers
This is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?