Category: Japan
IOC’s Bach draws ire in Japan over long opening ceremony speech
For a Games billed as the most inclusive and diverse on record, one element of Friday’s opening ceremony stood out for many Japanese: Olympic boss Thomas Bach spoke for [...] » More
Glittering gold distracts from Tokyo woes
Sport stretched out over Tokyo on Saturday as the Olympic Games finally got underway, but the shadow of COVID-19 and controversy was never far away on the opening day. China [...] » More
As the Games begin, how is Japan dealing with COVID-19?
The Tokyo Olympics officially kick off Friday evening after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, even as the capital remains under a state of emergency to curb [...] » More
Japan PM seeks faster COVID vaccine delivery from Pfiser-media
Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga met with the CEO of Pfiser Inc (PFE.N) on Friday, requesting faster delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, the Nikkei reported, as the Olympic [...] » More
Trump used ‘individual personality,’ Biden more collaborative, Japanese PM says
Donald Trump and Joe Biden: Japan’s leader has seen them both in action, and knows the big differences between their styles. Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga said [...] » More
Details of Korean wartime labour at Japan heritage site insufficient, UNESCO says
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on Thursday adopted a resolution stating that Japan has failed to provide a sufficient explanation about wartime workers from the [...] » More
Another casualty of the COVID Olympics… Japanese whisky
In 1964, the last time Japan hosted the Olympics, the Suntory distillery, the nation’s oldest, moved a batch of then 4-year-old whisky from a mizunara oak cask to a [...] » More
Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony to kick off Games hit by Covid, scandals, low support
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics finally kicked off on Friday, having retained its name but little else in the year since it was delayed by Covid-19. And persevering in the face of [...] » More
Macron in Tokyo for Olympic opening ceremony
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Tokyo on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the pandemic-postponed Olympics, which is taking place under strict virus rules. [...] » More
Typhoon In-fa lashes Japan’s southern islands as another tropical threat looms
Typhoon In-fa is bearing down on the southern Japanese islands and has its eye set on eastern China by next week. The storm could bring extremely heavy rainfall totals to [...] » More
Toyota halts its three Thailand plants as COVID-19 spread hits parts supply
Toyota Motor Corp. has suspended operations at all three of its plants in Thailand through next Wednesday due to a shortage of parts, after the latest COVID-19 outbreak [...] » More
About 1 In 6 American Olympians In Tokyo Are Unvaccinated
About 100 of the 613 US athletes descending on Tokyo for the Olympics are unvaccinated, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief said hours before Friday [...] » More
Guinea backs out of Tokyo Olympics ahead of opening ceremony, citing COVID-19 pandemic
Guinea won’t be participating in the Olympics after all. The African nation officially backed out of the Tokyo Games, and cited the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as its [...] » More
Tokyo records 1,359 new COVID-19 cases as week-on-week rise hits 34th day
Tokyo confirmed 1,359 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the metropolitan government said, up from 1,271 from a week before and surpassing the week-on-week figure for the 34th [...] » More
In venue fit for head of state, Japan PM seeks Pfiser doses
Japan’s prime minister met with Pfiser’s CEO in an unusually high-profile setting Friday to make sure the drugmaker would deliver the COVID-19 vaccine as promised [...] » More
