It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday that the government will lift a state of emergency in six prefectures, imposed over the spread of COVID-19, ahead of its scheduled end on March 7, as numbers of new infections and the hospital bed occupancy rate had been reduced sufficiently.With the decision to cancel the declaration in the prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka starting March 1,...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday that the government will lift a state of emergency in six prefectures, imposed over the spread of COVID-19, ahead of its scheduled end on March 7, as numbers of new infections and the hospital bed occupancy rate had been reduced sufficiently.With the decision to cancel the declaration in the prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu and Fukuoka starting March 1,...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Bodyguards could have saved former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe if they had shielded him or removed him from the line of fire in the 2.5 seconds between a missed first shot and a second round of gunfire that , according to eight security experts who reviewed footage of his .The failure to protect Abe from the second shot followed what appeared to be a series of security lapses in the lead-up to the assassination of...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Bodyguards could have saved former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe if they had shielded him or removed him from the line of fire in the 2.5 seconds between a missed first shot and a second round of gunfire that , according to eight security experts who reviewed footage of his .The failure to protect Abe from the second shot followed what appeared to be a series of security lapses in the lead-up to the assassination of...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.As new coronavirus cases in Tokyo hit a monthly high, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared Wednesday evening that he intends to lift the nation’s last remaining COVID-19 state of emergency — currently covering the capital and three neighboring prefectures — as scheduled on Monday.The decision is expected to be made official at the government’s task force meeting Thursday, which will follow a meeting of an expert...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.As new coronavirus cases in Tokyo hit a monthly high, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared Wednesday evening that he intends to lift the nation’s last remaining COVID-19 state of emergency — currently covering the capital and three neighboring prefectures — as scheduled on Monday.The decision is expected to be made official at the government’s task force meeting Thursday, which will follow a meeting of an expert...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday declared a second, albeit less comprehensive, state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has stretched parts of the nation’s health care system to breaking point.“I’m highly alarmed by the severe situation nationwide recently … as the number of patients has been extremely high,” Suga said at a...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday declared a second, albeit less comprehensive, state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has stretched parts of the nation’s health care system to breaking point.“I’m highly alarmed by the severe situation nationwide recently … as the number of patients has been extremely high,” Suga said at a...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.With the COVID-19 pandemic having challenged leaders worldwide to strike a balance between public health and the economy, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to hold the view that any cure involving a loss of economic momentum would be worse than the disease itself.Apparently leaning further into the position than his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, the prime minister has resisted completely dialing back the Go To programs...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.With the COVID-19 pandemic having challenged leaders worldwide to strike a balance between public health and the economy, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to hold the view that any cure involving a loss of economic momentum would be worse than the disease itself.Apparently leaning further into the position than his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, the prime minister has resisted completely dialing back the Go To programs...WW…

Yoshihide Suga became the country’s 99th Prime Minister on Wednesday, putting an end to the administration led by his predecessor Shinzo Abe — the longest in modern Japanese history — and marking the beginning of a new era shaped by a host of daunting political, economic and societal challenges.Bathed in camera flashes and surrounded by fellow lawmakers giving him a thundering ovation, Suga — appearing as if he were stifling a smile — stood up from his seat and bowed five times after he secured enough votes in a ballot to nominate the prime minister in the Lower House. After he earned the...…Yoshihide Suga became the country’s 99th Prime Minister on Wednesday, putting an end to the administration led by his predecessor Shinzo Abe — the longest in modern Japanese history — and marking the beginning of a new era shaped by a host of daunting political, economic and societal challenges.Bathed in camera flashes and surrounded by fellow lawmakers giving him a thundering ovation, Suga — appearing as if he were stifling a smile — stood up from his seat and bowed five times after he secured enough votes in a ballot to nominate the prime minister in the Lower House. After he earned the...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.The faithful lieutenant has — against initial expectations — taken a major step toward the pinnacle of his political career.Yoshihide Suga, the chief Cabinet secretary, won by a landslide in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election Monday, becoming the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Suga is expected to take the helm at a critical moment when the country has been hit by a pandemic and...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.The faithful lieutenant has — against initial expectations — taken a major step toward the pinnacle of his political career.Yoshihide Suga, the chief Cabinet secretary, won by a landslide in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election Monday, becoming the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Suga is expected to take the helm at a critical moment when the country has been hit by a pandemic and...WW…

It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.The head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutor’s Office, who has been the focus of intense scrutiny over his close relationship with the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, submitted his resignation Thursday following a report that he had participated in a game of mahjong while gambling with newspaper employees.Hiromu Kurokawa, 63, bet money while playing the game with two reporters from the right-leaning...…It looks like you're using an ad blocker.To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.Thank you for supporting our journalism.The head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutor’s Office, who has been the focus of intense scrutiny over his close relationship with the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, submitted his resignation Thursday following a report that he had participated in a game of mahjong while gambling with newspaper employees.Hiromu Kurokawa, 63, bet money while playing the game with two reporters from the right-leaning...WW…