TOKYO—After nine months of a shrinking economy, Japan has dug itself into a deep hole that it might not emerge from for at least two years. The world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China was smaller in real terms in the second quarter of 2020 than it was in the final quarter of 2012, … Read more
TOKYO—The Japanese economy shrank less than the U.S. and European economies did in the April-June quarter, but it fared worse than Asian counterparts. Japan’s gross domestic product fell 7.8% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the previous quarter, the worst drop on record in the period since 1980, when comparable data began to … Read more
KYOTO, Japan—The bustle of tourists has disappeared from this ancient capital—only to be replaced by dissension over whether they should ever be welcomed back. Mimiko Takayasu, 80 years old, is proprietress of a century-old tea house where geisha entertain wealthy Japanese with traditional music and dance. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the streets of Gion, Kyoto’s … Read more
Iran unleashed an angry broadside this weekend reacting to the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, a deal signaling deeper cooperation between the Jewish state and Gulf Arabs to counter Tehran as it vies for regional influence. In a nationally televised speech Saturday, Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said, “We … Read more
BEIRUT—In the wake of the massive explosion that devastated large parts of the Lebanese capital, a new danger is stalking the struggling country: hunger. The early August blast, which killed more than 150 people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes, destroyed the grain silos storing most of the country’s wheat supplies and badly … Read more