Ping Pong Diplomacy: Made in Japan
Remembering the Chinese, Japanese, and American table tennis players who paved the way for a historic diplomatic opening.
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April 10, 2021
Flanked by uniformed Chinese border officials, Glen Cowan, a member of the 15-strong United States table tennis team, turns and waves to newsmen at Lowu, China on Saturday, April 10, 1971, after crossing into China from Hong Kong.
Credit: AP Photo
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It’s the 50-year anniversary of “The Ping Heard Round the World,” a Time Magazine headline in their April 26, 1971 edition. An unexpected invitation for the United States table tennis team to visit China in that year led to Nixon’s visit in 1972, which dramatically changed the course of history. The full story, however, is much more intricate and interesting, and Japan is at the center of it.
Japan to suspend Go To Travel campaign as cases spike
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Japan will be suspending the Go To Travel campaign that subsidises domestic tourism as COVID cases continue to rise in the country.
Some people point to the tourism program as the cause on the recent spike in cases in key areas like Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido. The said places earlier requested to be exempted from the program in order to control the rate of infection.
The aforementioned claim is denied by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga himself saying that there is no evidence that the Go To Travel campaign is the main culprit for the spread of infection. The campaign will be paused from December 28 to January 11 and then will be resumed.