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December 25, 2024

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December 25, 2024

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Political reform bills clear the Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.

JAPAN

Parliament wraps up, showing minority government's lack of control

By Himari Semans

Several concessions had to be made to the opposition before the ruling coalition could garner the support it needed to get its bills passed.

A North Korean hacker group is believed to have planted a virus on the computer of an employee at Ginco — a company that was entrusted with the deposit and withdrawal of DMM Bitcoin’s virtual currency — through a fake job recruitment message sent via LinkedIn.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

North Korean hacker group behind DMM Bitcoin’s cryptocurrency leak

By Yukana Inoue

The hacker group is believed to have planted a virus on an employee's computer using a fake job recruitment message sent via LinkedIn.

Nippon Steel's $15 billion bid for U.S. Steel has been referred to U.S. President Joe Biden after a U.S. panel on foreign investments was unable to reach a consensus.

BUSINESS / Companies

Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel referred to Biden for final decision

By Alexandra Alper and Katya Golubkova

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States referred the bid to the U.S. president after failing to reach a consensus.

From Dec. 9 to Dec. 15, there were 94,259 flu cases reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide, according to the health ministry.

JAPAN / Science & Health

Health ministry urges caution as flu cases rise nationwide

By Jessica Speed

There were 94,259 cases of the flu reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide in the second week of December.

Internally displaced Syrians from eastern Ghouta queue for food in a Damascus countryside in April 2018.

WORLD / Society

Global hunger crisis deepens as major nations skimp on aid

By Jaimi Dowdell, Kaylee Kang, Benjamin Lesser and Raymon Troncoso

The United Nations says that, at best, it will be able to raise enough money to help about 60% of the 307 million people it predicts will need humanitarian aid next year.

Sho Zeniya, a 36-year-old former city employee, was selected as a mayoral candidate through the open application process and elected for the first time.

Osaka Prefecture city showcases electronic voting and open applications

The mayoral election in a Osaka Prefecture city was held following an open recruitment process for candidates over the internet.

Opposition parties have submitted a bill to make school lunches free at public elementary and junior high schools.

Japan opposition parties submit bill for free school meals

The bill to revise the school lunch program law was submitted to the House of Representatives by the CDP, DPP and Nippon Ishin no Kai.

Seagrass bed restoration work spreads in Miyagi Prefecture

Japan to stay the third-largest U.N. contributor

Residents of Shizuoka live longest healthy lives in Japan, ranking shows

Japan plans system for temporary control of key plants during emergencies

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday

Will Honda-Nissan tie-up deliver synergies in time to counter China?

By David Dolan

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe has said the companies need to build up capabilities by 2030 or face being "beaten," but analysts question whether they have that much time.

Minutes from the Bank of Japan's October policy meeting highlight how overseas economic risks, particularly those surrounding the new U.S. administration's policies, will be key to how soon the BOJ will hike rates.

BOJ debated need for caution in raising rates, meeting minutes show

By Leika Kihara

Contrary to its concern over external risks, the BOJ board was mostly optimistic on domestic economic conditions.

Blogs to Bluesky: Social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami

By Jack Moore

How a hedge fund exodus reshaped global cocoa markets 

By Tom Wilson, Maytaal Angel and Nell Mackenzie

The star dealmakers remaking the rules of corporate debt

By Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, Jill R. Shah and Reshmi Basu

Investors hope for U.S. stock market trifecta in 2025 after boom years

By Lewis Krauskopf

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike near the Indonesian Hospital that ran out of fuel and electricity, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 12, 2023.

Israeli army forces patients out of north Gaza hospital, medics say

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

Israel says its operation around the three northern Gaza communities surrounding the hospital is targeting Hamas militants.

Singapore's Maersk Taurus container ship transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama on Aug. 12.

Trump previews combative foreign policy with threats to Panama and Greenland

By Gram Slattery and Tim Reid

Defenders of Donald Trump's approach say he is merely a forceful advocate of "America First" policies.

The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand

By Watsamon TRI-YASAKDA

Syrian Christians attend Christmas mass for first time since Assad's fall

By Amr Abdallah

Looting cripples Gaza food supply despite Israeli pledge to tackle gangs

By David Gauthier-Villars, Nidal al-Mughrabi and John Davison

How one man became a Ukrainian traitor and Russian spy

By Tom Balmforth

Doubts about the strength of the conclusions drawn from China’s research add to the mounting questions about how the positive tests were investigated and adjudicated by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Questions emerge about data used by China to defend against doping allegations

By Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt

The finding raises more questions about explanations from China and WADA as to why elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance.

Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window

Djokovic has sights set on more glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud

By Martin PARRY

Thohir determined to take 'sleeping giant' Indonesia back to World Cup

By Michael Church

Masters adds 10 to field, including Lucas Glover and Justin Rose

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in October 2017. Canada, like other nations in the president-elect's crosshairs, is scrambling to blunt the impact of his threat to implement steep tariffs once he re-takes office.

The creep of national security threatens the WTO

Brad Glosserman

In Trump's mind, tariffs are the cure-all for virtually everything that ails the United States.

Will stability rise from the Middle East rubble?

By Dennis Ross

What will happen to China’s economy in 2025?

By Huang Yiping

There is no war on Christmas. There are many.

By Stephen L. Carter

Another pandemic is inevitable, and the U.S. isn't ready

By F.D. Flam

The entrance of the Sodegaura LNG Terminal, operated by Tokyo Gas, in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture

Japan's draft climate strategy spurs calls for bolder cuts in carbon emissions

By Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu

The government last month presented a draft plan to aim for a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 2013 levels.

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

By Eric Johnston

The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem

By Anton L. Delgado

Japanese study links heavy Hokkaido snowfall in 2021 to climate change

By Tomoko Otake

Companies challenged by fewer weeks of winter

By Ethan M Steinberg

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada attends the red carpet event for FX's "Shogun" at the Academy theater in Los Angeles in February.

Demand for Japanese content booms after 'Shogun' success

By Mathias Cena

With interest coming from overseas producers, Japan-based companies are trying to help creators get their stories told.

Step into ukiyo-e: A digital journey through Japan’s traditional art form

By Masaru Urano

A year of ruin and renewal for Japan’s art world in 2024

By Jennifer Pastore

A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity

By Mark Schilling

‘The Hotel of My Dream’: A literary comedy that never really gels

By James Hadfield

One researcher claims that the much-touted long lifespans of Japan, Italy and other countries may be propped up by faulty data.

The secret to living to 110? Bad record-keeping, says Ig Nobel Prize winner.

By Daniel Lawler

The true secret to extreme longevity seems to be to "move where birth certificates are rare, teach your kids pension fraud and start lying," the researcher has said.

Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?

By Kathryn Wortley

Shibousai Kitagawa: Creative Chinese in the home of Matsusaka wagyu

By Robbie Swinnerton

Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024

By Tomoko Otake

Make the Yuletide gay: Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ Christmas events

By Kat Joplin

Writer Baye McNeil and his wife, Miki, host a Kwanzaa gathering in Yokohama together. The end of the year at the McNeil’s home is a mix of several different holiday traditions, including those of Kwanzaa.

A holiday season built on creativity and care

By Baye McNeil

Fusing African heritage with Japanese spirituality, our columnist crafted a holiday season that celebrates cultural understanding.

A green-eyed cutie who loves to eat

From the stage to the streets, make a difference this holiday season

By Kimberly Hughes

Yurie Collins: ‘Everyone seems sedated, fed-up … that’s why they turn to comedy’

By Zoria Petkoska

Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?

By Phoebe Amoroso

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.

Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?

By Kathryn Wortley

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