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January 01, 2025
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January 01, 2025
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Photos taken from the same place but at different times in the Noto Peninsula towns of Wajima (left) and Suzu illustrate the progress made following the devastating earthquake that hit these areas of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
A year after a deadly earthquake, Noto Peninsula still faces long road to recovery
By Alex K.T. Martin
Reconstruction remains a prolonged and complex ordeal for cities in the worst-hit areas, with recovery further hampered by torrential rains in September.

More coverage

Japan marks anniversary of massive Noto Peninsula earthquake
Photos taken from the same place but at different times in the Noto Peninsula towns of Wajima (left) and Suzu illustrate the progress made following the devastating earthquake that hit these areas of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference after a policy meeting in Tokyo on Dec. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
After historic year, the Bank of Japan ambles into 2025
By Kazuaki Nagata
Two or three rate hikes expected this year could take the central bank's benchmark to 1% for the first time in three decades.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba must get cooperation from at least one opposition party to ensure passage of the 2025 fiscal year budget. He must also show he is capable of a smooth working relationship with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
JAPAN / Politics
Three tests Ishiba must pass to survive in 2025
By Eric Johnston
Overcoming the challenges that lay ahead will require the prime minister to make the best use of his political and diplomatic negotiating skills.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS
Nippon Steel offers U.S. government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval
The Japanese firm offered to give the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel's production capacity.
At 60, the shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan, with only one system ever sold overseas.
BUSINESS / Tech
Japan’s go-slow approach to selling high-speed rail globally
By Kazuaki Nagata
The shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan as competitors from Europe and China sell their own high-speed trains in an increasing number of countries.
At 60, the shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan, with only one system ever sold overseas.

JAPAN

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace Small Hall in Tokyo on November.
Emperor prays for world peace in New Year's message
Emperor Naruhito stressed the "importance of people recognizing their differences and working hand in hand to realize a peaceful world."
A person walks down a street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the days following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which struck off the coast of the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. More than 500 deaths have been attributed to the event, which was the worst quake since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
Japan news images of 2024: Upheaval, resilience and breakthroughs
Earthquakes and extreme heat made the headlines alongside a low yen and minority government.
Japan Times 2000: Japanese celebrate new year
In quake-hit Noto region, residents get ready to welcome the new year
Mother arrested after three children die in Kanagawa Prefecture
Ishiba rules out pre-inauguration meeting with Trump
By Jesse Johnson

BUSINESS

The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in April.
Nippon Steel offers U.S. government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval
The Japanese firm offered to give the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel's production capacity.
Stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday
Investors hope for U.S. stock market trifecta in 2025 after back-to-back boom years
Investors are more confident about the economy than this time a year ago, with consumers and businesses having absorbed higher interest rates.
Japan's ¥10 trillion startup investment target more improbable than ever
By Kazuaki Nagata
Social media companies face global tug-of-war over free speech
By Cecilia Kang and Adam Satariano
Mizuho Bank and Resona Bank may have been hit by cyberattack
Japan's year-end banknote balance down for second straight year

WORLD

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands for the national anthem during an award ceremony in Kyiv on Thursday.
Zelenskyy vows Ukraine will do everything in 2025 to stop Russia
The Ukrainian leader's address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country, which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army.
The tail of Jeju Air Flight 2216 is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea, on Sunday after the aircraft careered down the runway with no landing gear deployed and smashed into a concrete wall, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
Two plane crashes lead to deadliest year in skies since 2018
By Angus Whitley, Jinshan Hong and Danny Lee
The Jeju Air disaster in South Korea and last week’s downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane took the number of fatalities aboard passenger aircraft in 2024 to 318.
South Korea's acting President Choi to appoint two Constitutional Court justices
Women on Wheels: How a driving school program empowers Pakistani women
By Mubasher Bukhari
How Shen Yun tapped religious fervor to make $266 million
By Michael Rothfeld and Nicole Hong
South Korean court issues arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon

Sports

Chugo Saito at Isenoumi stable on Friday. Saito has joined his older brother, Seigo, at the stable.
Sumo’s brotherhood gets latest inductee
By John Gunning
Wakaikari’s younger sibling Chugo Saito is the first-ever high schooler to get a special dispensation.
20 U.S. Major League teams eager to interview Roki Sasaki
Chelsea's title hopes rocked by shock defeat to Ipswich
Raducanu pulls out of Australian Open warmup with back injury
LeBron, 40, says he wants to finish his career with the Lakers
By Rory Carroll

Opinion

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Last year, incumbents in every major country that held a national election lost that vote, the first time that has happened in almost 120 years.
The world is ever more angry. That is not good.
Brad Glosserman
Hostility toward existing leadership stems from the belief that lives aren't improving and future generations will have fewer opportunities than previous ones.
The world needs a pro-human AI agenda
By Daron Acemoglu
Will the second Trump boom go bust?
By Kenneth Rogoff
Japan’s 2024 word of the year has no rizz
By Gearoid Reidy
From geisha to oshikatsu, toxic tropes fuel sex industry
By Waka Konohana

ENVIRONMENT

People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
By Tomoko Otake
Average temperatures across the nation and surrounding seas exceeded last year’s record-breaking levels "by a significant margin," affecting everything from well-being to farming.
Great things can grow in small places
By Laura Pollacco
After a year of hard climate talks, ‘minilateralism’ is an alternative
By Aaron Clark
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

CULTURE

One of the themes in American guitarist Marty Friedman’s autobiography “Dreaming Japanese” is that while he has become a star in his own right in Japan, he still feels that he doesn’t “belong.”
Guitarist Marty Friedman goes to bat for J-pop in new autobiography
By Phil Brasor
"Dreaming Japanese" tells the story of how the Megadeth guitarist navigated Japan's music industry.
The bond between the Japanese and animals as seen in ukiyo-e
By Aiko Imaizumi
Toru Fuyuki, composer of 'Ultraseven' theme song, dies at 89
Still sounding young at 85, Midori Kato is the voice of old Japan
By Motoko Rich and Hisako Ueno
The cultural luminaries we lost in 2024
By Alyssa I. Smith

LIFE

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake
By Kathryn Wortley
The Year of the Snake is characterized by wisdom, calm and steady progress. It urges introspection, calculated moves and a journey of reinvention.
Architect Sou Fujimoto says his 'Grand Ring' will be a symbol of unity at the Osaka Expo
By Natsuko Fukue
From Michelin stardom to humble meals, Tokyo dining had an eclectic 2024
By Robbie Swinnerton
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
By Simon Daly
Start the new year not with one temple visit, but seven
By Zoria Petkoska

COMMUNITY

For the 20 Questions column this year, writers asked their interview subjects about everything from their lives in Japan to their thoughts on news topics.
There were plenty of hot topics to opine on in 2024
By Gendel Gento, Kimberly Hughes, Ora Margolis, David McElhinney, Zoria Petkoska, Justin Randall, Himari Semans, Patrick St. Michel and Ansel Swindells
We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.
A holiday season built on creativity and care
By Baye McNeil
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

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan news images of 2024: Upheaval, resilience and breakthroughs
A person walks down a street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the days following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which struck off the coast of the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. More than 500 deaths have been attributed to the event, which was the worst quake since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
MORE SPORTS
A newcomer’s guide to the Hakone Ekiden experience
By Mai Yoshikawa
The start of the 2024 Hakone Ekiden in Tokyo's Otemachi district. Every year on Jan. 2 and 3, Hakone Ekiden brings millions of fans across Japan to a standstill.
JAPAN
Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students
By Tomoko Otake
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
Japan defense spending goals hit by inflation, weak yen and political uncertainty
By Gabriel Dominguez
Ground Self-Defense Force members conduct a military drill next to an anti-ship missile unit on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
By Tomoko Otake
People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake
By Kathryn Wortley

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japanese Princess Kako turns 30
As an adult member of the Imperial Family, Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad this year.
WORLD
Biden announces $5.9 billion for Ukraine amid final aid push
By Tony Capaccio
U.S. President Joe Biden (right) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington on Sept. 26.
JAPAN
Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students
By Tomoko Otake
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
SUMO
Sumo’s brotherhood gets latest inductee
By John Gunning
Chugo Saito at Isenoumi stable on Friday. Saito has joined his older brother, Seigo, at the stable.
ASIA PACIFIC
South Korean court issues arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a public address from his official residence in Seoul on Dec. 14.