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January 10, 2025
 

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FOCUS

A monuments of a plastic model of an armor worn by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, is seen in the city of Shizuoka on Dec. 6.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 6, 2025
In Shizuoka, plastic models are not just child's play
Monuments of plastic models are found throughout the city to showcase its model-making industry, which traces its roots to skilled craftsmen of the Tokugawa shogunate.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, in December 2019. The Biden administration blocked the $14 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel on Friday, citing grounds that the sale posed a threat to national security.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025
Biden’s decision on Nippon Steel deal followed divide in his orbit
The split was emblematic of so many shifts in U.S. policy — including of Biden’s pledge to build trust with allies and the race against China.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025
Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones
Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
A demonstrator holds a placard that reads "I will fight with President Yoon Suk Yeol" during a rally in support of the impeached South Korea president in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2025
South Korea's political crisis: what could happen next?
From another arrest attempt to waiting for a Constitutional Court decision, the scenarios that could decide President Yoon Suk Yeol's fate are numerous.
The path forward for the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal is unclear. The companies could sue the U.S. government, another buyer could swoop in for U.S. Steel, or Republicans who favor the deal could urge U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to find a way to approve it.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2025
What's next for the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal?
The companies could sue the U.S. government, another buyer could swoop in, or those who favor the deal could urge Trump to find a way to approve it.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a conference organized by the European Jewish Association in Krakow, Poland, in January 2024.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2025
Musk projects his hard-right influence in Europe
The multibillionaire has demanded new elections in Britain, promoted Germany's far-right, blasted the European Commission — and that's just the start.
With the continued wage and price hikes, the Japanese economy will likely grow steadily in fiscal 2025 that will start in April, according to some private think tanks.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 2, 2025
Economists see continued rise in Japan's wages and prices in fiscal '25
Uncertainty surrounding the impact of policies under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are seen as a key risk factor.
Stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Jan 1, 2025
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.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik offers joss sticks at a memorial for the victims of the Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 30, 2024
What caused South Korea's most deadly plane crash?
As South Korean investigators probe the causes of the country's worst-ever aviation disaster on home soil, experts offer a glimpse at what could have gone wrong.
A Toyota RAV4 at a car dealership in California on Dec. 18. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to impose additional tariffs on imports has sparked concern among Japanese automakers with significant operations in Mexico.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Dec 29, 2024
Trump tariffs spark concern among Japanese automakers
The pressing question now is how Japan will navigate and respond to the emerging order shaped by deepening global divisions.
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.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 29, 2024
Japan defense spending goals hit by inflation, weak yen and political uncertainty
A slew of obstacles are jeopardizing Tokyo's pursuit of raising defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by fiscal 2027.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 26, 2024
Japan and China to continue delicate diplomatic dance in 2025
While Tokyo and Beijing have touted the importance of thawing ties, experts say a number of issues are likely to mean continued hedging by both sides.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak during Turning Point's annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 23, 2024
Trump upending global politics a month before taking office
While it’s not unusual for political leaders at home and abroad to jockey for the ear of an incoming president, the scale of Trump’s pre-inauguration influence is vast.
Syrians step on posters of Bashar Assad and his father, Hafez Assad, in Homs, Syria, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
How Bashar Assad's inner circle fled Syria after his fall
The ousted president was accompanied by only a handful of confidants, leaving both family members and loyal aides to find their own means of escape.
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
Starmer is deepening China ties while the U.K.’s allies turn away
Starmer’s pursuit of closer ties with China has raised private questions from Trump’s incoming administration, European diplomats and even some senior British officials.
The rise of TikTok has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok
In Washington, the platform has been accused of espionage, while the EU suspects it was used to sway Romania's presidential election in favor of a far-right candidate.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Dec 21, 2024
Economists see BOJ's policy review as insufficient
The massive easing policy has caused adverse effects, such as a loosening of fiscal discipline, economists said.
U.S. President Joe Biden departs from St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church, on the day of the anniversary of the death of the president's first wife and daughter in a car accident in 1972, in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 21, 2024
Fade out: Biden disappears into background
Despite still occupying the world's most powerful pulpit, Biden has remained virtually absent from the public debate about his noisy successor.
Disney and Oriental Land executives pose with Disney characters at the unveiling of an expanded cruise line, in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2024
Tokyo Disney Resort operator eyes cruises for new growth
The company plans to invest approximately ¥330 billion in the project, hoping to launch services in fiscal 2028.
TV networks drop Japan boy band star over sex allegations
Masahiro Nakai in Tokyo in October 2017
Emanuel leaves reform legacy amid historic shifts in U.S.-Japan alliance
Rahm Emanuel professes that the biggest thing he has brought to the U.S.-Japan relationship might be a fresh injection of vitality.
Police rearrest suspect in McDonald's attack on murder charge
Masanori Hirabaru, 43, is escorted out of a police station in Kitakyushu on Dec. 20 to be brought to prosecutors in relation to a double stabbing at a McDonald's outlet in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was rearrested Thursday on a charge of murder.
New York Times chooses Toyama and Osaka as top places to go in 2025
The Toyama City Library, designed by Kengo Kuma, in November. The library is part of a building called Toyama Kirari that also houses the Glass Art Museum.
Japan to deepen U.S. alliance, former Prime Minister Suga says in Washington
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (right) and Sen. William Hagerty, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, hold talks in Washington on Wednesday.
Hair removal for kids — boosting confidence or preying on insecurities?
Beauty salon Dione, which has over 100 branches nationwide, offers hair removal treatments for children as young as 3 years old. It uses hair removal equipment that emits a special light heated to around 38 degrees Celsius, unlike conventional equipment that involves temperatures of 60 to 80 C.
Sumo’s brotherhood gets latest inductee
Chugo Saito at Isenoumi stable on Friday. Saito has joined his older brother, Seigo, at the stable.
As standards rise, Tokyo Stock Exchange delistings hit decade high
The Tokyo Stock Exchange wants companies to improve governance and performance.
Swiping in Japan: How Gen Z is changing the dating app game
Many Japanese dating apps have ways to detail specific interests that can be as narrow as one particular TV show, game or an artist.
Blinken in final Japan visit as Trump's return weighs on Tokyo's mind
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the start of their working lunch at a hotel in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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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