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January 13, 2025
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January 13, 2025
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Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan top diplomat visits South Korea to amid political turmoil in Seoul
By Jesse Johnson
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is expected to reassure Iwaya of the government’s stability in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo last month.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will soon require some companies to publish their financials in English in addition to Japanese.
BUSINESS / Markets
Japanese companies rush to up English-language disclosures in 2025
By Kazuaki Nagata
The Tokyo Stock Exchange requires Prime market companies to release financial statements and other key information simultaneously in English and Japanese from April.
Rescue workers search a flooded area during the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, which caused severe floods at the Chikuma River, in the city of Nagano in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Disaster-hardened Japan faces enormous costs from climate change
By Anton L. Delgado
The total cost in climate damages for the country through 2050 could amount to ¥952 trillion if more ambitious action isn't taken.
A man casts his ballot during the general election at a polling station in Tokyo on Oct. 27.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba keeping eye on Lower House multiseat constituency talks
The prime minister is believed to be eyeing cooperation with opposition parties by using electoral system reform as an opportunity.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?
By Tomoko Otake
Amid a push to digitalize, some experts believe citizens should have the right to stay offline.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.

JAPAN

Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, gives a speech in the city of Kitakyushu last week.
CDP's Noda looks to local elections to build party's momentum
The moves by main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda come amid speculation of a rare double election this summer.
A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism official explains a new system for detecting vacant houses, on Dec. 23.
Government developing AI-based system to detect vacant houses
The aim of the system is to spot such properties at an early stage and make them available for sale or rent, or demolish them before they collapse.
'Quad' foreign ministers eye meeting in Washington on Jan. 21
Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills
Tokyo to help teachers repay student loans
Ishiba moves into official residence

BUSINESS

Kinoko no Yama wireless earbuds, which were released by Meiji in March and sold in limited quantities
Snack makers try to keep long-selling products 'fresh'
Related products and fan events are being offered by companies in a bid to engage with consumers.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance plans to raise its starting monthly salary for university graduates joining the nonlife insurer in April 2026 to as much as ¥410,000.
Tokio Marine to raise starting pay to up to ¥410,000
The insurance firm aims to secure and retain human resources amid continuing labor shortages in Japan.
UFC to seek more than $1 billion a year in next TV rights deal
By Lucas Shaw
Widening pay gap for women on boards is ‘red flag’ for Europe
By Katherine Griffiths
What happens after the TikTok ban?
By Sheila Dang
YouTubers are selling their unused video footage to AI companies
By Aisha Counts

WORLD

A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on Saturday.
Los Angeles faces little relief from fires as winds persist
By Laura Curtis and Brian K Sullivan
In their battle against raging infernos, firefighters are being challenged by relentless wind that could continue for the rest of January.
An alleged North Korean soldier sits on a bunk at an undisclosed location in Ukraine following his capture by the Ukrainian army.
Zelenskyy 'ready' to hand North Korean POWs to Pyongyang
The Ukrainian leader's offer came hours after South Korea's spy agency confirmed that Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers.
German far right emboldened by Austria
By Femke COLBORNE
'It was a mafia': Syrian businesses hope for revival after Assad
By Nazih Osseiran
Indian Hindu pilgrims take the plunge ahead of largest gathering
By Arunabh SAIKIA
Los Angeles fire evacuees face price gouging
By Romain FONSEGRIVES

Sports

Kei Nishikori hits a return against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro during their first round clash at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Nishikori rolls back the years in five-set Melbourne epic
The 35-year-old, who reached a career-high No. 4 in the world and was a U.S. Open finalist a decade ago, was on the brink of defeat at John Cain Arena against Thiago Monteiro.
Coco Gauff cruises past Sofia Kenin in first round at Australian Open
Bills dominate Broncos in wild-card matchup to set up showdown with Ravens
Ruben Amorim sees signs of improvement after FA Cup win over Arsenal
Texans devour Chargers as Ravens run over Steelers in wild-card games

Opinion

Houses destroyed in the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on Thursday
California fires expose a $1 trillion hole in U.S. home insurance
Mark Gongloff
Santa Ana winds and wildfires are natural to California, but climate change and human development have made them far more destructive.
Trump’s trash talk revives the worst of world politics
By Andreas Kluth
Equitable marriages could save lives (and love)
By Sarah Green Carmichael
Trump 2.0 presents new challenges for Japanese companies
By Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and C. Lawrence Greenwood
In the art of war, mimicry runs the gambit from disguises to deepfakes
By Diego Gambetta and Thomas Hegghammer

ENVIRONMENT

Smoke from the Pacific Palisades fire blankets the area in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Researchers see a growing health danger from the vast plumes of pollution spawned by wildfires like the ones devastating Los Angeles.
Far from the Los Angeles fires, the deadly risks of smoke are intensifying
By Hiroko Tabuchi
By some estimates, wildfire smoke causes as many as 675,000 premature deaths a year worldwide, as well as a range of serious health problems.
In Brazil, an Amazon reforestation project seeks to redeem carbon markets
By Anna PELEGRI
The 'climate archive': How scientists study the ancient past
By Benjamin Legendre
Study documents extinction threats to world's freshwater species
By Will Dunham
2024 hottest recorded year, crossed global warming limit
By Nina LARSON, Nick Perry and Julien MIVIELLE

CULTURE

In season two of "Squid Game," protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to put an end to the deadly competition.
The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’
By Erik Augustin Palm
The show’s themes of wealth disparity and exploitation of power resonate far beyond South Korea, tapping into a universal vein of unease about the unstable systems we live under.
Isekai anime offers a key to understanding globalization
By Stevie Suan
An explosive B’z set on ‘Kohaku’ hints at a strategy to win over viewers
By Patrick St. Michel
‘Unbound’ breaks NHK period drama tradition with a hero of the common folk
By Mark Schilling
‘The Solitary Gourmet’: Palatable movie adaptation may leave you wanting more
By James Hadfield

LIFE

Hobonichi's 'techō' notebooks come in both set and customizable formats, and a thriving community of enthusiasts means there are even extensive guides on how to make the journal even more unique to your individual approach to journaling.
American stationery nerds are fueling a Japanese notebook boom
By Thu-Huong Ha
A Japanese-made paper planner from the 1980s has reblossomed in the post-COVID era.
Japanese ski vocabulary: Hit the books before you hit the slopes
By Eric Margolis
Now in Osaka, Yannick Alleno wants ‘flavors people have never experienced’
By Melinda Joe
Japan’s ‘quiet revolution’ of luxury travel nears fruition
By Tan Pin Yen
Traveling for sake's sake: The emergence of brewery tourism in Japan
By Yukana Inoue

COMMUNITY

Lantoko, a company operated by Taiwan native Ping-Fang Lan, offers drift ice walking tours and other exhilarating experiences in and around Shiretoko National Park.
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms
By Justin Randall
With adventure tourism on the rise in Hokkaido, a new generation of foreign-born guides is eager to greet travelers.
Kaz Shiomi: ‘I want to show people … how to color outside the lines’
By Laura Pollacco
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
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

Editors' Picks

MORE SPORTS
30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu
By Mai Yoshikawa
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
LIFE
‘Dorayaki’ creators say flavors trump the dessert’s murky origins
By Cassandra Lord
'Dorayaki' (red bean paste-filled pancakes) are humble treats with delicate sweetness — and the two Tokyo shops who may have created the treat are similarly light-handed in the way they pursue their claims as the originator of the morsel.
LIFE
The case for Japan-ifying everything you cook
By Simon Daly
Pan-roasted baby beets, carrots, turnips and orange may be an otherwise American dish, but Sonoko Sakai's addition of lemon-miso yogurt turns it into a 'wafū' (Japanese style) marvel.
LIFE
American stationery nerds are fueling a Japanese notebook boom
By Thu-Huong Ha
Hobonichi's 'techō' notebooks come in both set and customizable formats, and a thriving community of enthusiasts means there are even extensive guides on how to make the journal even more unique to your individual approach to journaling.
LIFE
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
By Laura Pollacco
Otono Kuboki, a Japanese Canadian hair stylist for salon chain Sozo, is a key figure in the company's mission to elevate the viability of Japan's hairdressing industry to foreign residents.

Podcast

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

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?
By Tomoko Otake

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WHAT’S TRENDING

MORE SPORTS
30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu
By Mai Yoshikawa
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
JAPAN
Eight students recovering after hammer attack at university in Tokyo
Police investigate the scene after eight people were injured by a hammer-wielding woman on Hosei University's Tama campus in Tokyo on Friday afternoon.
JAPAN
Japan may provide support to boost rollout of smartphone-based health cards
A clinic in Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, in May 2020
WORLD
NATO won't back Trump's new defense spending target but will raise its sights
By Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer
U.S. Army soldiers with the NATO multinational battle group on the territory of Bulgaria stand in formation with a U.S. flag and an armored vehicle during a visit by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the Novo Selo military ground near Mokren, Bulgaria, on Dec. 19.
CULTURE
Isekai anime offers a key to understanding globalization
By Stevie Suan
“The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic” centers on three teenage protagonists who are transported into a fantasy world where they must grapple with a foreign culture.