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November 26, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
November 26, 2024
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Trump pledges 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, deeper tariffs on China
Trump cited concerns over illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the U.S. border illegally as the rationale for the moves.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Thursday to discuss political reform.
JAPAN / Politics
Corporate donations remain sticky point in political reform talks
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The opposition wants such donations banned but the ruling coalition maintains that a ban would curtail the political freedom of the private sector.
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
By Elizabeth Beattie
Average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October, while figures for X were down over that time.
A pig that is pregnant with piglets suited for cross-species transplants
JAPAN / Science & Health
Startup transplants pig kidney into monkey for first time in Japan
By Tomoko Otake
It is hoped that the operation will provide insights into the future use of animal kidneys in humans.
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak
The modern sauna experience is more than just taking a seat in some steam — whisking, aufguss shows and spectacle all play a part.
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

JAPAN

The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
By Karin Kaneko
The National Consumer Affairs Center is getting an increasing number of consultations regarding data and online services left behind by deceased persons.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya shakes hands with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto at the signing of an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement between Japan and Italy in Rome on Monday.
Japan and Italy to share fuel and ammo under new logistics deal
By Gabriel Dominguez
The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement will also enable the rapid mobilization of aid in case of emergencies and natural disasters.
Yamanashi Prefecture plans to raise entry fee for Mount Fuji climbers
Osaka court upholds 18-year sentence for murder of ALS patient
93-year-old inmate imprisoned over fatal Tokyo car crash dies
How Reiwa Shinsengumi managed to overtake JCP in the Lower House
By Eric Johnston

BUSINESS

Four House Republicans wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday, saying that recent developments related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) "have called into question the integrity of its decision-making process,” and demanding the preservation of records related to a potential sale of U.S. Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel.
U.S. Steel review targeted by Republicans for potential probe
By Josh Wingrove
GOP lawmakers are calling on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to preserve documents related to the proposed sale to Japan's Nippon Steel.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
By Aya Wagatsuma
Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
Mercari to enhance item verification process to check frauds
Nomura, Daiwa and other advisers win coveted Seven & I buyout roles
By Hideki Suzuki and Taro Fuse
Dai Nippon Printing says Elliott has sold most of its stake
By Hideyuki Sano
Japan’s rail stocks soar on Keisei Electric activist stake news
By Alice French

WORLD

Ukrainian cadets hold lit candles as they stand in attention before the Motherland Monument during a commemoration ceremony marking the 1,000th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Kyiv on Nov. 19.
For EU, North Korean troops add new dimension to war in Ukraine
By Gabriel Dominguez
Pyongyang's move and return of Donald Trump to White House further complicate EU efforts to end bloody conflict.
A Rohingya child walks across a bamboo bridge at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 30.
In world's largest refugee camps, Rohingya mobilize to fight in Myanmar
By Devjyot Ghoshal and Poppy McPherson
The emergence of Rohingya fighters and weapons in camps is regarded as a ticking time bomb by Bangladesh, one source said
Israel and Hezbollah seen on the cusp of a deal as attacks continue
By Dan Williams and Iain Marlow
Philippines' Marcos vows to fight back after estranged VP's death threat
By Mikhail Flores
One killed in clashes with Imran Khan's supporters in Pakistan
By Asif Shahzad
Trump victory forces ESG investors to regroup
By Frances Schwartzkopff

Sports

The Marines' Roki Sasaki practices at Es Con Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, on Oct. 11.
When Roki Sasaki signs his deal, Latin American amateurs will suffer
By Ken Rosenthal
His chosen team will likely use its entire bonus pool on him, breaking preexisting verbal commitments with some other amateur players.
GM agrees deal to enter F1 with Cadillac in 2026
By Alan Baldwin
U.S. women's keeper Naeher to retire after Europe matches
Ronaldo takes Al Nassr to brink of Asian Champions League quarters
Tiger Woods to skip Hero World Challenge after back surgery

Opinion

The Clintons and Barack Obama engineered the disastrous situation in the 2024 election and have long dominated the Democratic Party, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris serving as their appointees. 
How the Democrats sunk their own ship this year
James K. Galbraith
The Democratic leadership would far rather lose an election or two — or even become a permanent minority party – than open the party to people it cannot control.
Nintendo’s latest device, the Alarmo, is a $100 wake-up call
By Gearoid Reidy
Paranoia and Beijing trump democracy in Hong Kong
Like in Elden Ring, Sony must learn from its mistakes
By Gearoid Reidy
Has the age of populism finally reached Japan?
By Kuni Miyake

ENVIRONMENT

A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
By Chris Russell
While offering relief to low-income households, such measures encourage the continued use of the fossil fuels driving climate change.
Rich countries provide no haven from climate doom, study finds
By Frances Schwartzkopff
Can the world unite to end the plastic pollution crisis?
By Aaron Clark and Leslie Kaufman
Surprise solar boom in Pakistan helps millions, but harms grid
By Faseeh Mangi
South Korea's mountain of plastic waste shows limits of recycling
By Joyce Lee

CULTURE

Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
By Patrick St. Michel
The recently announced 2024 lineup underlines how capturing a year of J-pop in one broadcast bonanza is impossible these days.
Chinese films about COVID-19, gay romance win big at Taiwan awards
There's no room for wallflowers at Amapinight
By Kim Kahan
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
By Kris Kosaka
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
By James Hadfield

LIFE

Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’
By Owen Ziegler
Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
A buttery pound cake to die — or kill — for
By Simon Daly
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
By Jessica Kozuka
You don’t need an onion bouquet to say thanks — just the right words
By Yuko Tamura
Healthy low-carb foods on the rise in Japan

COMMUNITY

After almost a decade of traveling around the world, a working holiday during the 2019 ski season in Nozawa Onsen was to be Rowie Geraerts’ last hurrah before she settled down in Australia.
How a solo yoga teacher built a wellness community in the Japanese Alps
By Samantha Mythen
A budding entrepreneur from Australia, Rowie Geraerts has created Shizen Collective in Nozawa Onsen — a new home for herself, locals and visitors.
Omar Nok: 'There are good people everywhere'
By Ansel Swindells
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
By Mike Fu
A bridge between kyogen and the world, Don Kenny dies at 88
By Rintaro Dainichi
Gary Perlman: ‘Kabuki is pure entertainment … the characters and themes are universal’
By Ansel Swindells

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
By Karin Kaneko
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
ENVIRONMENT
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
By Chris Russell
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
LIFE
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
By Haru Beaufort
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
JAPAN
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
By Francis Tang
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BASEBALL
Taiwan stuns Samurai Japan to capture Premier12 title
By Jason Coskrey
Japan starter Shosei Togo reacts after allowing a three-run home run against Taiwan in the fifth inning of the Premier12 final on Sunday.
JAPAN
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
JAPAN
Preparations for Osaka Expo well underway amid lack of excitement
The Grand Ring, a symbol of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka
JAPAN
Ishiba shelves proposal for liaison offices with North Korea amid rising tensions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks on Saturday in Tokyo at a rally that was held by a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
CULTURE
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
By Patrick St. Michel
Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.