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January 14, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 14, 2025
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Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, shake hands during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan top diplomat visits South Korea amid political turmoil in Seoul
By Jesse Johnson
The talks on bilateral and trilateral cooperation also came just a week before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is due to take office.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, shake hands during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters after a three-way virtual summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba urges Biden to dispel concern about investment in U.S.
Japanese firms invested almost $800 billion in the United States in 2023, more than any other country, and 14.3% of the total, according to official U.S. data.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southwestern Japan at 9:19 p.m. on Sunday evening
JAPAN
Tsunami advisory issued after M6.9 quake strikes southwest Japan
The quake measured a lower 5 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.
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

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya during a working lunch at a hotel in Tokyo last week.
'Quad' foreign ministers eye meeting in Washington on Jan. 21
The ministerial meeting will underscore that the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is attaching importance to collaboration among the four nations.
Police arrested former chancellor of Tokyo Women's Medical University on Monday on suspicion of breach of trust involving fictitious payments of construction consulting fees by the university, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Ex-Tokyo medical university chancellor arrested for breach of trust
The former chancellor was dismissed in August last year over allegations about illegal expenditures linked to the university's alumnae association, Shiseikai.
Japan farm ministry aims to dispatch corporate workers to rural areas
Osaka Expo kicks off pavilion reservation lottery amid sales concerns
CDP's Noda looks to local elections to build party's momentum
Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills

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.
Japan to launch model project helping struggling accommodation owners
Tech sector's energy transition draws attention at Vegas show
By Thomas URBAIN
Robots set to move beyond factory as AI advances
By John BIERS
Widening pay gap for women on boards is ‘red flag’ for Europe
By Katherine Griffiths

WORLD

A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire nears 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

Shunsuke Nakamori pitches at Zozo Marine Stadium last season.
Marines will need other pitchers to step up after Roki Sasaki departs for MLB
By Jason Coskrey
The Marines — if they have not already — will be forced to accept a new reality where their starting rotation is not headed by one of the best young pitchers in the world.
Impressive Vonn fourth as Macuga takes first World Cup win
Ilona Maher shines in first start for Bristol
Olympic chiefs vow to replace US swim star medals lost in LA fires
Doping cases in spotlight as Jannik Sinner tops Nicolas Jarry at Australian Open

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.
Japan’s energy plans endanger real climate solutions
By Kimiko Hirata
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

ENVIRONMENT

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.
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.
Europe threatens to trigger a global scramble for natural gas
By Anna Shiryaevskaya, Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Stephen Stapczynski and Ruth Liao
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

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.
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
By Laura Pollacco
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

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.
ENVIRONMENT
Disaster-hardened Japan faces enormous costs from climate change
By Anton L. Delgado
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.
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.

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

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.
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.
COMMENTARY
Trump’s trash talk revives the worst of world politics
By Andreas Kluth
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's provocative rhetoric targeting Panama, Greenland and Canada underscores his preference for bold power plays over traditional rules-based diplomacy.
CULTURE
The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’
By Erik Augustin Palm
In season two of "Squid Game," protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to put an end to the deadly competition.
ENVIRONMENT
Disaster-hardened Japan faces enormous costs from climate change
By Anton L. Delgado
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.