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November 26, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
November 26, 2024
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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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Thursday to discuss political reform.
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.
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
JAPAN / Society
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.
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

Seiji Osaka, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Hokkaido chapter, has expressed concern over the finances of Rapidus, which is supposed to be in full production of cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
CDP’s gains in Hokkaido raise political questions about Rapidus
By Eric Johnston
The head of the party's Hokkaido chapter has expressed concern over the finances for the project, which aims to produce 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
Reiwa Shinsengumi leader Taro Yamamoto speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 27. The party tripled their Lower House seats to nine in last month's general election.
How Reiwa Shinsengumi managed to overtake JCP in the Lower House
By Eric Johnston
The younger party's focus on pocketbook issues attracted younger, independent left-leaning swing voters who might have voted for the older party in the past.
Japan and Italy to share fuel and ammo under new logistics deal
By Gabriel Dominguez
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

BUSINESS

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.
Itochu has tapped Daiwa Securities Group and the founding Ito family has hired SMBC Nikko Securities as financial advisers for their ¥9 trillion ($58.4 billion) proposal to take Seven & I Holdings private, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
Nomura, Daiwa and other advisers win coveted Seven & I buyout roles
By Hideki Suzuki and Taro Fuse
The multitude of financial advisers reflects the complexity of any potential buyout, as well as the lucrative fees if consummated.
Mercari to enhance item verification process to check frauds
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
China's startups suffer as investors exercise redemption rights

WORLD

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
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4.
Trump's son helping him pick most controversial Cabinet of modern times
By Alexandra Ulmer
Donald Trump Jr. is helping contenders sink or rise to the fore, according to a half dozen sources with knowledge of his role.
Trump victory forces ESG investors to regroup
By Frances Schwartzkopff
Mohammed bin Salman’s style shift sets up a new world order strategy
By Bradley Hope
Afghan women turn to entrepreneurship under Taliban
By Aysha Safi
Adani charges to test Trump’s desire to keep India in U.S. orbit
By Sudhi Ranjan Sen

Sports

Kotozakura speaks during a news conference in Fukuoka on Monday
Kotozakura unburdened by weight of history after claiming first title
By John Gunning
Sumo's top-ranked ozeki has won his first Emperor’s Cup.
Taiwan celebrates after team's victory over Japan in Premier12 final
Eddie Jones gets rude welcome from 'clown' in return to Twickenham with Japan
Japan exits Premier12 with no need to panic but with adjustments to make
By Jason Coskrey
Japan coach Eddie Jones calls for patience after blowout loss against England

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.
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
Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
By Shaun TANDON

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.
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
‘Angry Squad’: A caper comedy with a lot of heart
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
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
Chisou Nishi Kenichi: Modern French with unrivaled Shizuoka seafood
By Andrew Lee

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

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
LIFE
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
By Jessica Kozuka
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.

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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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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.