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January 18, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 18, 2025
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s potential role in any plan to save TikTok remains both intriguing and complicated. The ban is set to take effect just one day before his inauguration, and while it has been reported that President Joe Biden won’t enforce the ban on day one, the decision on what to do long-term will become Trump’s problem almost immediately.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
TikTok’s fate rests on Trump after U.S. Supreme Court upholds law
By Alexandra S. Levine and Kurt Wagner
U.S. President -elect Donald Trump’s potential role in any plan to save TikTok remains both intriguing and complicated.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s potential role in any plan to save TikTok remains both intriguing and complicated. The ban is set to take effect just one day before his inauguration, and while it has been reported that President Joe Biden won’t enforce the ban on day one, the decision on what to do long-term will become Trump’s problem almost immediately.
Roki Sasaki pitches for Japan during the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome on March 11, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki signs with Dodgers
By Jason Coskrey
Sasaki is considered one of the most talented young pitchers on the planet. 
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba poses for a photo with Dimitri Kerkentzes (second left), visiting secretary-general of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Ishiba vows to make Osaka Expo a success
"We will do our best to communicate (the attractions of) not only Osaka but also Japan as a whole to the world," Ishiba also said.
A Chinese district court is set to sentence a man next week over a knife attack in June last year, in which a Japanese woman and her child, and a Chinese woman were attacked in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
China court to sentence man over Japanese school bus stabbings
In the sentencing hearing, attention will likely be paid to how the court will mention the attacker's motive as well as the severity of the sentence.
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
LIFE / Travel
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
By Johan Brooks
Japan’s much-lauded four seasons aren’t felt as much in Tokyo as they are in the full, rural vistas of Yamagata Prefecture.
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.

JAPAN

A training session for a new reporting system that the Japan Coast Guard began operating on Saturday.
Japan Coast Guard launches emergency video reporting system
The coast guard hopes the new system will improve life-saving measures in the event of emergencies at sea.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo hold a joint news conference in Taguig City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Wednesday.
Japan looks to up the ante with more money and partners in military aid program
By Gabriel Dominguez
As funds for Japan's official security assistance increase, so will Tokyo's efforts to boost the number of countries it assists, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Chinese buyer of Okinawa Island to make visit in summer
Unified university entrance exams begin in Japan
Japan conveys serious concerns during rare visit by Chinese military delegation
'Quad' top diplomats expected to meet the day after Trump inauguration

BUSINESS

Daiichi Sankyo's headquarters in Tokyo
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo win U.S. approval for breast cancer drug
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for patients with advanced breast tumors whose cells bear a certain genetic signature.
The TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone next to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Friday.
TikTok says it will go dark Sunday in U.S. without assurance from Biden
The statement came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company does not sell it.
Biden’s chips team hands off $52 billion program to a skeptical Trump
By Mackenzie Hawkins
Over 95% in Japan feel impact of higher prices: BOJ survey
IMF keeps Japan's 2025 growth outlook intact
Major Japanese firms pay record winter bonuses

WORLD

Reporters listen as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 7
Once an interloper, Trump returns to White House more powerful than before
By Andy Sullivan
The former real-estate developer now plausibly stands as the defining political figure of the early 21st century.
A boy runs with a Palestinian flag atop a mound of rubble at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday following the announcement of a ceasefire amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli Cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire accord due to take effect Sunday
The six-week ceasefire, which will also see a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges, could pave the way to ending the 15-month war.
Yoon defends himself in court against longer detention
How Biden’s inner circle protected a faltering president
By Katie Rogers, Adam Entous, Maggie Haberman and Carl Hulse
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to stop COVID-19 shots six months after rollout
By Christina Jewett
Trump picks one-term congressman to manage U.S. nuclear arsenal
By William J. Broad

Sports

Terunofuji won 10 titles in sumo's top division during his career.
Yokozuna Terunofuji retires after injury-plagued career
Terunofuji, who has already acquired Japanese citizenship, will become a stablemaster after his retirement.
Tien becomes the youngest man into Australian Open last 16 since Nadal
Rampant Swiatek has ball 'listening' to her in rout of Raducanu
Naomi Osaka retires with injury during third round of Australian Open
Tiger Woods-hosted PGA Tour event to be relocated due to LA wildfires

Opinion

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump and other Asian leaders pose for a family photo during a the ASEAN-U.S. 40th Anniversary Summit in Manila in November 2017. The U.S. president-elect’s Cabinet secretary level and other picks for his second term point to a tougher China policy.
What Trump’s appointments tell us about his Asia policy
Joshua Kurlantzick
Donald Trump’s second term as president appears set to intensify efforts to curb China’s influence while maintaining crucial alliances in Asia.
A moment of opportunity for Japan-China relations
Japan has nothing to fear from Trump — except in maybe one area
By Edo Naito
Gaza ceasefire deal is a win for Trump
By Marc Champion
Elon Musk won’t save TikTok
By Catherine Thorbecke

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

Eugene Kangawa's Atelier iii is a space where visitors are invited to engage directly with the artist’s evolving practice.
Eugene Kangawa’s art space embraces impermanence
By Erik Augustin Palm
The artist’s Atelier iii studio resists spectacle and asks visitors to slow down and commit to being present.
David Lynch, maker of florid and unnerving films, dies at 78
By J. Hoberman
‘Muromachi Outsiders’: Yo Oizumi commands attention in rebellion tale
By James Hadfield
Japan's most prestigious literary awards go to a trio of contemporary voices
By Alyssa I. Smith
The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’
By Erik Augustin Palm

LIFE

For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
By Johan Brooks
Japan’s much-lauded four seasons aren’t felt as much in Tokyo as they are in the full, rural vistas of Yamagata Prefecture.
Let’s make some predictions about what will happen in the year ahead
By Yuko Tamura
Nintendo announces Switch 2, its first new console in eight years
By Sam Byford
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
By Mike Fu
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?
By Tomoko Otake

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

CULTURE
A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
By James Hadfield
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.
JAPAN
The efforts to bridge the disaster information gap, 30 years on
By Himari Semans
Roxana Oshiro and her husband gather their belongings in front of their house in Furukawacho, in Kobe's Suma Ward, after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.
JAPAN
Japan looks to up the ante with more money and partners in military aid program
By Gabriel Dominguez
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo hold a joint news conference in Taguig City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Possibility of Nankai Trough megaquake now 80%, government panel reports
By Yukana Inoue
A map of the hypocentral region of an anticipated Nankai Trough earthquake
JAPAN
With new regional party, Shinji Ishimaru touts rebirth
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Shinji Ishimaru announces details of his new regional party at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Site designer on why expos matter more than ever
Site designer on why expos matter more than ever

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Possibility of Nankai Trough megaquake now 80%, government panel reports
By Yukana Inoue
A map of the hypocentral region of an anticipated Nankai Trough earthquake
ASIA PACIFIC
Crashed Jeju jet’s black box failure shows decadeslong gap in power rules
By Allyson Versprille, Heejin Kim and Siddharth Philip
The flight data recorder retrieved from Jeju Air flight 2216, which crashed killing 179 people in December. Black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the flight stopped recording four minutes before the disaster, South Korea's transport ministry said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer
Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
JAPAN
Tokyo police arrest dentists and others over ¥20 million medical fraud
According to Tokyo police, a group of seven people, including dentists, submitted falsified claims in June 2023 for the treatment of 62 foreign students and technical trainees from Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, fraudulently obtaining around ¥2.87 million ($18,500) in medical fees.
JAPAN
30th anniversary of Hanshin quake marked with desire to pass on lessons
By Eric Johnston
Children pray for the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake during an early morning ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the quake, in Kobe on Friday.