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January 24, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 24, 2025
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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda had sounded dovish after the central bank's December policy meeting, which led some analysts to say that rate hikes might only emerge in March.
BUSINESS / Economy
BOJ takes rates to 0.5% amid calm markets after Trump inauguration
By Kazuaki Nagata
The 25-basis-point move marks the first rate increase since July and takes rates to their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda had sounded dovish after the central bank's December policy meeting, which led some analysts to say that rate hikes might only emerge in March.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba stresses regional revitalization in policy speech
By Himari Semans
The relocation of industrial, state and academic institutions to regions outside of Tokyo will begin with government agencies.
Mitsubishi Motors is unlikely to join Honda and Nissan's deal to create a holding company together, it was reported Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mitsubishi Motors won’t join Honda and Nissan tie-up, Yomiuri says
By Nicholas Takahashi
Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t made any announcements and is considering all options, a spokesperson for the company said.
TV star Masahiro Nakai abruptly announced his retirement Thursday as the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against him continued to expand.
JAPAN
Ex-SMAP member Masahiro Nakai to retire amid sexual misconduct allegations
By Yukana Inoue
The 52-year-old former SMAP member said his contracts had been wound up, and that negotiations with sponsors were in progress.
Animated series “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi” premiered on Cartoon Network on Nov. 29, 2004, and ran for three seasons. The show is based on real-life J-pop band Puffy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
The cartoon chaos of ‘Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi’ was ahead of its time
By Patrick St. Michel
Love for the J-pop duo’s zany Cartoon Network series has endured online for over 20 years since its premiere.
Animated series “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi” premiered on Cartoon Network on Nov. 29, 2004, and ran for three seasons. The show is based on real-life J-pop band Puffy.

JAPAN

Hokkaido Railway temporarily suspended train services after a 61-year-old Chinese tourist was fatally struck by a train in the city of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Thursday morning.
Chinese tourist fatally struck by train in Hokkaido
By Jessica Speed
The woman entered the Hakodate Line tracks near Asari Station in Otaru to photograph the ocean with her phone.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, walks outside the federal court in Santa Ana, California, on June 4.
57 months in prison sought for Ohtani's ex-interpreter
"This kind of betrayal and greed calls for a significant term of imprisonment," prosecutors argued.
Japan's foreign minister vows to take ties with U.S. to new heights
Boyfriend of missing woman arrested after bones found on beach
U.S. Marine not indicted in sexual assault case in Okinawa
LDP Tokyo assembly members to correct funds reports

BUSINESS

TikTok boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users and has become a major driver of culture and politics among young Americans.
TikTok’s possible buyers, from Elon Musk to MrBeast
By Kurt Wagner
There will be no shortage of interested acquirers for the popular video service, which boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users.
Katsumi Shinagawa prepares to shred cabbage to serve with pork cutlet dishes at the restaurant Katsukichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Climate change cooks up Japanese 'cabbage shock'
By Tomohiro Osaki and Hieun SHIN
It is the latest pain point for shoppers and eateries in Japan already squeezed by inflation.
JAL top executives have their pay docked after pilot drinking incident
By Adrian Wong and Danny Lee
Inflation in Japan jumps to 3%, supporting the BOJ's rate-hike case
By Erica Yokoyama
Japan supermarket sales up for fifth year in 2024
Japan to tighten investment pre-screening amid security concerns
By Erica Yokoyama and Takashi Umekawa

WORLD

Strong waves from the Pasig River pummel the shoreline in Manila on Nov. 17 as Super Typhoon Man-yi hits the Philippines.
Disaster fatigue: When storms drown out compassion
By Mariejo Ramos
Natural disasters in the Philippines are taking a toll not only on the most vulnerable but also on those whose very job it is to help to them.
Steps against diversity form part of U.S. President Donald Trump's broader campaign targeting the federal bureaucracy, which he has sometimes disparaged as the "deep state" secretly working against his agenda.
Trump accelerates campaign to remake federal bureaucracy
By Andrea Shalal and Matt Spetalnick
The U.S. president says his orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs would make America a "merit-based country" once again.
U.S. judge temporarily blocks Trump's order limiting birthright citizenship
By Dan Catchpole and Nate Raymond
Trump is back. But what happened to the 'Resistance'?
By Frankie TAGGART
Auschwitz survivors recall their suffering 80 years after camp's liberation
By Barbara Erling and Kuba Stezycki
Syria's new leaders turn to Islamic law in effort to rebuild Assad's police
By Amina Ismail and Khalil Ashawi

Sports

Sara Saito competes at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in October last year.
Sara Saito’s journey from tennis courts in Gunma to promising WTA pro
By Mai Yoshikawa
The 18-year-old Saito, who has steadily risen up the WTA rankings, is the only teenager among the eight Japanese players in the top 200.
Djokovic retires hurt to send Zverev into Australian Open final
Washington's 'Terminator' Jayden Daniels one win away from NFL history
Only Keys stands between Sabalenka and third straight Australian Open title
By Shrivathsa Sridhar
Rivals Bills and Chiefs clash again with Super Bowl on the line
By Simon Evans

Opinion

Tourists visit shops near Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine on Jan. 13. The nation's growing tourism sector, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but is straining the nation's infrastructure.
Japan has '$100 billion' reasons to welcome more visitors
Gearoid Reidy
Japan's growing tourism, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but strains infrastructure, highlighting a need for smarter policies to manage overtourism.
Europe needs a defense production act
By Nicu Popescu
Even this year is the best time ever to be alive
By Nicholas Kristof
Ueda’s doctrine for the BOJ is finally emerging
By Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy
Sustainable finance taxonomies light up Asia’s net-zero path
By Michelle Loi

ENVIRONMENT

U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Trump withdraws from Paris climate agreement — again
The newly minted president removed the world's biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
By Joel Tansey
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

CULTURE

Reality and dreams begin to blur for a former French literature professor (Kyozo Nagatsuka, front) after he receives a cryptic message in “Teki Cometh.”
‘Teki Cometh’ slides in and out of a hypnotic dreamworld
By Mark Schilling
Kyozo Nagatsuka gives a finessed performance as an elderly gentleman who is not as gentle as he seems in Daihachi Yoshida’s drama.
'Emilia Perez' tops Oscar nominations in fire-hit Hollywood
By Paula Ramon and Andrew Marszal
‘Missing Child Videotape’: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed
By James Hadfield
‘Sunset Sunrise’: Rom-com finds pathos in peak pandemic setting
By Mark Schilling
Eugene Kangawa’s art space embraces impermanence
By Erik Augustin Palm

LIFE

Getting caught in the rain while walking home may require you to use the passive voice when relaying your bad luck to others.
Annoyed? Unfairly treated? Express yourself in Japanese with the passive voice
By Yaeko Kabe
Verbs get complicated when they're used to describe feelings of annoyance or victimization.
Global tourism is back to pre-COVID highs
By Daniel Silva
For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’
By Simon Daly
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
By Johan Brooks
Let’s make some predictions about what will happen in the year ahead
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’
By Mike Fu
The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.
Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji
By Aku Owaka-Haigh
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms
By Justin Randall
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

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
How 'Twin Peaks' turned David Lynch into Japan's favorite weirdo
By James Hadfield
“The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks” director David Lynch became a favorite among Japanese moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as “mini theaters”) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ’90s.
JAPAN
As parliament opens, ruling coalition enters uncharted territory
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a policy speech at the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo last November.
BASEBALL
Dodgers introduce Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki
By Jason Coskrey
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki speaks during his introductory news conference with the team in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
LIFE
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
By Samantha Low
One of the brighest spots of Japan's indie gaming landscape in 2024 was Sonokuni, and with more incubators and other avenues of support springing up, there may be more games like it in the future.
SUMO
Terunofuji’s career was unique — and great
By John Gunning
Yokozuna Terunofuji enters the ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo earlier this month during what would be his final tournament.

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

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
U.S. Osprey accidentally drops cargo into sea in Okinawa
A V-22 Osprey
JAPAN
Search for suspect underway after fatal stabbing at Nagano Station
By Jessica Speed
The crime scene where three people were attacked near JR Nagano Station on Wednesday
BUSINESS
Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist
By Kazuaki Nagata
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
SOCCER
Celtic makes 'little bit of history' with Champions League progress
Celtic's Arne Engels (left) and Young Boys' Silvere Ganvoula M'boussy vie for the ball during their Champions League match in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Celtic captain Calum McGregor hopes Kyogo Furuhashi remains with club
Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi has been linked with a move to Rennes in France.