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February 11, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
February 11, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on tariffs on aluminum imports in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Trump sets 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, heightening trade war
The move would fulfill what the most extreme trade protectionists have sought for years.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on tariffs on aluminum imports in Washington on Monday.
An unmanned Hamadori drone developed by Japanese company Space Entertainment Laboratory and equipped with various sensor options for surveys is displayed at the Japan Drone 2020 exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in September 2020.
JAPAN
Japan exploring drone production capabilities for military aid program
By Gabriel Dominguez
Tokyo has begun asking local firms about their capabilities to determine which systems it could provide under the next tranche of security assistance in fiscal 2025 and beyond.
"I hope skaters who train here will go on to shine on the world stage," Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada told the Japan Times at Mao Rink Tachikawa Tachihi, a skating rink in Tachikawa, Tokyo, whose establishment she was involved in, on Jan. 28.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mao Asada sets out to safeguard the future of Japanese skating
By Erika Yamazaki
Mao Rink Tachikawa Tachihi, a project that involved the three-time world champion, has become a dream destination for skaters.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces the Stargate Project, an artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
SoftBank eyes debt-heavy financing for $500 billion AI push
By Min Jeong Lee and Shirin Ghaffary
SoftBank and OpenAI’s push to build out tens of gigawatts of datacenter capacity has the potential to be the biggest rollout of computing power ever.
YouTube has evolved from a dinner party lark 20 years ago into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake U.S. cable television in paid viewership.
BUSINESS / Tech
YouTube, the online video powerhouse, turns 20
By Glenn CHAPMAN
The video hosting site has gone from hosting a 19-second clip titled "Me at the Zoo" to becoming the world's largest in terms of time spent and ad revenue.
YouTube has evolved from a dinner party lark 20 years ago into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake U.S. cable television in paid viewership.

JAPAN

Giving out courtesy chocolates to coworkers on Valentine's Day is becoming obsolete.
How giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is evolving in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
One change is fewer people are handing out chocolates to others at work, which had been a widespread practice over the past few decades.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House in Washington on Friday.
Ishiba builds inroads with Trump, but challenges still loom
By Jesse Johnson and Francis Tang
Ishiba won praise for his deft handling of Trump, squelching critics’ predictions that the president would walk all over the bookish Japanese leader.
Emperor Showa was cautious about Nixon's 1972 visit to China, document shows
Shinji Ishimaru faces criminal complaint over livestreamed campaign event
Government touts exchanges with nations participating in Osaka Expo
Saitama sewer rupture expected to take years to repair

BUSINESS

Billionaire Elon Musk's bid is likely to ratchet up longstanding tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the ChatGPT maker at the heart of a boom in generative AI technology.
Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for control of OpenAI
By Arsheeya Bajwa, Anna Tong and Krystal Hu
The move was another salvo in billionaire Elon Musk's fight to block the AI startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that U.S. Steel would remain American.
Nippon Steel goes quiet after U.S. Steel deal seemingly nixed for good
By Kazuaki Nagata
Comments over the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba point to the U.S. steelmaker remaining American.
Kobayashi Pharma logs first net profit drop since 1999 listing
Japan's trade deficit for digital services rose to record ¥6.6 trillion in 2024
Japan's business community expresses relief after the Ishiba-Trump summit
Shiseido says China’s cautious shoppers hurt profit outlook

WORLD

The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sails in the front of a formation with the Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class frigate BRP Jose Rizal (center), the Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart (left) and the Maritime Defense Force Akizuki-class destroyer Akizuki, during a multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity exercise in the South China Sea last Wednesday.
Calls grow louder for joint maritime patrols near Philippine hot spots
By Gabriel Dominguez
Some want Manila to consider joint coast guard and naval patrols near Chinese government vessels operating in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Shadrack Maseko, whose family has been residing on Meyerskop farm for three generations, looks over a piece of land, in Free State province, South Africa, on Sunday.
The stark inequalities South Africa's new land act seeks to bridge
By Tim Cocks
Nearly three quarters of privately-owned land is in the hands of white people who make up 8% of the population, while only 4% is owned by Black people who constitute nearly 80%.
Trump says Hamas should free all hostages by Saturday or 'let hell break out'
By Steve Holland, Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey
Trump says ‘no’ when asked if ready to name JD Vance as successor
Trump says Palestinians would not have a right to return to Gaza
By Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey
Russia seen playing hardball with Trump on Ukraine peace discussions
By Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov

Sports

Former England assistant Steve Holland is preparing for his first match in charge of Marinos.
Steve Holland set to begin life with Yokohama in AFC Champions League
Yokohama, which lost in last season's final under Australian Harry Kewell, is at home against Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday.
Djokovic 'almost 100%' after injury, aiming for 100th title in Doha
Ronaldo reaches deal with Al Nassr to extend contract, official says
'Just not ready' — Tiger Woods pulls out of Torrey Pines tournament
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts silences critics with Super Bowl title and MVP award

Opinion

U.S. President Donald Trump receives a status report on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office in September 2019.
Trump keeps up his ‘Sharpiegate’ attack on science
Mark Gongloff
The nomination of Neil Jacobs to run NOAA highlights U.S. President Trump’s loyalty-over-expertise approach to leadership.
The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture
By Howard Chua-Eoan
Russia’s nostalgia machine works for strongman Putin
By Nina L. Khrushcheva
So far, so good for Ishiba — at least for now
By Kuni Miyake
‘America First’ in action
By Peter Singer

ENVIRONMENT

A climate change demonstrator takes part in a protest to denounce the impact of U.S. politics on climate change, outside the U.S. Embassy in London on Jan. 11.
Top climate scientist declares 2 degrees Celsius climate goal 'dead'
A stark new analysis concludes that Earth's climate is more sensitive to rising greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought.
It’s ‘virtually certain’ the world has already breached 1.5 C
By Kendra Pierre-Louis
Trump’s freeze on climate money sows fear and confusion
By Zahra Hirji and Danielle Bochove
These roads aren’t built for wilder weather driven by climate change
By Kendra Pierre-Louis
Mitsubishi reviews Japanese offshore wind after economic changes
By Shoko Oda

CULTURE

“Light Court” (2024) is based on the “Lightcourt” space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing
By Jennifer Pastore
The artist spent time researching Japanese migrants who left Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures for Hawaii, and the U.S. island state often features in his art.
Miniatures bring hidden worlds to life at Tokyo cultural site
By Sakurako Nakagawa
Kendrick Lamar promises 'storytelling' at Super Bowl show
‘Kisspeptin Chronicles’: Quirky rom-com dances through the pain of heartache
By Mark Schilling
Oscars frontrunner 'Emilia Perez' suffers awards season crash
By Adam PLOWRIGHT and Andrew Marszal

LIFE

Together, Shinsuke Yamagai (right) and his younger brother, Ryota, have elevated the cuisine at Shintaku, putting it on the map as one of Niigata Prefecture’s premier gastronomic destinations.
Brothers’ local focus lifts Shintaku to Niigata’s highest rank
By Robbie Swinnerton
From the ashes of a devastating 2005 fire, Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai have remade their family’s historic Niigata restaurant into a beacon of Japanese gastronomy.
DEI, woke and 'forest bathing': When a direct translation just won't cut it
By Yuko Tamura
Some traditional Japanese culinary rules are meant to be broken
By Simon Daly
Hay fever beauty: The aesthetics behind Japan’s allergy products
By Carol R.H. Malasig
Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal
By Owen Ziegler

COMMUNITY

After starting out as a games journalist, John Davis found opportunities in marketing and consulting that led him to work in the Japanese gaming industry.
John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’
By Gendel Gento
The co-founder of BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie gaming showcase, shares how he pivoted from journalism to gaming after moving here.
Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan
By Nguyen Bao Anh
Ken Rodgers, a fixture of the Kyoto literary scene, dies at 72
By Eric Johnston
Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’
By Mike Fu
Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji
By Aku Owaka-Haigh

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Ishiba builds inroads with Trump, but challenges still loom
By Jesse Johnson and Francis Tang
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN
How giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is evolving in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
Giving out courtesy chocolates to coworkers on Valentine's Day is becoming obsolete.
CULTURE
‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind
By Patrick St. Michel
The new Nippon TV series “The Hot Spot” follows an alien superhero navigating rural Japanese life but focuses more on dialogue than splashy, action-packed plot points.
CULTURE
Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing
By Jennifer Pastore
“Light Court” (2024) is based on the “Lightcourt” space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
JAPAN
A 'joyful' Japan? Ishiba's slogan sparks the opposite feelings
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Jan. 27.

Podcast

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

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers
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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Saitama sinkhole search for missing driver shifts to sewer pipe
The sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Feb. 3
ASIA PACIFIC
Trump aware and supportive of AUKUS pact, U.S. defense secretary says
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks as he welcomes Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles to the Pentagon for talks in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN
Ishiba says Trump didn't push defense spending hike or discuss tariffs
By Jesse Johnson
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Domino's pizza to close 172 outlets in Japan
Domino's Pizza will close 172 unprofitable outlets out of about 1,000 stores in Japan.
BUSINESS
Nippon Steel goes quiet after U.S. Steel deal seemingly nixed for good
By Kazuaki Nagata
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that U.S. Steel would remain American.