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January 21, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 21, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Trump pledges to save U.S. from 'decline,' vowing new 'golden age'
Trump quickly signed a series of executive actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulations, but did not take immediate action to raise tariffs.

More coverage

As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?
Japanese firms weigh fallout from Trump tariff pledges
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is still signaling caution ahead of the central bank's January meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
BOJ likely to raise rates this week in absence of immediate Trump tariffs
By Kazuaki Nagata and Elizabeth Beattie
The possibility is "quite high" if markets remain calm following Trump's inauguration on Monday as the 47th president of the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops during his inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
'America first' returns as Trump ditches focus on allies, rules-based order
By Jesse Johnson and Francis Tang
The U.S. under his new administration will be a dominating force that will take whatever steps necessary to advance American interests, the newly inaugurated president said.
Tsutomu Ide speaks to reporters after the ruling in the city of Osaka on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
In first, Osaka increases compensation to family of disabled girl
It is the first ruling to calculate the potential future income of a disabled child in the same way as able-bodied people.
"A Very Asian Guide to Japanese Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other Japanese staples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’
By Simon Daly
Begun as a response to Asian-directed violence during the pandemic, the “Very Asian” series of cookbooks-slash-cultural primers turns its gaze toward Japan.
"A Very Asian Guide to Japanese Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other Japanese staples.

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.
Yoshiteru Murosaki, professor emeritus of disaster prevention planning at Kobe University, says poor environments at evacuation centers following disasters remain a concern.
Expert calls for more discussions on earthquake preparedness
The expert mentioned poor environments at evacuation centers as one of the problems persisting since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
Warnings issued for portable stoves as winter usage increases
By Jessica Speed
Japan to have more part-timers join employee pension program
Japan to study sea changes using fishers' data
Many in Japan advocate for drug education to combat cannabis abuse

BUSINESS

Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani says the company sees an opportunity in Japan, which has been a laggard in the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence-powered technologies.
Rakuten founder defends costly mobile foray with big AI bet
By Shery Ahn and Min Jeong Lee
Rakuten Mobile and its 8 million-plus users help train an AI poised to expand the conglomerate’s business, according to billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani.
A trailer transports Nissan’s NV200 Venette minivans in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Nissan to end production of compact van as Honda rescue looms
By Nicholas Takahashi and Tsuyoshi Inajima
Manufacturing unit Nissan Shatai hasn’t made any decisions on job cuts, a Nissan spokesperson said.
Japan's FSA to issue business improvement order to Toyota dealer
Trump's crypto and Truth Social believers bet on his presidency
By Michelle Conlin
Orsted takes $1.7 billion hit as Trump slams offshore wind
By William Mathis
Service and tourism workers to seek 6% pay hike in wage talks

WORLD

Homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Monday
'Extremely critical' risk as winds whip fire-weary Los Angeles
By Huw Griffith
The hurricane-force winds could combine with exceedingly dry conditions to create the potential for a fast-spreading fire.
Donald Trump has vowed to slash U.S. energy costs by bolstering fossil fuels while potentially hobbling domestic wind power generation.
Trump starts reshaping U.S. energy with deep focus on oil and gas
By Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter
Trump initiated the shift in a series of orders and memoranda directing action by the federal government, with implications that reach across the entire energy landscape.
South Korea's Yoon attends impeachment trial over martial law bid
By Joyce Lee
Trump seizes control: his executive actions, from tariffs to immigration
By Stephanie Lai, Skylar Woodhouse and Hadriana Lowenkron
Trump declares U.S. exempt from previously agreed global corporate tax pact
By David Lawder
The global treaties that live on without the U.S.
By Luca MATTEUCCI

Sports

Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki during spring training workouts in Peoria, Arizona, in March 2022
Ichiro could be unanimous pick in Baseball Hall of Fame voting
Suzuki will likely become the first Hall of Famer born in Japan and may become the first position player to earn unanimous election.
Slot challenges Liverpool striker Nunez to prove he is elite
Zverev raises his game to down Paul and reach Melbourne semis again
'Emotional' Badosa stuns Gauff to reach Australian Open semifinals
Revitalized Manchester City confident for PSG 'final': Guardiola
By Steven Griffiths

Opinion

As Donald Trump begins his second term, the U.S. holds a strong position in the Indo-Pacific. However, missteps, economic policies and shifting alliances could undermine the Biden administration's progress in strengthening partnerships and countering China.
Will Trump sustain or squander Biden's Indo-Pacific gains?
Brad Glosserman
The legacy of the Joe Biden administration could prove fleeting, however, the result of missteps by Washington or developments in allied states.
Joe Biden’s abiding legacy will be Donald Trump
By Clive Crook
Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations
By Naoko Eto
To avoid collective ruin requires renewed global cooperation
By Mohamed ElBaradei
Liberal democracy faces doubts. But collapse? Not likely.
By Serge Schmemann

ENVIRONMENT

Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
By Joel Tansey
Food4Education is helping feed half a million students through a program that drew inspiration from Japan's renowned school lunch programs.
Trump withdraws from Paris climate agreement — again
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

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.
‘Sunset Sunrise’: Rom-com finds pathos in peak pandemic setting
By Mark Schilling
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

LIFE

"A Very Asian Guide to Japanese Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other Japanese staples.
For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’
By Simon Daly
Begun as a response to Asian-directed violence during the pandemic, the “Very Asian” series of cookbooks-slash-cultural primers turns its gaze toward Japan.
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
By Samantha Low
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
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.
Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji
By Aku Owaka-Haigh
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

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan looks to learn from the past with bid to build Australian warships
By Gabriel Dominguez
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami frigate, of the class of the same name, is anchored at the MSDF's naval base in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
By Joel Tansey
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
LIFE
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
By Mike Fu
It's taken Takuma Watanabe little time to establish himself as one of New York's hottest bartenders.
LIFE
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
By Johan Brooks
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
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.

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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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Chinese buyer of Okinawa island to make visit in summer
Yanaha Island in Okinawa Prefecture as seen from a ferry.
BUSINESS
Japanese firms weigh fallout from Trump tariff pledges
By Francis Tang
Economists, legal experts and business leaders concur that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to implement fresh tariffs — whether directly aimed at Japan or not — could hurt the country's export-reliant machinery and automobiles industries while shattering the global economy.
JAPAN
Cedar pollen is already in the air in Tokyo
By Tomoko Otake
Climate change and urbanization are believed to have contributed to the earliest ever observation of cedar pollen in Tokyo, on Jan. 8, an expert says.
JAPAN
More bird flu cases found in Japan; 1.44 million birds to be culled
Officials with the agriculture ministry hold a news conference in Nagoya on Friday following an outbreak of avian influenza in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN
Fuji TV loses more advertisers amid inquiry into host’s behavior
By Issei Hazama and Nao Sano
Fuji TV is losing more advertisers following allegations about inappropriate behavior by a celebrity host and questions about its handling of the case.