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February 14, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
February 14, 2025
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Following weeks of talks after Nissan Motor President Makoto Uchida and Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe's December announcement of a possible merger, the two automakers confirmed on Thursday that the deal is officially off.
BUSINESS / Companies
Honda and Nissan cancel megamerger after weeks of negotiations
By Kazuaki Nagata
The automakers failed to find the common ground needed to reach an agreement, though they still intend to work together in other areas.
Following weeks of talks after Nissan Motor President Makoto Uchida and Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe's December announcement of a possible merger, the two automakers confirmed on Thursday that the deal is officially off.
By cancer type, the 10-year survival rate was 57.9% for stomach cancer, the most common cancer among the patients surveyed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Japan's 10-year cancer survival rate stands at 54% in latest survey
The rate was 57.9% for stomach cancer, the most common cancer among patients surveyed.
A "biohybrid" robot hand developed by a research team from the University of Tokyo and Waseda University
JAPAN / Science & Health
Japanese research team develops world’s largest 'biohybrid' robot hand
By Jessica Speed
Lack of nutrients, necrosis and muscle fiber alignment issues have limited the scale of previous "biohybrid" systems.
People attend a vigil for a recently deceased 43-year-old Japanese woman in central Budapest on Feb. 4
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Hungarian police discipline officers over Japanese woman’s death
By Yukana Inoue
Despite repeated claims of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, local police failed to follow up with an investigation until it was too late.
While Nariaki Obukuro’s previous releases often included lyrics with specific references pulled from his own experiences, on “Zatto,” he’s stepping back to explore the joy and pain of the wider world.
CULTURE / Music
Nariaki Obukuro found his groove — just not on the dance floor
By Patrick St. Michel
A J-pop insider’s shift to soul, reggae and flamenco reflects his personal growth, time spent in London and current events.
While Nariaki Obukuro’s previous releases often included lyrics with specific references pulled from his own experiences, on “Zatto,” he’s stepping back to explore the joy and pain of the wider world.

JAPAN

The Ishiba Cabinet's approval rating was found to have risen 0.3 percentage point in February, at 28.5%, while its disapproval rating was down 0.2 point at 40.1%, according to Jiji Press opinion poll.
Public approval for Ishiba Cabinet steady at 28.5%, poll shows
The Cabinet approval rating was up 0.3 percentage point, while its disapproval rating was down 0.2 point at 40.1%.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate, of the class of the same name, takes part in an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of MSDF in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in November 2022.
With eye on contract, Japan to send Mogami-class frigate to Australia for drills
By Jesse Johnson
The dispatch comes as Japan vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new frigates for Canberra.
High wind halts dismantling of Fukushima nuclear plant's water tanks
Osaka police arrest three for online sales of counterfeit eyelash serum
Kansai Electric proposes doubling Fukui-France nuclear waste shipments
New Zealand paving way for deeper security ties with Tokyo, envoy says
By Gabriel Dominguez

BUSINESS

The measure of input prices for Japanese firms rose 4.2% in January from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan reported Thursday.
Corporate goods prices rise 4.2% from year earlier, backing case for rate hikes
By Toru Fujioka
The gain, led by agricultural products such as rice, was bigger than the consensus estimate of 4% and compared with a revised 3.9% advance a month earlier.
Cargo ships full of shipping containers are seen at the port of Oakland, California, on Feb. 3 as trade tensions escalate over U.S. tariffs
Trump says he will sign reciprocal tariffs order soon, as trade war fears mount
By Andrea Shalal, David Lawder and Nandita Bose
Trump's latest round of market-rattling tariffs comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit the White House on Thursday.
Japan electronics unions demand wage hike of ¥17,000
Sony lifts forecast on expectations of game and music improvement
By Takashi Mochizuki and Yuki Furukawa
Canada’s 13 premiers descend on Washington to play the China card
By Thomas Seal
Ispace upbeat as Trump keeps Artemis lunar missions with Japan
By Kantaro Komiya

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018
In U.S. policy reversal, Trump and Putin agree to Ukraine talks
By Jordan Fabian and Courtney McBride
Trump's move blindsided European allies, who feared the more conciliatory American stance amounted to a giveaway to the Russian leader.
Oil tanker trucks outside an oil refinery in Mumbai
India scrambles for Russian oil supplies as sellers play sanctions whack-a-mole
By Rakesh Sharma and Jack Farchy
Energy executives say existing networks are being reconfigured with selling entities, tankers and insurance providers that are not on Washington’s blacklist.
'Trapped': Vietnamese slavery victim's ordeal on U.K. dope farm
By Caroline TAIX and Tran Thi Minh Ha
India scrambles for Russian oil supplies as sellers play sanctions whack-a-mole
By Rakesh Sharma and Jack Farchy
At least five dead after suspected gas blast at mall in Taiwan's Taichung
By Akio Wang, I-Hwa Cheng and Amber Wang
Why are TikTok mumfluencers lauding Saudi's Neom desert megacity?
By Emilie BERAUD

Sports

Vissel's Daiju Sasaki (right) and Sanfrecce's Sho Sasaki jump for a ball during their Super Cup match on Feb. 8.
Vissel hoping for J. League three-peat as rivals aim to spoil party
By Sean Carroll
Sanfrecce Hiroshima has come back stronger and is one of the clubs that can spoil Vissel's bid for a three-peat.
Chiefs star Travis Kelce to take time before making decision on future
Rory McIlroy had conversation with Donald Trump about PGA-LIV deal
Bayern outlasts Celtic in first leg of Champions League playoff showdown
Frosty face-off: Over 120 teams throw down in epic Japanese snowball tournament
By Tom Bateman

Opinion

Japan has effectively exited deflation, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to acknowledge it reflects outdated economic fears rather than current reality.
It’s time for Japan to admit victory over deflation
Gearoid Reidy and Daniel Moss
The last time prices declined was in July 2021, the same month the Tokyo Olympic Games took place.
To stop preventable deaths, start with the fundamentals
By Mandeep Dhaliwal and Osamu Kunii
For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify
By Brad Glosserman
Ishiba navigates the low expectations for Japan’s foreign policy
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
Trump’s initial moves will benefit China
By Joshua Kurlantzick

ENVIRONMENT

President Donald Trump shows a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast track of Hurricane Dorian that was altered with a black marker in Washington on Sept. 4, 2019.
NOAA told to make list of climate-related grants, setting off fears
By Christopher Flavelle, Austyn Gaffney and Raymond Zhong
Staff members were given a list and told to identify which could be "potentially impacted” by one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
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
Top climate scientist declares 2 degrees Celsius climate goal 'dead'
These roads aren’t built for wilder weather driven by climate change
By Kendra Pierre-Louis

CULTURE

Netflix series “Asura,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, is a remake of a classic TV drama (known as “Like Asura” in English), created by Kuniko Mukoda and broadcast by NHK between 1979 and 1980.
The different faces of ‘Asura’ through the generations
By James Hadfield
While Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new series meticulously remakes a classic NHK drama, this reinterpretation tweaks the story to give its female characters more agency.
'Laugh, Everyone!’: A wonky but endearing double act
By James Hadfield
‘Kanasando’: Heartwarming homecoming inspires a change of heart
By Mark Schilling
Miniatures bring hidden worlds to life at Tokyo cultural site
By Sakurako Nakagawa
‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind
By Patrick St. Michel

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

CULTURE
The different faces of ‘Asura’ through the generations
By James Hadfield
Netflix series “Asura,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, is a remake of a classic TV drama (known as “Like Asura” in English), created by Kuniko Mukoda and broadcast by NHK between 1979 and 1980.
MORE SPORTS
Mao Asada sets out to safeguard the future of Japanese skating
By Erika Yamazaki
"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.
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.
JAPAN
Japan exploring drone production capabilities for military aid program
By Gabriel Dominguez
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
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.

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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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers
mission sustainability vol.14 : Unicharm Corp.Unicharm recycles diapers back into diapers

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan's consumer watchdog raises alarm over new social media scam
By Yukana Inoue
A new scam causing concern in Japan starts out simple, but when victims request to continue, they are instructed to set up an account on a certain app or website where they are to enter their personal information.
JAPAN
With eye on contract, Japan to send Mogami-class frigate to Australia for drills
By Jesse Johnson
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate, of the class of the same name, takes part in an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of MSDF in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in November 2022.
JAPAN
Japan to pick final disposal sites for Fukushima soil around 2030
Plastic bags containing radiated soil are seen inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2020.
SOCCER
Holland wins first game in charge of Marinos
Yokohama F. Marinos' Yan Matheus (center) is congratulated after scoring against Shanghai Shenhua in Yokohama on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Honda and Nissan cancel megamerger after weeks of negotiations
By Kazuaki Nagata
Following weeks of talks after Nissan Motor President Makoto Uchida and Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe's December announcement of a possible merger, the two automakers confirmed on Thursday that the deal is officially off.