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January 04, 2025

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January 04, 2025

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A United Steelworkers sign is seen outside the Great Lakes Works United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan, in September.

BUSINESS / Companies

Biden to block U.S. Steel sale to Nippon Steel, source says

Biden's call to block the deal was taken despite contrary efforts by some senior advisers concerned that it could hurt U.S.- Japan relations.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyer Yoon Kab-keun arrives in front of the president's residence in Seoul on Friday.

ASIA PACIFIC / Politics

South Korea investigators call off arrest of President Yoon

By Hailey Jo and Claire Lee

The deadline for the warrant is Monday, leaving it in limbo with just a few days remaining and the impeached president defiant.

An attendee looks at a prototype of a 2-nanometer gate-all-around wafer produced by Rapidus and International Business Machines Corp. at the Semicon Japan exhibition in Tokyo in December.

BUSINESS / Tech

Japanese chip industry poised for a comeback

Chipmakers will either begin operating a pilot line or start production at new plants this year.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed support for allowing for married couples to retain different surnames.

JAPAN / Society

Japan's dual-surname option could see turning point in 2025

Support for allowing spouses to retain separate surnames is strong among the opposition, and even within the Liberal Democratic Party, which rules as a minority government.

Tonoike Sake Brewery has been gearing their brewery toward tourism since the late 1980s, attempting to lure tourists to the town of Mashiko.

LIFE / Travel

Traveling for sake's sake: The emergence of brewery tourism in Japan

By Yukana Inoue

While sake consumption has declined in Japan, breweries across the nation are taking advantage of a rise in overseas interest to promote themselves as tourist destinations.

Two people who were found Thursday in their relative's home in the city of Kobe had sustained wounds like they had been beaten.

Three people found dead in Kobe home

Three people were found dead at a home in Kobe in an apparent dispute between relatives.

A massive ring-shaped roof at the venue of the Osaka Expo

Advanced medical and AI technologies to be showcased at Osaka Expo

The event is scheduled to kick off on April 13.

Safety board to further analyze JAL jet collision at Haneda

U.S. approves sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to Japan

Biden honors Mitsuye Endo, who fought WWII incarceration

Family registers to incorporate phonetic readings of names from end-May

Yasushi Dozen, chief investment officer at Kepple

Japan's ¥10 trillion startup investment target more improbable than ever

By Kazuaki Nagata

Investors and startup supporters say Japan is still in the seed-planting phase of startup development and must address some structural issues.

Tesla annual deliveries fall for first time as incentives fail to drum up demand

By Akash Sriram

CEO Elon Musk had earlier predicted "slight growth" in 2024 deliveries and offered a range of promotions including interest-free financing and free fast-charging to boost sales.

Uniqlo and 7-Eleven face sales headwinds despite brighter consumer spending

By Reina Sasaki and Harshita Swaminathan

Soccer star Honda’s venture capital AI fund raises $98 million

As Musk gains influence, questions hover over U.S. probes into his empire

By Mike Spector, Rachael Levy, Marisa Taylor and Chris Prentice

Economists see continued rise in Japan's wages and prices in fiscal '25

A member of the FBI Evidence Response Team searches through trash as federal and local authorities investigate a townhouse in relation to the explosion in Las Vegas of a Tesla Cybertruck, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday.

Police identify driver of exploded Tesla Cybertruck as U.S. Army soldier

By Rich McKay and Hannah Lang

The FBI said it had so far found no definitive link between the New Year's Day New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Cybertruck explosion.

Police officers investigate the scene after 15 people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans on Thursday.

New Orleans attack shows enduring influence of Islamic State group

By Courtney McBride

Since 2019, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump declared the group’s so-called caliphate had been defeated, Islamic State has "metastasized” elsewhere.

Israeli emigration more than doubles in 2024 amid raging war

By Galit Altstein

Texas man behind New Orleans attack acted alone, FBI says

By Brian Thevenot and Ned Randolph

Investigators seek clues to New Orleans attacker's path to radicalization

By Jonathan Landay and Ted Hesson

‘No terrorist to me’: Relatives and friends saw few signs before attack

By Maria Jimenez Moya, Shannon Sims, J. David Goodman and Mike Baker

Ami Yuasa won the B-Girl competition during the breaking event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Breaking’s big year that wasn’t

By Jonathan Abrams

Beyond music insiders or Olympic aficionados, most would struggle to recall the winners of the inaugural breaking competition at the Games.

Iga Swiatek carries Poland into United Cup semifinals

Luke Littler beats 'The Bullet' to reach World Darts Championship final

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva says Premier League title no longer within reach

Tragedy in New Orleans casts somber mood over Sugar Bowl

Then-economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura marks the opening of the carbon credit market at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2023. The GX League, which includes the emissions trading system, already covers over half of Japan’s emissions.

Japan poised to lead in a brighter carbon market era

Phil Cohn

The patchy, voluntary nature of carbon markets around the world is finally changing after world leaders agreed to a new system for trading emissions reductions across borders.

AI has not yet destroyed democracy

By Sergei Guriev

The olive oil crisis is over — but fears continue to linger

By Javier Blas

We need energy for AI, and AI for energy

By Eric Schmidt

Hope for the economy in 2025, but dangers loom

People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.

Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets

By Tomoko Otake

Average temperatures across the nation and surrounding seas exceeded last year’s record-breaking levels "by a significant margin," affecting everything from well-being to farming.

Great things can grow in small places

By Laura Pollacco

After a year of hard climate talks, ‘minilateralism’ is an alternative

By Aaron Clark

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

By Eric Johnston

The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem

By Anton L. Delgado

One of the themes in American guitarist Marty Friedman’s autobiography “Dreaming Japanese” is that while he has become a star in his own right in Japan, he still feels that he doesn’t “belong.”

Guitarist Marty Friedman goes to bat for J-pop in new autobiography

By Philip Brasor

"Dreaming Japanese" tells the story of how the Megadeth guitarist navigated Japan's music industry.

'Emilia Perez' heads into Golden Globes as strong favorite

By Romain FONSEGRIVES

The bond between the Japanese and animals as seen in ukiyo-e

By Aiko Imaizumi

Toru Fuyuki, composer of 'Ultraseven' theme song, dies at 89

Still sounding young at 85, Midori Kato is the voice of old Japan

By Motoko Rich and Hisako Ueno

Incorporating modern technologies into your Japanese classes might be a way to connect with younger students.

Start the new year with a fresh approach to teaching Japanese

By Yaeko Kabe

It’s important for language instructors to update their methods to best appeal to their younger students.

Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake

By Kathryn Wortley

Architect Sou Fujimoto says his 'Grand Ring' will be a symbol of unity at the Osaka Expo

By Natsuko Fukue

From Michelin stardom to humble meals, Tokyo dining had an eclectic 2024

By Robbie Swinnerton

How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024

By Simon Daly

For the 20 Questions column this year, writers asked their interview subjects about everything from their lives in Japan to their thoughts on news topics.

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

We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.

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

Yurie Collins: ‘Everyone seems sedated, fed-up … that’s why they turn to comedy’

By Zoria Petkoska

Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?

By Phoebe Amoroso

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.

Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake

By Kathryn Wortley

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