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January 11, 2025
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January 11, 2025
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Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu
By Mai Yoshikawa
The two-time Olympic champion exited the competitive arena in 2022. His overall career goal — to make spectators say "wow" — has not changed.
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
Police investigate the scene after eight people were injured by a hammer-wielding woman on Hosei University's Tama campus in Tokyo on Friday afternoon.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Eight students recovering after hammer attack at university in Tokyo
The suspect, who said she is a South Korean national and student at the university, claimed to have lashed out after being bullied.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba extends for a handshake with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto after giving a press statement following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Indonesian and Japanese leaders agree to boost defense and energy ties
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba became the first foreign leader to visit Indonesia this year, meeting President Prabowo Subianto a day after visiting neighboring Malaysia.
Incoming Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Nov. 11 after lawmakers voted in parliament to reappoint Shigeru Ishiba as the country's prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan foreign minister to attend Trump Jan. 20 inauguration
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya would be the first Japanese Cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president.
“The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic” centers on three teenage protagonists who are transported into a fantasy world where they must grapple with a foreign culture.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Isekai anime offers a key to understanding globalization
By Stevie Suan
The fantastical genre wherein characters are dropped into unlikely worlds — and sometimes bodies — can be read as an allegory for the structure of the contemporary anime industry.
“The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic” centers on three teenage protagonists who are transported into a fantasy world where they must grapple with a foreign culture.

JAPAN

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visits the Saint Michael's Cathedral, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv in November.
Top Japanese diplomat to visit Seoul to shore up ties amid political chaos
Iwaya, who will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Seoul in seven years, will meet with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul and Acting President Choi Sang-mok.
Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano in Seoul in October
Japan announces new national security adviser
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Masataka Okano is a 60-year-old career diplomat with experience in both Washington and Beijing and a former chief of the Foreign Ministry’s Russia division.
In Kuala Lumpur, Ishiba vows to promote security cooperation with Malaysia
Race circuit and resort among post-event proposals for Osaka Expo site
By Yukana Inoue
Japan expands its sanctions against Russia
Japan's health ministry reports record-high flu cases
By Yukana Inoue

BUSINESS

The record high reflected strong corporate demand for working capital amid rising raw materials prices and the yen's weakening, as well as brisk capital investment mainly by large companies.
Japan bank lending hits record high at end of 2024
Outstanding bank lending in Japan stood at a record high of ¥605.8 trillion at the end of 2024, up 4.4% from a year before, according to industry data.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a meeting in Washington on Friday.
IMF chief sees steady world growth in 2025, continuing disinflation
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the U.S. economy was doing "quite a bit better" than expected, although there was uncertainty around Donald Trump's trade policies.
Apollo weighs $9.5 billion stake in Seven & I management buyout
By Hideki Suzuki and Taro Fuse
Japan to step up efforts to increase food exports
Japan to consider 'economic security' in 7-Eleven takeover
BlackRock quits climate group as Wall Street lowers environmental profile
By Ross Kerber

WORLD

U.S. Army soldiers with the NATO multinational battle group on the territory of Bulgaria stand in formation with a U.S. flag and an armored vehicle during a visit by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the Novo Selo military ground near Mokren, Bulgaria, on Dec. 19.
NATO won't back Trump's new defense spending target but will raise its sights
By Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer
A new target is likely to be agreed at a NATO summit in June, but the key questions are what that new target will be and whether it will be enough to satisfy Trump.
Mark Zuckerberg, then chief executive of Facebook, appears at a joint U.S. Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in April 2018.
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s sprint to remake Meta for the Trump era
By Mike Isaac, Sheera Frenkel and Kate Conger
The highly unusual overhaul of the firm's speech policies came after the Meta CEO visited U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in November.
With hearings imminent, partisan fight escalates over Trump Cabinet
By Carl Hulse and Karoun Demirjian
South Korea says Jeju Air black boxes stopped recording before crash
Western powers warn Syria over foreign jihadis in army
By Timour Azhari and John Irish
Venezuela's Maduro sworn in as opponents decry 'coup' and U.S. hikes bounty

Sports

Naoya Inoue was due to defend his super bantamweight titles later this month for the third time since becoming undisputed champion in December 2023, but the fight was called off Saturday due to an injury sustained by his would-be opponent.
Goodman out of Inoue title fight after reinjuring eye
The Jan. 24 fight in Tokyo had already been rescheduled from its original Christmas Eve date after Goodman was injured while sparring in December.
Two fans who grabbed Mookie Betts in World Series banned by MLB
UFC seeks more than $1 billion a year in next TV rights deal
By Lucas Shaw
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leads NFL All-Pro team selections
Six players tied for first-round lead at Sony Open; Hideki Matsuyama 26th

Opinion

The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored near the city of Granaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20. Sweden's foreign minister said last month that China had denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation of the ship linked to recently severed Baltic Sea cables.
Be ready for the new Cold War, under the sea
In the South China Sea, a least one cable fault is reported in the waterway every few weeks; in other parts of the world it’s one incident a year.
Robust new nuclear target for Japan is shrouded in uncertainty
By Parul Bakshi
What if Reagan's vision had been more like Carter's?
By Thomas L. Friedman
What you think you know about Ukraine is probably wrong
By Marc Champion
Media coverage and political tensions color reactions to Nippon Steel's U.S. acquisition
By Kuni Miyake

ENVIRONMENT

Palm trees burned by the Palisades Fire along the shore in Malibu, California, at sunrise on Friday.
‘We’re in a new era’: How climate change is supercharging disasters
By David Gelles and Austyn Gaffney
Extreme weather events — deadly heat waves, floods, fires and hurricanes — are the consequences of a warming planet, scientists say.
Politics, not climate, to drive sustainable finance trends in 2025
By Simon Jessop
Record heat pushed 2024 above global warming threshold of 1.5 C
By Eric Roston
Extreme weather and suburban sprawl fuel LA's wildfires
By Issam AHMED
Japanese researchers connect rise in glass eels to climate change

CULTURE

On Dec. 31, rock duo B’z appeared on NHK's year-end "Kohaku Uta Gassen" music extravaganza for the first time in a career spanning more than three decades.
An explosive B’z set on ‘Kohaku’ hints at a strategy to win over viewers
By Patrick St. Michel
Japan’s best selling act delivered one of the biggest moments of the year-end music blowout and reinforced the importance of catering to a more middle-aged market.
‘The Solitary Gourmet’: Palatable movie adaptation may leave you wanting more
By James Hadfield
‘Mending Cracks’: A muddled drama about brotherly discord
By Mark Schilling
'The Brutalist,' 'Emilia Perez' take home Golden Globes' top film honors
By Lisa Richwine, Danielle Broadway and Dawn Chmielewski
'Shogun,' 'Hacks' win top TV honors at Golden Globes
By Danielle Broadway

LIFE

Hobonichi's 'techō' notebooks come in both set and customizable formats, and a thriving community of enthusiasts means there are even extensive guides on how to make the journal even more unique to your individual approach to journaling.
American stationery nerds are fueling a Japanese notebook boom
By Thu-Huong Ha
A Japanese-made paper planner from the 1980s has reblossomed in the post-COVID era.
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
By Laura Pollacco
Japanese ski vocabulary: Hit the books before you hit the slopes
By Eric Margolis
Now in Osaka, Yannick Alleno wants ‘flavors people have never experienced’
By Melinda Joe
Japan’s ‘quiet revolution’ of luxury travel nears fruition
By Tan Pin Yen

COMMUNITY

Kaz Shiomi is looking forward to the Osaka Expo this year, which will be held from April 13 to Oct. 13.
Kaz Shiomi: ‘I want to show people … how to color outside the lines’
By Laura Pollacco
Producing toys under her kiko+ & gg* brand, the business owner hopes to encourage children to find their own unique paths in life.
And Bingo was her name-o
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
From the stage to the streets, make a difference this holiday season
By Kimberly Hughes

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japanese space startup readies for second lunar lander launch
By Jessica Speed
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada with the countdown clock for the launch of the startup's lunar lander, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Thursday
JAPAN
Emanuel leaves reform legacy amid historic shifts in U.S.-Japan alliance
By Jesse Johnson and Gabriel Dominguez
Rahm Emanuel professes that the biggest thing he has brought to the U.S.-Japan relationship might be a fresh injection of vitality.
CULTURE
‘Unbound’ breaks NHK period drama tradition with a hero of the common folk
By Mark Schilling
NHK’s latest taiga period drama, “Unbound,” centers on Tsutaya Juzaburo (Ryusei Yokohama), a commoner who becomes a successful bookseller and publisher.
BUSINESS
Real wages fall for a fourth month, squeezing Japanese households further
By Kazuaki Nagata
Prices continue to outpace wage increases in Japan.
JAPAN
Hair removal for kids — boosting confidence or preying on insecurities?
By Karin Kaneko
Beauty salon Dione, which has over 100 branches nationwide, offers hair removal treatments for children as young as 3 years old. It uses hair removal equipment that emits a special light heated to around 38 degrees Celsius, unlike conventional equipment that involves temperatures of 60 to 80 C.

Podcast

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

Longform

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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WHAT’S TRENDING

ASIA PACIFIC
U.S. falling behind on aircraft shelters in Asia as China’s missile arsenal grows
By Gabriel Dominguez
Airmen from the U.S. Air Force's 104th Fighter Wing complete post-flight checks on four F-15C fighter jets at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, in October 2023.
JAPAN
Eight students recovering after hammer attack at university in Tokyo
Police investigate the scene after eight people were injured by a hammer-wielding woman on Hosei University's Tama campus in Tokyo on Friday afternoon.
JAPAN
Japan expands its sanctions against Russia
The additional sanctions against Russia "are to contribute to international efforts for peace," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
WORLD
Los Angeles wildfires devour thousands of homes even as fierce winds ease
A water bomber flies over houses burned down by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apollo weighs $9.5 billion stake in Seven & I management buyout
By Hideki Suzuki and Taro Fuse
Apollo Global Management is discussing a commitment of as much as ¥1.5 trillion for an equity stake in a bid by Seven & I’s founding Ito family to take the convenience store operator private.