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December 03, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
December 03, 2024
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The prime minister reiterated his skepticism about abolishing corporate donations to political parties.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
JAPAN / Society
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
By Yukana Inoue
“Futehodo” — a nickname for a TV drama that depicts the generational gap between the Showa and Reiwa eras — has been crowned the most trending word of 2024.
Armored vehicles from the Self-Defense Forces parade in formation at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Asaka on Nov. 9.
JAPAN
Top Japan defense industry firms saw sales boom in 2023
By Jesse Johnson
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fujitsu, NEC and Mitsubishi Electric saw their combined revenues from arms rise by 35% to $10 billion.
Female company presidents are mostly found at small businesses in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
8.4% of Japanese companies led by women in 2024
By Elizabeth Beattie
Female presidents tend to be found at smaller companies, with 11.9% of companies with less than ¥50 million in annual sales having a female boss.
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
By Gabriel Dominguez
The troop presence is among security guarantees being considered as the possibility grows of a deal requiring Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow.
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.

JAPAN

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake
Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
The Foreign Ministry has said that the next beneficiaries of Japan’s official security assistance framework are likely to be the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti.
Japan to offer ¥5 billion in military aid to four countries
By Gabriel Dominguez
The next beneficiaries of Japan’s official security assistance framework are likely to be the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti.
Lawsuit filed over Hyogo governor's alleged election law violation
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
30-strong Nihon Hidankyo delegation to collect Nobel Peace Prize
Japan to offer ¥5 billion in military aid to four countries
By Gabriel Dominguez

BUSINESS

Under new U.S. rules, chipmaking equipment made in Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Taiwan and South Korea will be subject to curbs on exports to China, while the Netherlands and Japan will be exempt.
Latest U.S. strike on China's chips hits semiconductor toolmakers
By Karen Freifeld — David Shepardson
Equipment made in Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Taiwan and South Korea will be subject to curbs on exports to China, while the Netherlands and Japan will be exempt.
The PlayStation 5 on display during the annual Tokyo Game Show in September. PlayStation was Sony's first foray into the world of video games when it hit the shelves in Japan on Dec. 3, 1994.
PlayStation at 30: How Sony's gray box conquered gaming
By Kilian Fichou, Joseph BOYLE and Mathias Cena
The PlayStation became a legend, selling more than 102 million units and positioning Sony as a heavyweight in a hugely lucrative sector.
Nomura’s Japan corporate bond market rank slips after probe
By Takahiko Hyuga
Resona says inflation is boosting SME loan demand and pay hikes
By Anton Bridge
Rakuten plans return to dollar bond market with hybrid notes
By Ayai Tomisawa, Takahiko Hyuga and Finbarr Flynn
Nomura CEO to seek $186 million in extra cost reductions
By Takashi Nakamichi and Nao Sano

WORLD

INC-5 Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso (on screen) speaks during an open plenary session during the fifth session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday.
Countries fail to reach agreement in U.N. plastic talks
By Valerie Volcovici and Joyce Lee
Countries remained far apart on the basic scope of a treaty and could agree only to postpone key decisions and resume talks at a later date.
U.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied by Hunter Biden and Beau Jr., walks out of a bookstore in downtown Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Friday.
Biden backtracks, pardoning son Hunter in final weeks of presidency
The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute the sentences of his son, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans.
Philippines' Marcos says presence of Russian submarine 'very worrisome'
Taiwan's Lai talks 'China threats' with ex-U.S. House Speaker Pelosi
'We have a lost generation': Lebanon's education crisis
By Nazih Osseiran
Before tackling Trump, new EU leader aims to end infighting
By Jorge Valero

Sports

RB's Yuki Tsunoda drives during a practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday in Lusail.
Tsunoda ready for a bigger and faster team, says RB boss
By Alan Baldwin
Tsunoda has scored 30 of RB's 46 points this season, providing the backbone of the team.
Trailblazing Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook dies at 72
By Jeré Longman
Max Verstappen 'lost all respect' for George Russell at Qatar Grand Prix
Man City boss Pep Guardiola laughs off taunts from Liverpool fans
Novak Djokovic eager to challenge tennis' new stars for Grand Slam titles

Opinion

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte holds a news conference in Quezon City, in Metro Manila, on Tuesday. She denied she was plotting to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying recent comments that sparked a government probe only reflected "consternation" with her one-time ally.
Philippines politics is often mad. It just got crazier.
Ruth Pollard
Manila cannot afford to be distracted by the latest round of clan rivalry and violent threats.
The Lebanon ceasefire can be leveraged for a broader deal
By Marc Champion
Venice’s beauty curse
By Edoardo Campanella
Japan should prepare for tariff-loving Trump
We’re finally starting to understand the pregnant brain
By Lisa Jarvis

ENVIRONMENT

Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in air, fresh produce and even human breast milk.
Battle over curbing plastic output jeopardizes U.N. treaty hopes
The hoped-for treaty could be the most significant environmental protection deal since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Glittering dreams: India's big push for solar power
By Philippe Alfroy
Researchers analyze DNA from dung to save Laos elephants
By Stuart Graham
Atlantic hurricane season ends, leaving scientists to ponder the future
By Lauren Rosenthal
Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline
By Katie Forster

CULTURE

Drag queen Becca D’Bus plays Dido, the forlorn queen of Carthage, in a drag version of “Dido and Aeneas."
Divas and diversity: Opera meets drag in ‘Dido and Aeneas’
By Zoria Petkoska
Becca D’Bus, one of Singapore’s most popular drag queens, and Tokyo’s voguers and queens team up for a grand show at the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting.
Anime-loving cartoonist from Sweden shares joys of Tokyo life
By Ran Kawai
Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama
By Mark Schilling
‘Faceless’: Fugitive thriller turns a blind eye to hard truths
By James Hadfield
The mind-bending melancholy of ‘Lust in the Rain’
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Designed by Kei Atsumi and Motoya Iizawa, "The Warp" was a 3D-printed tea pavilion with organic, twisting curves placed in downtown Dubai.
Far East meets Middle East at Dubai Design Week 2024
By Erik Augustin Palm
This year's Dubai Design Week functioned much like a portal between continents, philosophies and futures.
For holidays in warm weather, a light, rolled meringue fits best
By Simon Daly
Putting mountainous Nagano on a plate
By Kyoko Nakayama
Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation
By Sapna Maheshwari
The young sap collectors underpinning Japanese lacquerware
By Jessica Kozuka

COMMUNITY

Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
By Phoebe Amoroso
An app called Timeleft hopes to combat big-city alienation through a simple meal with a diverse group of people.
President of L’Oreal Japan leverages innovation
By Louise George Kittaka
Kumiko Shichijo: ‘Living abroad helped me appreciate Japanese etiquette’
By Ansel Swindells
How a solo yoga teacher built a wellness community in the Japanese Alps
By Samantha Mythen
Omar Nok: 'There are good people everywhere'
By Ansel Swindells

Editors' Picks

COMMUNITY
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
By Phoebe Amoroso
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
JAPAN
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
By Tomoko Otake
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
WORLD
Ukraine war reinvigorating Finland’s fighting spirit
By Gabriel Dominguez
A Finnish soldier operates a towed 155 mm field gun during the Northern Forest land force exercise in Rovajarvi, Finland, in May 2023.
LIFE
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
By Melinda Joe
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.
JAPAN
Ishiba sticks to the basics in second policy speech
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
JAPAN
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
By Tomoko Otake
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
WORLD
Ukraine war reinvigorating Finland’s fighting spirit
By Gabriel Dominguez
A Finnish soldier operates a towed 155 mm field gun during the Northern Forest land force exercise in Rovajarvi, Finland, in May 2023.
BUSINESS
Nissan shares up after news that chief financial officer will step down
By Masatsugu Horie and Reed Stevenson
Although years have passed since the dramatic arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan remains mired in management upheaval.
JAPAN
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.