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January 23, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 23, 2025
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a policy speech at the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
As parliament opens, ruling coalition enters uncharted territory
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
For the Liberal Democratic Party, the days of pushing through bills on the back of an overwhelming majority in both chambers of parliament are over.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a policy speech at the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo last November.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki speaks during his introductory news conference with the team in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dodgers introduce Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki
By Jason Coskrey
A frenzied sweepstakes among MLB clubs officially came to an end with Sasaki's decision to join Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in LA.
The crime scene where three people were attacked near JR Nagano Station on Wednesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Search for suspect underway after fatal stabbing at Nagano Station
By Jessica Speed
One person died in the attack, which happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday, while two others sustained injuries.
Regular gasoline was priced at ¥194 per liter at a gas station in Nagano on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan's average gas price exceeds ¥185 for first time in 17 months
The price hike reflects reduced government subsidies to oil wholesalers.
“The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks” director David Lynch became a favorite among Japanese moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as “mini theaters”) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ’90s.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
How 'Twin Peaks' turned David Lynch into Japan's favorite weirdo
By James Hadfield
The director’s work thrived in the early days of arthouse “mini theaters,” and cherry pies and canned coffee fueled the nation's "Twin Peaks" mania.
“The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks” director David Lynch became a favorite among Japanese moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as “mini theaters”) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ’90s.

JAPAN

Teruko Nakazawa, a retired unpaid parole officer (back), talks with her former parolee in the smoking room of a cafe in Tokyo. Around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers working in Japan.
Japan's unpaid parole officers are driven by a 'love for humanity'
By Tomohiro Osaki
The around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers in Japan.
In the survey, 36.7% of respondents said that they have not taken measures to prevent customer harassment.
Customer harassment pushes part-timers to quit
The proportion of companies whose part-time workers faced customer harassment, such as yelling, within the past year was 45.7%.
Drunken driver hits and kills 19-year-old student in Fukushima
Nippon Ishin proposes primaries to unify opposition candidates
Imperial couple considering visit to Iwo Jima
Japanese researchers develop peptide preventing COVID-19 infections

BUSINESS

U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
As Trump threatens tariffs, his orders kick off more extensive trade overhaul
By Eric Martin and Daniel Flatley
The U.S. president's executive order on trade touched on sweeping changes to rules that have governed U.S. trade policy for decades.
A street in Chitose, Hokkaido. Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, according to a report from the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators.
Japan sees data center-driven power boom in Hokkaido
By Shoko Oda
Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, a report has said.
Japan’s exports rose in December ahead of anticipated Trump tariffs
By Yoshiaki Nohara
Mizuho head sees profit reaching ¥1 trillion in three to four years
By Taiga Uranaka and William Shaw
Trump's climate withdrawal creates rare discord with Big Oil
By Valerie Volcovici and Sheila Dang
Japan’s love of foreign stocks risks pushing the yen even lower
By Mia Glass and Masaki Kondo

WORLD

An aide places the Presidential seal before President Donald Trump addresses guests and supporters in an overflow room in the Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol for his Inauguration ceremony in Washington on Monday.
What Trump has done since returning to the White House
By Tim Reid
The orders aim to meet campaign promises such as on illegal immigration, energy and the environment, as well as gender and diversity policies.
Emergency vehicles on the side of the road as flames race up a hill in Castaic, a northwestern neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Wednesday.
Fast-growing wildfire breaks out north of Los Angeles, forcing evacuations
By David Swanson and Daniel Trotta
The Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County forced evacuations with warnings of "immediate threat to life."
Hundreds to wed as Thai same-sex marriage law comes into force
Navalny's lawyer regrets she couldn't stop his return to Moscow
By Anna Smolchenko
Mexico builds temporary shelters to prepare for deportations from U.S.
By Laura Gottesdiener and Lizbeth Diaz
Trump escalates campaign against diversity, threatens private sector probes
By Daniel Trotta and Bianca Flowers

Sports

Naoya Inoue at a news conference in Yokohama on Wednesday ahead of his world super bantamweight title bout against Kim Ye-joon, scheduled for Friday in Tokyo.
Inoue believes unusual leadup to Kim fight could be 'big plus'
By Jason Coskrey
Inoue was supposed to face Sam Goodman last month. Instead, he will defend his belts on Friday against Kim Ye-joon, who stepped in after Goodman was injured in training.
Jannik Sinner taking nothing for granted ahead of Australian Open semifinal
Celtic makes 'little bit of history' with Champions League progress
Celtic captain Calum McGregor hopes Kyogo Furuhashi remains with club
Lewis Hamilton calls first laps in Ferrari car 'one of the best feelings'

Opinion

Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
Ueda’s doctrine for the BOJ is finally emerging
Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy
Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
Even this year is the best time ever to be alive
By Nicholas Kristof
Sustainable finance taxonomies light up Asia’s net-zero path
By Michelle Loi
There's a target on the back of Britain's NHS
By Matthew Brooker
How Trump's TikTok ban reprieve could work
By Stephen L. Carter

ENVIRONMENT

U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Trump withdraws from Paris climate agreement — again
The newly minted president removed the world's biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
By Joel Tansey
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

Strange things are afoot in Ryota Kondo’s “Missing Child Videotape” as Keita (Rairu Sugita) investigates the 13-year-old disappearance of his younger brother.
‘Missing Child Videotape’: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed
By James Hadfield
Ryota Kondo’s eerie ghost story debut goes for ambient dread rather than jump scares.
‘Teki Cometh’ slides in and out of a hypnotic dreamworld
By Mark Schilling
‘Sunset Sunrise’: Rom-com finds pathos in peak pandemic setting
By Mark Schilling
Eugene Kangawa’s art space embraces impermanence
By Erik Augustin Palm
A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
By James Hadfield

LIFE

Getting caught in the rain while walking home may require you to use the passive voice when relaying your bad luck to others.
Annoyed? Unfairly treated? Express yourself in Japanese with the passive voice
By Yaeko Kabe
Verbs get complicated when they're used to describe feelings of annoyance or victimization.
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
By Johan Brooks
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
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
By Mike Fu

COMMUNITY

Alberto "Beto" Carrasco" (center) and his compatriots in Namnam Space
Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji
By Aku Owaka-Haigh
After previous incarnations in Shinjuku Ni-chome and Kawasaki, Namnam is bringing art, music and camaraderie to a new neighborhood.
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms
By Justin Randall
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

SUMO
Terunofuji’s career was unique — and great
By John Gunning
Yokozuna Terunofuji enters the ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo earlier this month during what would be his final tournament.
LIFE
Japan-made games part of a rising tide of indie greatness
By Samantha Low
One of the brighest spots of Japan's indie gaming landscape in 2024 was Sonokuni, and with more incubators and other avenues of support springing up, there may be more games like it in the future.
JAPAN
Fuji TV scandal sparks probes on exploitation within TV industry
By Karin Kaneko
Fuji Media Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The company will hold an extraordinary board meeting on Thursday over the firestorm sparked by TV host Masahiro Nakai's alleged sexual misconduct.
BASEBALL
Iconic Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
By Jason Coskrey
Ichiro Suzuki finished his career with 3,089 MLB hits and is one of 33 players in the 3,000-hit club.
LIFE
For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’
By Simon Daly
"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.

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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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
U.S. Osprey accidentally drops cargo into sea in Okinawa
A V-22 Osprey
JAPAN
Large fire breaks out near Osaka's Tsutenkaku Tower
Smoke rises from a fire at a commercial building near Tsutenkaku Tower, in Osaka, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nissan to end production of compact van as Honda rescue looms
By Nicholas Takahashi and Tsuyoshi Inajima
A trailer transports Nissan’s NV200 Venette minivans in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Kanagawa high school student arrested for credit card data theft
A 17-year-old student from Kanagawa Prefecture has been arrested for allegedly creating a program that purported to verify the validity of credit cards and using it to illegally obtain their details.
BUSINESS
SoftBank to help fund and lead Trump-backed Stargate AI project, a $500 billion venture
By Yukana Inoue
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Stargate, as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on in the Roosevelt room at the White House.