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December 31, 2024
 

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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from the left) making a statement at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2024

Japan eyes regional revitalization and economic growth

A basic concept for the promotion of regional revitalization was drawn up to promote economic growth and address the issue of overcrowding in Tokyo.
Volunteers place eelgrass seeds on slabs of agar gel with tweezers during an event in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, on Nov. 9.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Seagrass bed restoration work spreads in Miyagi Prefecture

Seagrass and seaweed beds are capturing global attention as they absorb carbon dioxide.
The government will raise adjustment allowances for public school teachers, paid instead of overtime, for the first time since the special measures law on salaries of public school teachers came into force in 1972.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Japan decides on 10% boost to teacher allowances

The hike, expected to start in January 2026, would be the first since the law came into force in 1972.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda appears to want to keep his options open by noting the need to keep rates low to support the economy while flagging the risk of maintaining them at low levels for too long.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 25, 2024

Ueda avoids giving clear hint on chances of January rate hike

The Bank of Japan governor is sticking to his view that the central bank needs to keep monitoring risks for the economy.
Katsumi Arase (left), head of the Central Council for Education, receives from State Minister of Education Arata Takebe a consultation document asking the panel to consider ways to give schools more discretion in setting their curriculum, at the education ministry on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2024

Japan eyes more discretion for schools in upcoming curriculum revision

A government panel has been tasked with considering ways to give schools more flexibility in determining class hours and content as part of the next curriculum revamp.
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Type 10 main battle tank fires ammunition during a live fire exercise at the JGSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2024

Japan set to approve record budget, spending more on defense and regions

While the government will have to lean heavily on debt issuance, record tax receipts will enable the cutting back of fresh bond issuance by almost a fifth.
Greenpeace activists protest nuclear power in Berlin in April 2023, just as Germany was shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

It's time for Germany to admit its mistake on nuclear energy

The main thing standing in the way of Germany rebuilding its nuclear sector is a stubborn insistence that it can’t be done.
New Nadeshiko Japan coach Nils Nielsen (center) poses for photos with JFA President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (left) and Norio Sasaki, the JFA’s women’s soccer chair, during a news conference on Dec. 18.
SOCCER
Dec 26, 2024

JFA hopes Nils Nielsen's international focus leads Nadeshiko Japan back to glory

Nils Nielsen was officially unveiled as the new Nadeshiko boss at a packed news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 18. 
A member of the medical staff treats a woman with COVID-19 next to her four-day-old baby at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 27, 2024

COVID pregnancies may have boosted autism risk, study shows

"There’s something really going on,” pediatric infectious diseases physician Karin Nielsen says. "We don’t want to alarm the world, but that’s what our data are showing.”
Storage tanks at the BP Cherry Point Refinery near Blaine, Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024

Big Oil backtracks on renewables push as climate agenda falters

The likes of BP and Shell this year sharply slowed their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects.
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.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 28, 2024

There were plenty of hot topics to opine on in 2024

We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.
The competition rate of employment examinations for public school teachers in Japan hit the lowest levels for all of elementary, junior high and high schools since data began being compiled in fiscal 1979.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024

Japan sees record low competition rate for becoming school teachers

The decline reflected the mass departure of teachers who reached retirement age, which led to increased demand for new recruits, as well as a decrease in the number of applicants.
Osamu Suzuki, a former president of Suzuki Motor, in October 2016
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024

Osamu Suzuki, who ran Suzuki Motor for five decades, dies at 94

Suzuki is known for spearheading the carmaker’s entrance in the Indian market, starting manufacturing there in 1983.
World leaders meet at the United Nations in New York in September to adopt the Pact for the Future. One of its key annexes is the Global Digital Compact, a framework to secure an open and human-centered digital future for all.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

To serve humankind, AI must be shaped by U.N. values

The U.N.'s Global Digital Compact is the first universal agreement on the international governance of AI. It seeks to ensure an open and equitable digital future for all.
A bear trap in Hokkaido Prefecture. Bears have recently been found inside homes and shops.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2024

Increasing number of Japanese bears find human dwellings ‘just right’

Cases of bears making their way into homes and shops are on the rise across the country as the animal's natural food sources become scarce.
A Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter flies over GSDF's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade soldiers and U.S. Marines during a drill in Okinawa last year.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024

Japan and U.S. draw up guidelines for extended deterrence

The two countries came up with the guidelines for extended U.S. nuclear and conventional deterrence at a time when the security environment in the region is becoming more severe.
Cats sit on steps at Grazing Plains Farm in Newton, Kansas, in May. Researchers are keeping a close eye on the mounting cases of bird flu infections in cats.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 28, 2024

New bird flu mutation discovered in U.S. as cat infections cause alarm

Several experts cautioned that it was too early to determine whether these changes would make the virus more transmissible or more severe in people.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 28, 2024

North Koreans see mass casualties on Ukraine front lines, U.S. says

About a thousand North Korean troops were killed or wounded in the last week alone in Russia's Kursk region, U.S. officials say.
A poster depicting the characters of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" in Tokyo's Shibuya Station in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2024

Sony's Crunchyroll finds its early lead in anime under attack

Netflix, Walt Disney and Amazon are all digging into their deep pockets to license shows, making it more expensive for anime-steaming site to compete.
Evacuated people rest at a green house converted into an evacuation center in the aftermath of an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2. Japan is preparing to create a disaster management agency, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba particularly keen to improve the conditions of emergency shelters for disaster evacuees.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2024

Japan preparing to create disaster management agency

Disaster-related deaths exceeded 220 in the 2016 quake disaster in Kumamoto Prefecture and topped 240 in the Noto Peninsula temblor.
People in temporary housing units in quake-hit Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, use a bus to go out on Dec. 16.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 29, 2024

Nursing care needs surge in Noto quake-hit areas

The increase is believed to be due to a drop in daily exercise amid prolonged living in temporary housing because of disaster-related evacuations.
A Self-Defense Forces soldier from a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile unit takes part in a drill at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo, in August 2017.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2024

U.S. military coordination unit eyed in central Tokyo

Such a location near the Defense Ministry is expected to allow both sides to smoothly draw up joint operational plans.
Although meat consumption has been dropping, it's not happening quickly enough to meet climate targets, something to keep in mind over the holidays.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024

Why are my vegan friends going back to meat?

Helping people eat healthier diets with more fruit, vegetables and fiber would have enormous benefits for human well-being and the planet.
A customer uses a bank card at a contactless payment terminal on a stall at the Bauveau Market in Paris on Feb. 15, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 30, 2024

Drama-prone fintechs face mixed regulatory environment in 2025

The incoming U.S. administration has made financial deregulation a policy priority for the next four years while European policymakers continue to take a cautious approach.
Ukraine risks losing all Russian land it seized within months, U.S. says
Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of three comrades killed in recent fighting in eastern Ukraine during their funeral in the western city of Lviv on Dec. 20.
Japanese Princess Kako turns 30
As an adult member of the Imperial Family, Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad this year.
South Korea's worst plane crash in decades leaves 179 dead
Rescue personnel are seen near the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday.
U.S. military coordination unit eyed in central Tokyo
A Self-Defense Forces soldier from a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile unit takes part in a drill at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo, in August 2017.
Shohei Ohtani ends blockbuster year with baby announcement
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8.
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
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.
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
Bling-Bang, baby: The J-pop soundtrack of 2024
Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' uptempo “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” quickly became a TikTok favorite after its release days into 2024, which helped turn the song into a Billboard Japan Hot 100 topper for 19 weeks before rising up viral streaming charts around the world.
Shohei Ohtani ends blockbuster year with baby announcement
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8.
Flu cases surge above ‘warning’ levels in much of Japan
Authorities are calling for utmost vigilance as Japan heads into the New Year holiday season, when many people plan getaways.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope
By Alex K.T. Martin

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

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