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December 03, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
December 03, 2024
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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
BUSINESS / Economy
BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst
By Toru Fujioka
The last time the BOJ conducted three hikes in a single year was in 1989, with the third increase that year coming on Christmas Day.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will "block" a planned takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Trump says will 'block' Nippon Steel from taking over U.S. Steel
Days after the U.S. election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year.
The goal of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, building on years of evolving trade restrictions, is to slow China’s domestic development of advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence systems that may help its military.
BUSINESS / Tech
U.S. tightens curbs on China’s access to AI memory and chip tools
The new measures included exemptions for key allies such as Japan and the Netherlands.
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.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
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 National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.

JAPAN

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.
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
By Kathleen Benoza
The animal, which attacked a 47-year-old male employee on Saturday morning, was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Japan Times 1999: Stores hit by Y2K stockpile feeding frenzy
Two indicted men rearrested on fresh Kokubunji robbery charges
Lawsuit filed over Hyogo governor's alleged election law violation

BUSINESS

The yen carry trade is expected to ramp up next year, driven by wide gaps in interest rates, higher government borrowing in the U.S. and low volatility in currency markets, analysts say.
Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback
By Mia Glass and Masaki Kondo
Japanese retail investors as well as leveraged funds and asset managers outside the country are estimated to have boosted bearish wagers on the yen in November.
Female company presidents are mostly found at small businesses in Japan.
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.
Japanese firms begin adopting generative AI for information searches
Intel CEO forced out by board frustrated with slow progress
By Ian King, Liana Baker and Ryan Gould
Apple accused of silencing workers, spying on personal devices
By Daniel Wiessner
Nissan is awash in outdated models as car buyers look elsewhere
By Nicholas Takahashi

WORLD

A giant TV screen shows news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, in Beijing on Oct. 14.
Taiwan watching Chinese carrier movements as drills could start over weekend
By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee
Beijing could launch large-scale drills to coincide with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's trip to the Pacific this week that includes visits to Hawaii and Guam.
A supporter of Donald Trump holds a limited edition beer with an image of Trump and the words "Conservative Dad's Revenge," as he attends the New York Young Republican Club watch party on Nov. 6.
After Trump's win, his election denial movement marches on
By Peter Eisler, Ned Parker, Nathan Layne and Joseph Tanfani
Since winning the 2024 election, President-elect Donald Trump has gone quiet on his false claims of voter fraud. But the election denial movement he spawned isn’t going away — and appears to be strengthening in some areas of the country.
Global push for cooperation as space traffic crowds Earth's orbit
By Nivedita Bhattacharjee
A North Korean voice that Kim Jong Un would like to silence
By Choe Sang-Hun
Taiwan's Lai kicks off Marshall Islands visit as China fumes
By Akio Wang
Syria flare-up jolts U.S. and offers chance for Trump
By Shaun TANDON

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.
No concerns about Hamilton's speed, says Ferrari's Vasseur
By Alan Baldwin
Italy to host Davis Cup Final 8 from 2025
Van Nistelrooy looks to lift Leicester's spirits
Liverpool players prepared to 'go to war' for each other: Van Dijk

Opinion

The challenge for African governments and communities is how to harness this wave of youthful talent — with all their innovation, resilience and determination — rather than lose them to developed economies.
Africa must act to stem its youth brain drain
Ciku Kimeria
African governments must harness youthful talent or risk losing it to developed economies.
Should nuclear weapons for Ukraine be on the table?
By Slavoj Zizek
The Lebanon ceasefire can be leveraged for a broader deal
By Marc Champion
Venice’s beauty curse
By Edoardo Campanella
AI will transform sex work but not intimacy
By Allison Schrager

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

WORLD
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
By Gabriel Dominguez
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.
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.
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.
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.

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

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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.
WORLD
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
By Gabriel Dominguez
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
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
By Yukana Inoue
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.