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February 13, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
February 13, 2025
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and U.S. President Donald Trump are pictured before a meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Trump and Putin agree to Ukraine talks in a U.S. policy reversal
By Jordan Fabian and Courtney McBride
European officials got no advance warning of Trump’s call with Putin, according to one official.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and U.S. President Donald Trump are pictured before a meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun
JAPAN / Politics
China removes buoy in Japan's EEZ near Senkakus amid warming ties
By Jesse Johnson
The buoy’s removal comes as Beijing looks to further improve relations with Tokyo — and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Japan.
A new scam causing concern in Japan starts out simple, but when victims request to continue, they are instructed to set up an account on a certain app or website where they are to enter their personal information.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Japan's consumer watchdog raises alarm over new social media scam
By Yukana Inoue
The deceptively innocent scheme requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate, of the class of the same name, takes part in an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of MSDF in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in November 2022.
JAPAN
With eye on contract, Japan to send Mogami-class frigate to Australia for drills
By Jesse Johnson
The dispatch comes as Japan vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new frigates for Canberra.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shows a picture of him with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the White House on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Ishiba navigates the low expectations for Japan’s foreign policy
Michael MacArthur Bosack
The summit proceeded well enough, but some will argue that this is only because Ishiba had a low bar for his engagement.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shows a picture of him with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the White House on Friday.

JAPAN

Plastic bags containing radiated soil are seen inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2020.
Japan to pick final disposal sites for Fukushima soil around 2030
As of the end of December, about 14 million cubic meters of such soil had been transported to an interim storage facility.
A Self-Defense Forces member leads residents in Fukamimachi, a village in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, to a rescue helicopter, on a destroyed road in January last year.
Japan to subsidize efforts to prevent emergency roads from collapsing
Many roads built on piled-up soil collapsed after a powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in January 2024.
Partner prefecture plan eyed for Nankai Trough quake
Children with tooth cavities at record low in Japan
Osaka police arrest man for abandoning his wife’s body
Australia aims to use Osaka Expo to work more with Japan on decarbonization

BUSINESS

Volatility in the Vision Fund’s quarterly performance consistently dogs SoftBank, which has embarked on a project with OpenAI to invest $500 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
SoftBank swings to a loss ahead of big Stargate AI bet
By Min Jeong Lee
The Tokyo-based company reported a net loss of ¥369.2 billion ($2.4 billion) for the fiscal third quarter amid volatility in its Vision Fund unit.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen at the ¥153 level against the dollar on Wednesday.
Yen underperforms major currencies on Trump tariff uncertainties
By Mia Glass
Japan’s currency has dropped to ¥153.73 against the dollar, its weakest level in a week and lagging all major peers.
Japan eyes measures to empower firms with details of de facto shareholders
Foxconn signals interest in buying Renault's stake in Nissan
By Jane Lanhee Lee
Japanese auto unions submit wage hike demands
Isuzu to build car plant in South Carolina as Trump tariffs loom
By Nicholas Takahashi

WORLD

The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson conducts routine operations in the South China Sea last August. The vessel, along with survey ship USNS Bowditch, carried out a “routine” transit through the Taiwan Strait from Monday to Wednesday.
U.S. warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time since Trump inauguration
By Jesse Johnson
China's military said the move had "sent the wrong signals" and "increased security risks” in the strategic waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
As Trump hits delete, the race is on to save LGBTQ+ and climate data
By adam smith
Thousands of U.S. government web pages are being altered or deleted following a slew of executive orders from President Donald Trump.
Trump deportations send construction workers 'back to the shadows'
By Carey L. Biron
Turkey seeks historic peace with Kurds in a shifting Middle East
By Selcan Hacaoglu
Vance warns Europe against overregulating emerging AI
Flanked by Musk, Trump orders U.S. agencies to assist with government layoffs
By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

Sports

Shishi (left) wrestles Tokihayate at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Nov. 10.
Could Ukraine be the next nation to produce a yokozuna?
By John Gunning
The amateur powerhouse is starting to make its presence felt in professional sumo.
Holland wins first game in charge of Marinos
New Raptors forward Brandon Ingram signs $120 million extension
Canada and Sweden ready to drop puck on anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off
Fury as U.S. Open chiefs announce mixed doubles revamp

Opinion

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shows a picture of him with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the White House on Friday.
Ishiba navigates the low expectations for Japan’s foreign policy
Michael MacArthur Bosack
The summit proceeded well enough, but some will argue that this is only because Ishiba had a low bar for his engagement.
For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify
By Brad Glosserman
Trump’s initial moves will benefit China
By Joshua Kurlantzick
Trump keeps up his ‘Sharpiegate’ attack on science
By Mark Gongloff
The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture
By Howard Chua-Eoan

ENVIRONMENT

President Donald Trump shows a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast track of Hurricane Dorian that was altered with a black marker in Washington on Sept. 4, 2019.
NOAA told to make list of climate-related grants, setting off fears
By Christopher Flavelle, Austyn Gaffney and Raymond Zhong
Staff members were given a list and told to identify which could be "potentially impacted” by one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
It’s ‘virtually certain’ the world has already breached 1.5 C
By Kendra Pierre-Louis
Trump’s freeze on climate money sows fear and confusion
By Zahra Hirji and Danielle Bochove
Top climate scientist declares 2 degrees Celsius climate goal 'dead'
These roads aren’t built for wilder weather driven by climate change
By Kendra Pierre-Louis

CULTURE

Netflix series “Asura,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, is a remake of a classic TV drama (known as “Like Asura” in English), created by Kuniko Mukoda and broadcast by NHK between 1979 and 1980.
The different faces of ‘Asura’ through the generations
By James Hadfield
While Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new series meticulously remakes a classic NHK drama, this reinterpretation tweaks the story to give its female characters more agency.
Miniatures bring hidden worlds to life at Tokyo cultural site
By Sakurako Nakagawa
‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind
By Patrick St. Michel
Kendrick Lamar promises 'storytelling' at Super Bowl show
Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing
By Jennifer Pastore

LIFE

Together, Shinsuke Yamagai (right) and his younger brother, Ryota, have elevated the cuisine at Shintaku, putting it on the map as one of Niigata Prefecture’s premier gastronomic destinations.
Brothers’ local focus lifts Shintaku to Niigata’s highest rank
By Robbie Swinnerton
From the ashes of a devastating 2005 fire, Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai have remade their family’s historic Niigata restaurant into a beacon of Japanese gastronomy.
DEI, woke and 'forest bathing': When a direct translation just won't cut it
By Yuko Tamura
Some traditional Japanese culinary rules are meant to be broken
By Simon Daly
Hay fever beauty: The aesthetics behind Japan’s allergy products
By Carol R.H. Malasig
Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal
By Owen Ziegler

COMMUNITY

After starting out as a games journalist, John Davis found opportunities in marketing and consulting that led him to work in the Japanese gaming industry.
John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’
By Gendel Gento
The co-founder of BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie gaming showcase, shares how he pivoted from journalism to gaming after moving here.
Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan
By Nguyen Bao Anh
Ken Rodgers, a fixture of the Kyoto literary scene, dies at 72
By Eric Johnston
Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’
By Mike Fu
Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji
By Aku Owaka-Haigh

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
The different faces of ‘Asura’ through the generations
By James Hadfield
Netflix series “Asura,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, is a remake of a classic TV drama (known as “Like Asura” in English), created by Kuniko Mukoda and broadcast by NHK between 1979 and 1980.
MORE SPORTS
Mao Asada sets out to safeguard the future of Japanese skating
By Erika Yamazaki
"I hope skaters who train here will go on to shine on the world stage," Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada told the Japan Times at Mao Rink Tachikawa Tachihi, a skating rink in Tachikawa, Tokyo, whose establishment she was involved in, on Jan. 28.
JAPAN
How giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is evolving in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
Giving out courtesy chocolates to coworkers on Valentine's Day is becoming obsolete.
JAPAN
Japan exploring drone production capabilities for military aid program
By Gabriel Dominguez
An unmanned Hamadori drone developed by Japanese company Space Entertainment Laboratory and equipped with various sensor options for surveys is displayed at the Japan Drone 2020 exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in September 2020.
JAPAN
Ishiba builds inroads with Trump, but challenges still loom
By Jesse Johnson and Francis Tang
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House in Washington on Friday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
China removes buoy in Japan's EEZ near Senkakus amid warming ties
By Jesse Johnson
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun
BUSINESS
Nippon Steel goes quiet after U.S. Steel deal seemingly nixed for good
By Kazuaki Nagata
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that U.S. Steel would remain American.
MORE SPORTS
Mao Asada sets out to safeguard the future of Japanese skating
By Erika Yamazaki
"I hope skaters who train here will go on to shine on the world stage," Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada told the Japan Times at Mao Rink Tachikawa Tachihi, a skating rink in Tachikawa, Tokyo, whose establishment she was involved in, on Jan. 28.
BUSINESS
Japan asks for exemption from Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs
By Francis Tang
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders, including two official proclamations that will impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from all countries globally, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
JAPAN
Emperor Showa was cautious about Nixon's 1972 visit to China, document shows
Emperor Hirohito speaks during a welcome ceremony hosted by U.S. President Richard Nixon in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sept. 26, 1971.