Tag: Japan

Taiwan President Says He Will Propose Extra $40 Billion in Defence Spending

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan will introduce a $40 billion supplementary defence budget to underscore its determination to defend itself, with “significant” new U.S. arms purchases planned, President Lai Ching-te said in a Washington Post op-ed essay.

The move comes as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.

But Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring pressure from the United States on Europe.

In August, Lai said he hoped defence spending would reach 5% of gross domestic product by 2030.

“This landmark package will not only fund significant new arms acquisitions from the United States, but also vastly enhance Taiwan’s asymmetrical capabilities,” he wrote in the Washington Post piece, which was published on Tuesday U.S. time.

“In doing so, we aim to bolster deterrence by inserting greater costs and uncertainties into Beijing’s decision-making on the use of force.”

Lai has previously announced he would propose extra defence spending, but had not given details.

For 2026, the government is proposing defence spending would reach T$949.5 billion ($30.25 billion). At 3.32% of GDP, the figure crosses a threshold of 3% for the first time since 2009, government figures showed.

“While we will continue to pursue opportunities for cross-strait dialogue, with the understanding that our democracy and freedom remain nonnegotiable, we remain grounded by more than wishful thinking, as some have suggested,” Lai wrote.

“Both presidents Trump and Reagan have understood the significance of peace through strength. Standing on the front lines of democracy, this is a lesson we live by each and every day.”

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.

($1 = 31.3880 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 25, 2025
Shohei Ohtani to Suit Up for Japan in 2026 World Baseball Classic – LAmag

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Shohei Ohtani confirmed Monday that he will play for Japan in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, committing to the national team for the first time since leading Japan to the 2023 championship.

Ohtani made the announcement on social media, saying he was “happy to be able to play again representing Japan.” The decision comes shortly after he helped the Dodgers win another World Series and added yet another MVP award to his résumé. (NBC 4)

Japan enters the 2026 tournament as the defending champion, and Ohtani was the centerpiece of that title run. In 2023, he earned WBC MVP honors after dominating as both a pitcher and hitter, punctuated by striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to win the championship.

It is not yet confirmed whether Ohtani will participate as a full two-way player. He returned to pitching this past season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while still producing MVP-level numbers at the plate.

Japan will open WBC pool play on March 6 at Tokyo Dome, competing in a group that includes South Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Czechia. Ohtani’s early commitment immediately boosts Japan’s chances of repeating and positions the team as one of the tournament’s strongest contenders.

For the Dodgers, the announcement simply means their star will get additional high-level reps in March. For Japan, it means the face of global baseball is back in their lineup on the sport’s biggest international stage.

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Anthony Gutierrez

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November 25, 2025
Clair Obscur leads the AP’s list of 2025’s top video games

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It’s been a difficult year for the people who create video games, with layoffs persisting while the tech industry tries to force us to use artificial intelligence for everything. But great games emerged nonetheless — and I can’t imagine AI ever being able to deliver the kind of thrilling, rewarding adventures we’ve seen in 2025.

The biggest story this year was the release of Nintendo’s new console, the Switch 2. It’s a terrific piece of hardware, but it doesn’t yet have the killer app that makes it essential.

The second biggest story was the arrival, seemingly out of nowhere, of one marvelous game that left many of us slack-jawed with wonder. It’s as profound an example of interactive storytelling as I’ve ever seen, and an easy choice for game of the year.

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The debut release from French studio Sandfall Interactive pays tribute to classic turn-based role-playing adventures like 1990s Final Fantasy, with a crew of intrepid fighters on a mission to confront a potentially world-destroying entity. But, man, does it take some surprising twists — I can’t remember a game had me gasping so often, either in horror or delight. The graphics and music are stunning throughout, and it’s all anchored by impeccable voice acting that made me care deeply about every single character. Altogether, a landmark achievement.

2. The Outer Worlds 2

Scenes from “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)

This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “The Outer Worlds 2.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)

California’s Obsidian Entertainment has become one of the premier studios in the U.S., and this spacefaring romp is its best game yet. It drops you into a galactic feud among three political philosophies: totalitarianism, hypercapitalism and a math-based religion (think of the most annoying techbro you know). There’s plenty of satisfying combat against radioactive mutants and renegade robots, but even the grimmest situations are juiced with healthy doses of satire as you try to navigate the demands of all three would-be overlords.

3. Silent Hill f

This image released by Konami Digital Entertainment shows a scene from “Silent Hill f.” (Konami Digital Entertainment via AP)

The latest chapter of Konami’s long-running franchise digs into its J-horror roots, moving the action from America to Japan in the 1960s. Hinako Shimizu, the teenage protagonist, not only has to confront the trauma of high school — she has to fight off the grotesque monsters that have invaded her small town. What makes Silent Hill f fascinating is the way the two nightmares seem to be related. It’s the scariest horror game in years.

4. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows” video game. (Ubisoft via AP)

Another young Japanese woman takes center stage in this sprawling adventure from Ubisoft. Naoe is a crafty ninja in feudal Japan who’s out to avenge her father’s murder. She’s soon joined by Yasuke, a powerful samurai. The mission variety here is impressive, letting you switch on the fly between Naoe’s stealthy attacks and Yasuke’s brute force. It’s a shining example of Ubisoft’s do-it-your-way approach to the open-world format.

5. Donkey Kong Bananza

The best new game on Nintendo’s Switch 2 is ideal for those times when all you want to do is punch something. The big ape’s bananas have been stolen and he has to dive into a vast underworld to retrieve them. Almost all of the environments are destructible, but when you get tired of pounding there are plenty of clever puzzles and minigames that often hark back to DK’s swinging jungle adventures.

6. The Séance of Blake Manor

This image released by Raw Fury shows a scene from “The Séance of Blake Manor.” (Raw Fury via AP)

In this haunting mystery from Ireland’s Spooky Doorway, a group of mystics have gathered around Halloween 1897 to commune with the dead. You’re called in to investigate when one of the living humans vanishes. It’s a classic point-and-click puzzle game in which everyone has something to hide. It also digs deep into Irish folklore and history, adding an urgent element of class struggle to a very effective ghost story.

7. Avowed

Scenes from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)

This image released by Xbox Game Studios shows a scene from the video game “Avowed.” (Xbox Game Studios via AP)

Speaking of class struggle, Obsidian Entertainment’s other big role-playing game of 2025 doesn’t shy away from politics either. You are an emissary sent to investigate a deadly plague in the quasi-medieval Living Lands. Problem is, few of the locals are happy to see you, and they’re too busy fighting each other to help much. Again, Obsidian’s mastery of role-playing action is on full display, this time with swords and spells rather than lasers.

8. Ghost of Yōtei

Scenes from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment via AP)

This image released by Sony shows a scene from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei.” (Sony via AP)

Yet another Japanese woman takes the lead in this revenge drama from Sony’s Sucker Punch Productions. Atsu is a mercenary who returns to rural Japan in the 1600s to hunt down her family’s killers, stirring rumors that an “onryō” — a vengeful ghost — is on the loose. The narrative is tighter than that in AC Shadows, but this is a real treat for fans of classic samurai movies — especially if you play in black-and-white “Kurosawa mode.”

9. South of Midnight

This fantasy from Canada’s Compulsion Games is a hypnotic evocation of the mythology of the U.S. Deep South. After a hurricane rips through her neighborhood, a woman named Hazel ventures into the bayou. The creatures she meets — a talking catfish, a massive gator, a blues-playing ghoul — are gorgeously rendered in stop-motion-inspired animation. The gameplay is fairly simple, but the art and music make for a memorable journey.

10. The Alters

In this survival adventure from Poland’s 11 Bit Studios, you are a humble engineer left on a hostile planet. Fortunately there’s a movable base nearby — but you can’t run it alone, so you’re going to have to clone yourself. Each clone has different personality tics, and the result is a fascinating metaphysical brainteaser that will have you wondering how long you’d be able to put up with half a dozen versions of you.

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November 25, 2025
Japan Fires Back at ‘Unsubstantiated’ Chinese Letter to UN

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Japan has dismissed a Chinese letter to the United Nations accusing Tokyo of threatening armed intervention over Taiwan as “inconsistent with the facts and unsubstantiated”.

Japan’s U.N. ambassador, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, was responding on Monday to a letter China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong wrote on Friday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Fu accused Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of “a grave violation of international law” and diplomatic norms when she said in parliament this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Yamazaki, in his letter, also addressed to Guterres, said Japan’s fundamental policy was of “passive defense.”

“Therefore, China’s assertion that Japan would exercise the right of self-defense even in the absence of an armed attack is erroneous,” he said.

Fu’s letter was the strongest Chinese criticism yet of Takaichi, a conservative nationalist who took office last month, pointing to the worst bilateral tensions between China and Japan in years.

China says Takaichi’s remark had “severely damaged” trade cooperation, while concerts of Japanese musicians in China have been abruptly canceled.

On Tuesday, Takaichi said she had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump in what was their first phone call since the diplomatic bust-up with China, and that the U.S. leader had told her she could call him any time.

Takaichi also said Trump explained to her the recent state of U.S.-China relations, including his phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.

Trump has not commented publicly on the dispute between Japan – a key U.S. security ally – and rival superpower China, a silence that analysts say will be concerning to some officials in Tokyo.

China claims Taiwan, which sits just over 100 km (60 miles) from Japanese territory, and has not ruled out using force to take control of it. The island’s government rejects Beijing’s claim and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Jasper Ward; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 25, 2025
Analysis-France and Germany Step up Pressure on Arms Firms to Resolve Fighter Impasse

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By Michel Rose, Sabine Siebold, John Irish and Tim Hepher

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) -France and Germany are ratcheting up pressure on their industrial champions to rescue Europe’s next-generation fighter as the 100-billion-euro ($115 billion) project teeters on the brink of collapse, sources close to the matter said.

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), floated more than eight years ago, has been mired in disputes between France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus over workshare and prized technology.

Following talks last week between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Berlin has drafted a “decision roadmap” as part of a mid-December deadline to strike a deal, sources told Reuters.

“The objective is that the CEOs of the participating industrial partners find and sign a written agreement on the core principles of cooperation for the next programme phase by mid-December,” the document reads, according to excerpts provided to Reuters.

A government source said the roadmap, which also tasks air force chiefs with a review of their respective requirements, was designed to reassert political control.

Airbus and Dassault declined to comment.

‘DECISION ROADMAP’ AIMS TO END INDUSTRIAL IMPASSE

At stake is the next phase of plans to deliver a fighter flanked by drones for France, Germany and Spain by 2040, mirroring a UK-Italian-Japanese initiative called GCAP.

Talks have stalled amid mistrust between Rafale manufacturer Dassault and Airbus, which represents both Germany and Spain in the project, known in France as SCAF.

Dassault insists on leading design and development of the core fighter, citing blurred lines of responsibility and its track record of building fighters from start to finish. It says Airbus is free to lead its own uncrewed areas of the project.

Airbus says this goes against agreements that each nation has an equal say.

The family-owned French fighter firm and partially state-owned jetliner giant have both sharpened their rhetoric, inviting the other to leave if they don’t like the agreed arrangements and pledging to go it alone if necessary.

German sources say Dassault wants 80% control, a figure Dassault denies. They accuse Dassault of limiting access to high-value work.

French sources want to retain parity with Airbus, which stood at 50% before Spain’s arrival. They suspect Berlin of wanting to blunt Dassault’s technological advantage.

“What seems to have happened was that a very close and strong political relationship between Paris and Berlin has weakened somewhat and the industrialists were let off the leash and are really having a go at each other,” Douglas Barrie, IISS senior fellow for military airspace, said in a recent interview.

Failure to break the deadlock risks exposing Europe’s inability to forge defence unity at a time when war has returned to the continent.

After weeks of political turmoil in Paris, the capitals are deepening efforts to avoid a damaging blow to Franco-German co-operation.

Still, doubts persist whether Macron, nearing the end of his term and weakened by political crises, can strong-arm Dassault into concessions. Cushioned by strong Rafale exports, Dassault is under less immediate pressure to act and may be playing for time before 2027 elections, some officials and executives said.

Dassault declined to comment.

As FCAS faces pivotal decisions over its future, options are being prepared for a repeat of the schism that saw France quit Eurofighter in 1985, leaving Dassault and Airbus to compete.

Dassault has been a cornerstone of France’s defence since World War Two, building all generations of jets carrying its nuclear deterrent, and could most easily go alone.

German industry has threatened to tap Berlin’s growing defence budget to bankroll a rival project.

People familiar with the plans said these included a standalone stealth fighter. Other options included teaming with Sweden’s Saab, currently without a partner, or BAE Systems-led GCAP. Airbus has maintained regular CEO-level contacts on the issue with both camps, they said.

A minimalist compromise increasingly touted would narrow FCAS to a “combat cloud” of secure connectivity while letting Airbus and Dassault develop separate jets – a partial divorce allowing Paris and Berlin to save face and avoid a public split.

Each side continues to call the other’s bluff.

French planners doubt Germany can easily build a competitive stealth fighter or engine alone, nor fit into the swiftly advancing GCAP project.

Yet even though France has a track record of standalone developments, its budget crisis poses major funding hurdles.

Before Berlin’s latest push, one German source put the chances of a joint fighter at “less than 50%”. Both capitals are now racing to salvage the project. “We can’t afford to let this project fail,” a French government source said.

(Additional reporting by Florence Loeve and Giulia Segreti. Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Potter)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 25, 2025
California braces for early, sharper flu season as virus mutation outpaces vaccine, experts say

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California could see an early start to the annual flu season, as a combination of low vaccination rates and late mutations to the virus may leave the state particularly exposed to transmission, health experts say.

Already, there are warning signs. Los Angeles County recently reported its first flu death of the season, and other nations are reporting record-breaking or powerful, earlier-than-expected flu seasons.

Typically, flu picks up right after Christmas and into the New Year, but Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional physician chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said she expects increases in viral activity perhaps over the next two to three weeks.

“We’re expecting an early and likely sharp start to the flu season,” Hudson said.

Last year’s flu season was the worst California had seen in years, and it’s not usual for there to be back-to-back bad flu seasons. But a combination of a decline in flu vaccination rates and a “souped-up mutant” is particularly concerning this year, according to Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco.

“That may translate into more people getting infected. And as more people get infected, a proportion of them will go to the hospital,” Chin-Hong said.

The timing of this new flu subvariant — called H3N2 subclade K — is particularly problematic. It emerged toward the end of the summer, long after health officials had already determined how to formulate this fall’s flu vaccine, a decision that had to be made in February.

H3N2 subclade K seems to be starting to dominate in Japan and Britain, Hudson said.

“It looks like a bit of a mismatch between the seasonal flu vaccine strains” and the new subvariant, Hudson said.

It remains unclear whether subclade K will reduce the effectiveness of this year’s flu shot.

In California and the rest of the U.S., “things are quiet, but I think it’s just a calm before the storm,” Chin-Hong said. “From what we see in the U.K. and Japan, a lot more people are getting flu earlier.”

Chin-Hong noted that subclade K is not that much different than the strains this year’s flu vaccines were designed against. And he noted data recently released in Britain that showed this season’s vaccines were still effective against hospitalization.

According to the British government, vaccinated children were 70% to 75% less likely to need hospital care, and adults were 30% to 40% less likely. Flu vaccine effectiveness is typically between 30% to 60%, and tends to be more effective in younger people, the British government said.

Even if there is some degree of mismatch between the vaccine and circulating strains, “the flu vaccine still provides protection against severe illness, including hospitalizations,” according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“Public Health strongly encourages everyone who has not received the flu vaccine yet this year to receive it now, especially before gathering with loved ones during the holidays,” the department said in a statement.

But “while mismatched vaccines may still provide protection, enhanced genetic, antigenic and epidemiological … monitoring are warranted to inform risk assessment and response,” according to scientists writing in the Journal of the Assn. of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Canada.

Because the vaccine is not a perfect match for the latest mutated flu strain, Chin-Hong said getting antiviral medication like Tamiflu to infected patients may be especially important this year, even for those who are vaccinated. That’s especially true for the most vulnerable, which include the very young and very old.

“But that means you need to get diagnosed earlier,” Chin-Hong said. Drugs like Tamiflu work best when started within one to two days after flu symptoms begin, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

There are now at-home flu testing kits that are widely available for sale for people who are showing signs of illness.

Also worrying is how the flu has surged in other countries.

Australia’s flu season came earlier this year and was more severe than usual. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said that nation saw a record flu season, with more than 410,000 lab-confirmed cases, up from the prior all-time high of 365,000 that were reported last year.

“This is not a record we want to be breaking,” Dr. Michael Wright, president of the physician’s group, said.

Hudson noted Australia’s flu season was “particularly hard on children” this year.

L.A. County health officials cautioned that Australia’s experience isn’t a solid predictor of what happens locally.

“It is difficult to predict what will happen in the United States and Los Angeles, as the severity of the flu season depends on multiple factors including circulating strains, pre-existing immunity, vaccine uptake, and the overall health of the population,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said.

The new strain has also thrown a wrench in things. As Australia’s flu season was ending, “this new mutation came up, which kind of ignited flu in Japan and the U.K., and other parts of Europe and Asia,” Chin-Hong said.

On Friday, Japan reportedly issued a national alert with flu cases surging and hospitalizations increasing, especially among children and the elderly, accompanied by a sharp rise in school and class closures. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said children ages 1 through 9 and adults 80 and up were among the hardest-hit groups.

Taiwanese health officials warned of the possibility of a second peak in flu this year, according to the Central News Agency. There was already a peak in late September and early October — a month earlier than normal — and officials are warning about an uptick in flu cases starting in December and then peaking around the Lunar New Year on Feb. 17.

Taiwanese officials said 95% of patients with severe flu symptoms had not been recently vaccinated.

British health officials this month issued a “flu jab SOS,” as an early wave struck the nation. Flu cases are “already triple what they were this time last year,” Public Health Minister Ashley Dalton said in a statement.

In England, outside of pandemic years, this fall marked the earliest start to the flu season since 2003-04, scientists said in the journal Eurosurveillance.

“We have to brace ourselves for another year of more cases of flu,” Chin-Hong said.

One major concern has been declining flu vaccination rates — a trend seen in both Australia and the United States.

In Australia, only 25.7% of children age 6 months to 5 years were vaccinated against flu in 2025, the lowest rate since 2021. Among seniors age 65 and up, 60.5% were vaccinated, the lowest rate since 2020.

Australian health officials are promoting free flu vaccinations for children that don’t require an injection, but are administered by nasal spray.

“We must boost vaccination rates,” Wright said.

In the U.S., officials recommend the annual flu vaccine for everyone age 6 months and up. Those age 65 and up are eligible for a higher-dose version, and kids and adults between age 2 and age 49 are eligible to get vaccinated via the FluMist nasal spray, rather than a needle injection.

Officials this year began allowing people to order FluMist to be mailed to them at home.

Besides getting vaccinated, other ways to protect yourself against the flu include washing your hands frequently, avoiding sick people and wearing a mask in higher-risk indoor settings, such as while in the airport and on a plane.

Healthy high-risk people, such as older individuals, can be prescribed antiviral drugs like Tamiflu if another household member has the flu, Chin-Hong said.

Doctors are especially concerned about babies, toddlers and young children up to age 5.

“Those are the kids that are the most vulnerable if they get any kind of a respiratory illness. It can really go badly for them, and they can end up extraordinarily ill,” Hudson said.

In the United States, just 49.2% of children had gotten a flu shot as of late April, lower than the 53.4% who had done so at the same point the previous season, according to preliminary national survey results. Both figures are well below the final flu vaccination rate for eligible children during the 2019-20 season, which was 63.7%.

Among adults, 46.7% had gotten their flu shot as of late April, slightly down from the 47.4% at the same point last season, according to the preliminary survey results, which are the most recent data available.

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, flu vaccination coverage had been slowly increasing; downturns in coverage occurred during and after the pandemic. Flu vaccination levels have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels,” according to the CDC.

The disparaging of vaccinations by federal health officials, led by the vaccine-skeptic secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has not helped improve immunization rates, health experts say. Kennedy told the New York Times on Thursday that he personally directed the CDC to change its website to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism.

Mainstream health experts and former CDC officials denounced the change. “Extensive scientific evidence shows vaccines do not cause autism,” wrote Daniel Jernigan, Demetre Daskalakis and Debra Houry, all former top officials at the CDC, in an op-ed to MS NOW.

“CDC has been updated to cause chaos without scientific basis. Do not trust this agency,” Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, added on social media. “This is a national embarrassment.”

State health officials from California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii on Friday called the new claims on the CDC website inaccurate and said there are decades of “high quality evidence that vaccines are not linked to autism.”

“Over 40 high-quality studies involving more than 5.6 million children have found no link between any routine childhood vaccine and autism,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said Friday. “The increase in autism diagnoses reflects improved screening, broader diagnostic criteria, and greater awareness, not a link to vaccines.”

Hudson said it’s important to get evidence-based information on the flu vaccines.

“Vaccines save lives. The flu vaccine in particular saves lives,” Hudson said.

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November 25, 2025
‘Return’ to China Not an Option for Taiwan’s People, Premier Says

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that for the island’s 23 million people a “return” to China is not an option, responding to comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan’s “return to China” at the end of World War Two was a key part of Beijing’s vision for the world order.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 24, 2025
Hong Kong Leader Backs China’s Policy on Japan in First Remarks on Dispute

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HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s leader John Lee said on Monday his government supported China’s diplomatic policy towards Japan and the financial hub would closely monitor the situation and respond appropriately.

The comments are the first time a Hong Kong official has publicly weighed in on a dispute that has roiled China-Japan ties for more than two weeks.

The spat was triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in parliament on November 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

“These extremely erroneous remarks have severely deteriorated the atmosphere for exchanges between China and Japan,” Lee said at a media briefing. “It makes us doubt the effectiveness of many exchanges.”

On Sunday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was “shocking” for Japan’s leader to openly send a wrong signal concerning Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, although the island’s government rejects the claims.

Hong Kong had halted exchanges with Japan’s consulate, Japanese news agency Kyodo said on Sunday.

Lee did not respond directly to a query on whether Hong Kong had suspended exchanges, saying, “Our arrangement must be aligned with the nation’s dignity and the benefits of Hong Kongers.”

The city’s security bureau updated its travel advisory for Japan on November 15, urging residents visiting or living in Japan to be vigilant and pay attention to safety.Japan is one of the top destinations for Hong Kong residents, with close to 150 daily flights between the Chinese controlled city and 13 Japanese cities during peak seasons such as the Lunar New Year.

About 2.68 million Hong Kong residents visited Japan last year, making up 7.3% of total foreign visitors, Japanese tourism data showed.

Hong Kong airlines, including Cathay Pacific, have said in the past two weeks they will provide travellers to Japan with options to rebook or adjust their itineraries.

(Reporting by Farah Master and Jessie Pang; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 23, 2025
Old clip misrepresented as recent bear attack in Japan

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Japan is battling a spate of fatal attacks by bears in 2025 with sighting of the animals reported almost daily including in the northern city of Sapporo, but an old video circulating online does not show a recent encounter. The clip was actually taken from a news report four years ago.

The video was shared on Douyin on November 12, 2025, with a caption in simplified Chinese saying there has been a spike in the number of bear sightings recently in Sapporo.

It has since received over 200 likes, and shows a bear rampaging in a neighbourhood and attacking a person.

Japanese-language text on the video also says it shows a bear in a residential area injuring four people, including a member of the self-defence force, along with a date that reads June 18 Friday.

Screenshot of the false Douyin video captured on November 20, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The clip has circulated alongside similar claims elsewhere on Douyin and QQ as well as in English and Japanese posts on TikTok.

The US embassy in Tokyo posted a “wildlife alert” on its website warning people to avoid walking alone in areas where bears had been spotted or stay away altogether (archived link).

The embassy noted that local authorities closed a zoo adjacent to the US Consulate General in Sapporo following a bear sighting in the vicinity.

Since April, the animals have killed a record 13 people across the country, with a steady flow of reports of bears entering homes, roaming near schools, and rampaging in supermarkets.

Japan’s Environment Ministry also recorded 197 victims of bear attacks between April to October (archived link).

In October alone, 89 people — a 10-year high — were attacked by bears, killing seven (archived link).

Infographic showing the natural range of Japan’s bears, the number of people injured and killed in encounters over the past decade, and the number of bears culled by prefecture between 2014 and 2025

Scientists have blamed the soaring number entering residential areas on a fast-growing bear population combined with this year’s bad acorn harvest and a falling human population (archived link).

But the video was in fact filmed in 2021.

A reverse image search on Google found that the video was uploaded by Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting on June 18, 2021 on TikTok, which matches the date seen in the video (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false Douyin post and the TikTok video, captured on November 20, 2025

It reports on a bear sighting in a residential area of Sapporo on the day, where three residents and one self-defence force member were injured. It was later shot dead by a hunter from the hunting association.

A keyword search found another Japanese outlet Hokkaido Television Broadcasting also covered the attack on the same day (archived link).

AFP has earlier debunked claims involving animals.

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November 23, 2025
Japan’s New Leader Infuriated Beijing. She Isn’t Backing Down.

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Workaholic Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is riding high despite the perils of a fight with Beijing.

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November 23, 2025
Japan’s first female leader faces a taboo over entering the male-only sumo ring

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TOKYO (AP) — Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan’s first female prime minister in October. She must now decide whether she’ll break another barrier: the taboo barring women from the sumo ring.

The winner of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament that ends Sunday will be presented with the Prime Minister’s Cup. Some of her male predecessors, including former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, have entered the ring to hand over the cup.

Takaichi, a staunch conservative who supports Japan’s traditional gender and paternalistic values, may not break the taboo. In any case, she won’t face a decision on whether to enter the sumo ring this time because she returns a day later from the Group of 20 summit in South Africa.

Her next chance to make a decision will come at the New Year’s tournament in Tokyo.

But a debate on the taboo against women likely will continue, in no small part, because a woman now leads Japan. There also is criticism that the ban in sumo and other religious places is out of touch with the changing place of women in Japanese society.

Women are still banned in some sacred places and festivals

The sumo ring is only part of the controversy.

In Japan, female worshippers have for centuries been banned from certain holy mountains, religious training sessions, temples, shrines and festivals.

Other places in the world have similar taboos, but the one in Japan stems from the belief in female “impurity” associated with menstruation and childbirth, as well as certain misogynic Buddhist views, says Naoko Kobayashi, an Aichi Gakuin University professor and expert on religion and gender.

The female ban at holy mountains, including Mount Fuji, and religious establishments has been largely eliminated over the years. But it lingers at certain shrines and festivals.

Many of these bans are from the 19th century Meiji era or later, Kobayashi said, and the taboo has been hard to break because women were also kept from political and religious decision-making over the years.

Sumo has a 1,500-year history, but the female ban is not ancient tradition

Sumo’s origins are linked to rituals for Japan’s indigenous religion of Shinto, which is largely rooted in animism and the belief that thousands of kami, or spirits, inhabit nature. The first sumo matches date back 1,500 years as a ritual dedicated to the kami, with prayers for bountiful harvests, dancing and other performances at shrines.

The dohyo where sumo takes place is an elevated ring made of special clay, with its edge marked by a circle of rice-straw separating the inner sanctuary and the outside world of impurity. It’s off-limits to women in professional sumo.

Some experts say sumo follows the Shinto belief in female impurity.

The Japan Sumo Association has denied the female ban is based on the Shinto belief of impurity.

“This interpretation is a misunderstanding,” said the association chief, Nobuyoshi Hakkaku, in 2018. He said sumo rituals are tied to folk beliefs like being thankful for a good harvest and are not about rigid religious principles.

“We have consistently denied sexist intentions,” Hakkaku said. “The rule that makes the dohyo a serious battleground for men is only natural for wrestlers, making the dohyo a male-only world and (leading to) passing down the practice of not having women go up there.”

Citing a seventh century document called “Ancient Chronicles of Japan,” historians say female court members were the first to perform sumo at the request of an emperor. There are documentary records of female sumo wrestlers in 16th century documents.

Sumo gained prestige when matches were attended in 1884 by the Emperor Meiji and later earned the status of a national sport with the completion of the original Ryogoku Arena in 1909.

Barring women from the ring has been criticized for decades

In 1978, a female labor ministry bureaucrat, Mayumi Moriyama, protested after the sumo association prevented a girl who had won a local children’s sumo qualifying match from advancing to the finals at a real sumo ring.

In 1990, Moriyama, as government spokesperson, expressed her desire to enter the ring for the presentation of the Prime Minister’s Cup but was rejected by the sumo association.

In 2018, the mayor of Maizuru in northern Kyoto collapsed during a speech in a sumo ring. Two female medical experts rushed in and started performing first aid as several male sumo officials watched. Two more women tried to join the first-aid effort before announcements demanded the women leave the ring. Sumo officials threw salt afterwards, a gesture of purification.

Days later, the association refused to allow Tomoko Nakagawa, then-mayor of Takarazuka city, to enter the dohyo to give a speech for an exhibition tournament. Nakagawa, forced to speak from the side of the ring, said she was mortified to be rejected just because she is female.

The sumo association chief apologized over the “failure to take appropriate action in a life-threatening situation” and for making Nakagawa uncomfortable, and formed a panel of outside experts to examine the female ban. Seven years later, a decision is still pending.

“Excluding women under the premise of male-centered traditions and customs can be no longer justified under the values of the times,” Kobayashi, the professor, said.

Takaichi backs Japan’s traditional views on gender

Takaichi is not considered a feminist. She has supported paternalistic family values and keeping the succession of Japan’s monarchy open only to men. She also opposes changing a 19th-century law that would allow married couples the option of keeping separate surnames.

Takaichi is trying to win back support from right-wing voters who have been drawn to emerging populist groups in recent elections. An attempt to present the trophy in the ring would be seen as defying sumo’s traditions and could harm her image with those voters.

She has not commented on how she’ll handle the trophy presentation, but her top government spokesperson has indicated Takaichi is not considering stepping into the ring.

“Prime Minister Takaichi intends to respect the tradition of sumo culture,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters.

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November 22, 2025
Western Leaders Race to Agree Response to US Peace Plan for Ukraine

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By Julia Payne and Anastasiia Malenko

JOHANNESBURG/KYIV (Reuters) -European and other Western leaders meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit scrambled on Saturday to come up with a coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine to accept his peace plan with Russia by Thursday.

The U.S. plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was met with measured criticism in many European capitals, with leaders trying to balance praise for Trump for trying to end the fighting, but also recognising that for Kyiv, some of the terms in his proposal are unpalatable.

On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine faced a choice of either losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s backing over the peace plan. He appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.

EUROPEAN, WESTERN LEADERS MEET TO AGREE RESPONSE

That signal prompted European leaders to rally. At the meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in South Africa, leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, the EU Commission and EU Council met to discuss tactics, sources said.

While the leaders discussed next steps, Ukraine said it would hold talks with high-ranking U.S. officials in Switzerland on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.

“Ukraine will never be an obstacle to peace, and representatives of the Ukrainian state will defend the legitimate interests of the Ukrainian people and the foundations of European security,” a statement from the Ukrainian presidency said.

On Friday, Trump threw down the gauntlet to Ukraine, saying Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve his 28-point plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.

“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” he said. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something he hasn’t accepted.”

Recalling their fractious February meeting with Zelenskiy, Trump added: “You remember right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, ‘You don’t have the cards.’”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said late on Friday that any plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine should preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and be acceptable to both countries but that it was a “fantasy” to think Ukraine could win if the U.S. were to give Kyiv more money or weapons or impose more sanctions on Moscow.

“There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” Vance wrote on X.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the plan as being the basis of a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the plan, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.

The peril for Zelenskiy was writ large when the Ukrainian president turned to a national address to prepare the population for a tough few days.

“Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice — either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner,” he said in a speech to the nation. “I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked – the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”

(Writing by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by William Maclean)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 22, 2025
China Takes Spat With Japan Over Taiwan to UN, Vows to Defend Itself

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BEIJING (Reuters) -China has taken its widening spat with Japan to the United Nations, accusing Tokyo of threatening “an armed intervention” over Taiwan and vowing to defend itself in its strongest language yet in the two-week-old dispute.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi committed “a grave violation of international law” and diplomatic norms when she said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo, China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong wrote in a letter on Friday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression,” Fu wrote, according to a statement from China’s U.N. mission. “China will resolutely exercise its right of self-defence under the U.N. Charter and international law and firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

BIGGEST BILATERAL CRISIS IN YEARS

Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office could not immediately be reached on Saturday for comment on Fu’s letter, the strongest criticism of Takaichi yet from a senior Chinese official in the biggest bilateral crisis in years.

Takaichi, a conservative nationalist who took office last month, ditched the ambiguity that Japan and the U.S. have long used regarding Taiwan when she told a questioner in parliament on November 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan – which lies just over 100 km (60 miles) from Japanese territory – could be deemed “a situation threatening Japan’s survival”.

That is a legal designation that allows a Japanese prime minister to deploy the nation’s military.

Takaichi’s remarks sparked the tit-for-tat dispute with China that has spilled beyond diplomacy in recent days, with China saying it has “severely damaged” trade cooperation, while concerts of Japanese musicians in China have been abruptly cancelled.

Fu demanded that Japan “stop making provocations and crossing the line, and retract its erroneous remarks”, which he said were “openly challenging China’s core interests”.

Ahead of this year’s 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War Two defeat, Beijing has increasingly invoked Tokyo’s wartime atrocities and China’s postwar role in setting up the U.N. as it criticises its Asian neighbour and seeks to reshape the international governance system.

China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has repeatedly emphasised two postwar declarations envisioning that Taiwan and other territories that had been occupied by Japan would be “restored” to Chinese rule.

The Potsdam and Cairo declarations form the basis for China’s legal claims of sovereignty over Taiwan, though many governments view them as statements of intent, not legally binding accords.

Moreover, the declarations were signed by the Republic of China government, which fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. Taiwan held China’s U.N. seat until 1971, when it was transferred to the Beijing government of the People’s Republic of China.

(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by William Mallard)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 21, 2025
‘Rental Family’ spotlights real-life Japanese businesses that offer fill-in relatives and friends

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TOKYO (AP) — Ryuichi Ichinokawa’s life could be right out of the movie “Rental Family” as the founder nearly two decades ago of the Heart Project business in Japan, which he bills as a surrogate attendance service complete with furnishing of extras and family members.

He has hired dozens of people to act like reporters with cameras and voice recorders, taking notes and milling with real journalists to fill up an otherwise rather vacant event. He has posed as the boyfriend of a woman who needs to discuss legal paperwork with her former spouse. And he has gone to a hospital as a stand-in husband for a woman getting fertility treatments.

“I am being of service to people. I hope they will be happy,” said Ichinokawa, a dapper elderly man who asked The Associated Press to not be photographed lest his identity become public.

“Rental Family,” a moving drama from Searchlight Pictures starring Brendan Fraser, is sure to spark interest in Japan’s real-life industry. The film, which opens in theaters Friday, centers on Phillip, an American actor who is recruited by a Tokyo “rental family” agency in need of a “token white guy.” His recurring jobs range from playing video games with a loner to portraying a little girl’s long absentee father. It isn’t long before Phillip starts to become emotionally invested in what were supposed to be superficial relationships. The film’s Japanese supporting cast also bring to life the intense highs and lows of assuming a role in a stranger’s life.

In reality, these niche businesses highlight how deeply people in Japan experience loneliness or worry about keeping up appearances. Outsiders may cringe at the idea of paying amateur actors to be fake family members or friends. But users say they find these services comforting and even healing.

Rental roles can vary and be stressful

The film’s director, Mitsuyo Miyazaki whose professional name is Hikari, was born in Japan yet knew little about the concept. Once she learned about it, she couldn’t stop thinking about what a unique story it could inspire. So Hikari started researching and found hundreds of companies in Japan that offer rental families or similar services. She spoke with several people in that world.

“I kind of started tackling those questions, and interviewed them on what are the necessities of the business that needs to happen in Japan. And then that’s how I kind of built stories,” Hikari said.

Even at a time when people seek company through Artificial Intelligence, she thinks hiring of actors to fill emotional voids will always be in demand.

“I don’t think they will disappear, honestly, it might just probably expand,” she said.

In Ichinokawa’s experience, most people who ask for the service have a certain social status to protect. He has organized visits to a bar for a hostess who wants to impress her employer with lots of clientele. Similar to the movie, Ichinokawa has gone to school events with a single mother and her child, acting as a friendly uncle.

Sometimes Ichinokawa takes extra steps to ensure the facade. If required, he will print fake business cards — which are routinely exchanged at Japanese gatherings.

Some parts are easy, like being a wedding guest who just sits and eats. But it’s often stressful work. You’re coached to avoid uttering the wrong name or background information. You might have to be prepared to talk about childhood memories you have no clue about. Ichinokawa used to scribble names on his hand. He also pores over notes in advance. If he’s really desperate, he excuses himself to the restroom.

Payment for getting rented out varies. For Heart Project, the relatively easy roles can make 9,800 yen ($63) for a couple of hours. For the more elaborate parts, the client dishes out 20,000 yen ($130) to 30,000 yen ($190) per person.

Ichinokawa’s rule is that you only play a role once. To do it more than once is setting yourself up for failure. And he has never failed in his mission, he added proudly.

“I don’t feel I am acting. I really get angry if that’s what the situation requires,” he said.

Japan’s loneliness epidemic

Japan has long grappled with loneliness, high suicide rates and a stigma surrounding mental illness. After a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the country examined how the disasters were affecting mental health, said Miwa Yasui, a professor at the University of Chicago whose research includes the influence of culture on mental health.

Today, there are more mental health providers and an understanding of the need for counseling in Japan. During the pandemic, volunteers focused on teen depression started an online Japanese-language chat service.

Japanese people isolated physically are prone to feeling it internally, said Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, author of “The Anatomy of Loneliness: Suicide, Social Connection and the Search for Relational Meaning in Contemporary Japan.”

“When people feel they’re not loved, they are not accepted, they’re now seeing they’re not heard. The sense of ‘I don’t matter’ is a form of loneliness,” said Ozawa-de Silva, who is also a professor at Emory University.

This can lead to “hikikomori,” where people withdraw socially and become shut-ins for months or even years.

Japanese culture’s collectivist nature also contributes to hiding mental health challenges. Children are taught the principle of “minna no tame ni” or for the sake of everybody, Yasui said. As adults, there is pressure to maintain harmony and make sure the needs of others — work or family — are met.

“Within Asian cultures, there’s a concept of loss of face,” Yasui said. “If you lose that, that actually has significant implications.”

In Ozawa-de Silva’s opinion, renting actors for surface-level intimacy is putting a “Band-Aid” on a deeper problem.

“I’m not against that,” Ozawa-de Silva said. “If people can buy time by renting a family, while pursuing much better long-term solutions, I think the rental family could be a very, very beneficial thing.”

Rental families and real connections

While someone with a Western mindset might find renting actors bizarre, many Japanese people find it reassuring. Much of the written feedback Ichinokawa gets expresses relief or appreciation: “Thank you for today. You really interacted with us like a real mother. My boyfriend kept saying, ‘What a great mom.’” From a male client: “Please relay my regards to the person who played the role of my wife and tell her she was a superb wife.”

The film, which will be released in February in Japan, uses the rental family concept to remind people that human nature’s need for connection is not something you can suppress.

“When you help somebody and if they feel like you’re being supportive, that makes you feel good,” Hikari said. “And a family member doesn’t have to be alway blood-related.”

___ Tang reported from Phoenix.

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November 21, 2025
National Cherry Blossom Festival plans for larger crowd, unveils official artwork – WTOP News

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Artist Tim Yanke’s artwork for the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. was unveiled in Georgetown on Thursday night.

For months, artist Tim Yanke grappled with how to make his work stand out.

After learning he had been selected to create the official artwork for the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C., he wanted to make something that would be untraditional. It couldn’t just be a painting with a cherry tree and the Washington Monument, he thought.

It took eight months to plan and execute, but Yanke’s vision was unveiled Thursday in Georgetown.

While it does feature cherry blossoms and the Washington Monument, the final piece also includes butterflies to represent the 13 colonies and hidden lyrics from songs such as “God Bless America,” which inspired Yanke to feature the words “from sea to shining sea.”

Artwork done by Tim Yanke was selected for the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. The piece features cherry blossoms, the National Monument, hidden lyrics and 13 butterflies. (WTOP/Scott Gelman)

Yanke said the butterflies serve as “an important symbolism, especially in Native American life. It’s everlasting life, renewal, self-transformation and kindness.”

He hopes viewers see unity, happiness and peace in the artwork.

‘The spirit of DC’

During an event at Sequoia, city leaders and event organizers gathered to reveal plans for next year’s festival.

“It celebrates beauty and spring, but even more than that, it celebrates the spirit of D.C.,” Kimberly Bassett, who serves as D.C. secretary, said of the weekslong festival. “It’s a living reminder of the friendship between Japan and the United States.”

That relationship, Bassett said, started with a gift of 3,000 cherry trees. And, to honor America’s 250th birthday, Japan is gifting 250 new cherry blossom trees.

“To mark this historic milestone, these new trees will stand alongside the original cherry trees as a symbol of peace, respect and renewal,” Bassett said.

Next year’s festival, which is scheduled to run from March 20 to April 12, will start with an opening ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall — the first time the venue will host the event.

Diana Mayhew, the festival’s president and CEO, said it will “nearly double the number of attendees that we’ll be able to accommodate, to see a once-in-a-lifetime show with these world-class Japanese performers.”

Many of the festival’s popular events are returning next year, Mayhew said.

“It’s a sense of happiness, joy, renewal, no matter what’s happening in this world,” Mayhew told WTOP. “The festival comes and people are happy and joyous.”

Festival visitors drive more than $200 million in economy activity for D.C., Bassett said.

The 2026 festival celebrates the 114th anniversary of the gift of 3,000 Japanese cherry trees that are planted around the Tidal Basin in D.C.

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© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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November 21, 2025
Japan Approves $135 Billion Stimulus Shot to Help Households, Economy

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TOKYO—Japan’s cabinet has approved $135 billion of stimulus to help households cope with rising living costs and boost economic growth, launching the first fiscal salvo under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The Takaichi administration on Friday signed off on the package totalling 21.3 trillion yen, equivalent to $135.27 billion.

Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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November 20, 2025
Brendan Fraser says America is ‘doing it wrong’ compared to Japan after ‘eye-opening’ experience

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Brendan Fraser is reflecting on the cultural differences he noticed between Japan and the United States.

After spending four months living and working overseas, the Oscar winner shared a candid — and often lighthearted — take on American culture.

During his appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” the host asked the actor, “How was your reintroduction to American culture?”

‘THE WHALE’ STAR BRENDAN FRASER REFLECTS ON EMOTIONAL HOLLYWOOD COMEBACK: ‘I JUST BROKE OUT CRYING’

After spending four months living and working overseas, the Oscar winner shared a candid — and often lighthearted — take on American culture. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD)

Fraser responded with a laugh, “I got back and I went, ‘We’re doing it wrong.’”

He followed up by adding, “We don’t know how to eat … public transport … we don’t have no jetpacks yet. I think we could work on our manners a little bit more.”

The audience laughed and applauded throughout his remarks.

(L-R) Julia Lebedev, Brendan Fraser, Shannon Gorman, Mari Yamamoto, HIKARI, Akira Emoto, Takehiro Hira, and Eddie Vaisman attend the “Rental Family” Los Angeles premiere. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures)

Fraser continued joking that America could take a page — or several — from Japan’s playbook.

He pointed to some of the differences he observed in day-to-day interactions, noting, “It’s anathema to a Japanese person to burden someone else with their troubles … and also saying ‘no’ to someone is a real circuitous sort of ‘maybe not today,’ or ‘perhaps we should try something else.’”

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His comments come as he promotes his latest film, “Rental Family,” in which he plays an American actor embedded in Japan’s “rental family” industry — a real-world service where people can hire stand-ins for emotional or social needs.

The role immersed Fraser deeply in Japanese daily life and etiquette.

Fraser said that exploring Japan on foot helped him connect more deeply with the experience. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures)

“The Whale” star has described living in Tokyo as both “eye-opening” and transformative.

In a separate interview, he explained that the project allowed him to explore new territory as both an actor and a visitor.

“I love the aspect of making discoveries,” Fraser told People.

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That sense of discovery extended to his character, Phillip Vandarploeug, and his own time overseas.

Fraser said he arrived early in Japan to absorb the culture.

“I took the time to come in early enough to feel like I had my own Tokyo story to tell,” he shared.

He added that exploring the city on foot helped him connect more deeply with the experience.

JAY LENO HONORS ‘FOR BETTER OR WORSE’ MARRIAGE VOW AS WIFE BATTLES DEMENTIA

During his appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” the host asked the actor, “How was your reintroduction to American culture?” (Getty Images)

ADAM SANDLER GIVES JENNIFER ANISTON’S NEW ROMANCE HIS PUBLIC BLESSING AT HOLLYWOOD EVENT

“I spent enough time wandering the streets with my pocket translator trying to talk to anybody,” he recalled.

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The firsthand immersion, he said, “was one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve had in my career.”

“Rental Family” is scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 21.

Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.giang@fox.com and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.

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November 20, 2025
Japan says population crisis is “biggest problem”

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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan has called population decline the country’s “biggest problem” and set out an action plan for her ministers to follow in hopes of tackling the issue.

Why It Matters

These demographic trends have hollowed out rural communities, driven up the dependency ratio—the number of working people supporting those outside the labor force—and placed growing strain on social safety nets, threatening the long-term growth of Asia’s second-largest economy.

Japan, like many high- and middle-income countries, has struggled to stabilize its declining birth rate amid the rising cost of living, stagnating wages, and shifting attitudes among younger generations toward work-life balance and parenthood.

The impact is especially pronounced in Japan, which the United Nations has classified as a “super-aged” society—meaning at least 20 percent of the population is over 65. In Japan, that figure is close to 30 percent.

Newsweek reached out by email to Japan‘s Foreign Ministry with a request for comment.

What To Know

“Recognizing that the greatest challenge facing our country is population decline, we have established the Population Strategy Headquarters to comprehensively promote countermeasures,” Takaichi said Tuesday at the inaugural meeting of the body, which she created as one of her first acts since taking office last month.

“These include maintaining essential social security services in local areas, advancing measures to address the declining birth rate, creating living environments in rural areas where people—especially young people and women—can live and work with peace of mind, building new regional economies that generate added value, and promoting coexistence with foreign talent,” she said.

The prime minister outlined a series of initiatives for her Cabinet to implement, such as support for child rearing and other measures to address the population decline. She called for ministers to present a “comprehensive strategy” on revitalizing local economies in depopulated areas and to promote social security reform, including a review of how benefits and burdens are balanced.

Takaichi also directed Kimi Onoda, who leads the newly established immigration office, to follow up on earlier Cabinet instructions and “establish a proper framework for basic research and policy development regarding the acceptance of foreign nationals.”

Japan’s population declined for the 16th straight year in 2024, with just 686,061 births—the lowest since records began, according to Health Ministry data. The country’s total fertility rate, which measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, fell to 1.15, down from 1.20 the previous year.

What People Are Saying

Takumi Fujinami, a senior researcher at the Japan Research Institute, said in an August interview with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper: “These numbers were expected, so there’s no major surprise. The main cause of the declining birth rate is the shrinking population of young people. We’re unlikely to see a dramatic improvement any time soon. I view these figures as ‘indicators’ that reflect the condition of our society.”

Fumio Kishida, former prime minister of Japan, said in 2023: “The youth population will start decreasing drastically in the 2030s. The period of time until then is our last chance to reverse the trend of dwindling births.’

What Happens Next

Japan has already committed significant resources to incentives, ranging from per-child cash allowances and subsidized fertility treatments to some of the world’s most generous parental leave.

Starting in fiscal 2026, the 3.6 trillion Japanese yen ($22.3 billion) in annual spending pledged under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “unprecedented” child and family policy package is set to take effect. It remains to be seen whether this new wave of investment can meaningfully impact the country’s demographic woes.

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November 19, 2025
China Says Trade Cooperation With Japan Taken ‘Great’ Hit

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BEIJING (Reuters) -Trade cooperation between China and Japan has taken a “great” hit following the recent remarks on Taiwan made by the Japanese prime minister, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.

If Japan insists on going down the “wrong” path, China will take the necessary measures, He Yongqian, spokesperson at the Chinese commerce ministry, said at a regular news briefing.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked the most serious diplomatic crisis in years between Asia’s two biggest economies when she told Japanese lawmakers this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan’s survival could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 19, 2025
Taiwan President Shows Support for Japan in China Dispute With Sushi Lunch

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te showed his support for Japan on Thursday with a lunch of Japanese-sourced sushi, after China indicated it would ban all imports of the country’s seafood in an escalating dispute over the Chinese-claimed island.

Tensions between the two countries ignited after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan’s survival could trigger a military response.

Lai, in pictures on his social media feeds, showed himself eating a sushi lunch of yellowtail from Japan’s Kagoshima and scallops from Hokkaido.

“Today’s lunch is sushi and miso soup,” he wrote on his Facebook and Instagram feeds, and used the same wording in Japanese on his X account.

Taiwan’s government, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has in recent years been subject to similar food export bans by China, including of Taiwanese pineapples and fish, in what Taipei has said is part of a Chinese pressure campaign.

Speaking to reporters at parliament earlier on Thursday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said China’s use of economic coercion and military intimidation to “bully other nations are already too numerous to mention individually”.

“At this critical juncture, we must also support Japan in effectively stabilising the situation and halting the Chinese communists’ bullying behaviour.”

Japan and Taiwan have a close though unofficial relationship and deep cultural and business ties. Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895 until the end of World War Two in 1945.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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November 19, 2025