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A transformative 12 months lie ahead as we leave the fearless Year of the Dragon and enter the visionary Year of the Snake (though China starts its zodiac from Jan. 29). Unlike the Year of the Dragon, which was associated with yang (the active principle of the universe in ancient Chinese philosophy, characterized by activity and dynamism and associated with warmth and brightness), the Year of the Snake is a year of the contrasting principle of yin. Linked with qualities such as stillness, darkness and coolness, yin is said to encourage introspection, nurturing and healing in 2025, a slowdown from the ambitious, assertive energy of 2024, according to astrologers. “The snake is markedly different from the dragon, which is authoritative, bold and commanding. On the contrary, the snake is associated with wisdom, calmness, patience and subtle strength,” says Jupiter Lai, a Hong Kong-based astrologer of both the Chinese and Western traditions. The snake’s yin energy, she adds, will manifest “persistence, vitality and refinement, reflecting a year that encourages people to approach and overcome challenges with peaceful resilience and focus.” Source link

Wajima, Ishikawa Pref. – Japan on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the massive earthquake that rocked Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula, leaving more than 500 people dead. Most of the people affected by the disaster have returned to their homes or moved into temporary housing, and are working to rebuild their lives. The death toll from the 7.6-magnitude quake came to 504 as of Friday, according to data from the Ishikawa Prefectural Government and other sources. Source link

Osaka – A towering wooden “Grand Ring” built for Expo 2025 in Osaka pays homage to Japan’s architectural history and is a symbol of unity despite criticism over costs, its creator says. The 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) circumference of Sou Fujimoto’s striking structure will surround dozens of national pavilions at the six-month-long event from April. World Expo, held every five years in different locations, allows participating countries to show off their technological and cultural strengths. Source link

100 YEARS AGO Thursday, Jan. 1, 1925 The New Year is to see Japan well on the road to a new-born prosperity, with the Yen nearer its normal rate of exchange, a renaissance of industry and foreign trade and a restored confidence in Japan on the part of other nations, according to Dr. Takuma Dan, head of the far-flung Mitsui interests, who made this optimistic prediction in an exclusive interview with a representative of The Japan Advertiser yesterday. Source link

In the prologue to Marty Friedman’s recently published autobiography, “Dreaming Japanese” (written with Jon Wiederhorn), the American guitarist describes being the “only non-Japanese person” in an izakaya (Japanese pub) following a concert by singer Nanase Aikawa, with whom he was touring. The gig was “literally my wildest dream coming true,” and while he was already a fluent Japanese speaker he felt “out of my element” at the afterparty. The anecdote in question took place in 2003, not long after Friedman, who made his name as lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Megadeath, had moved to Japan to try and make it performing “Japanese music at the top level,” bringing nothing but his self-taught Japanese and an abiding love of J-pop. He succeeded, thanks mainly to a diligent work ethic. Still, one of the themes in “Dreaming Japanese” is that while Friedman has become a star in his own right in Japan, he still feels that he doesn’t “belong,” as he commented at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) in November: “That’s not going to happen to anyone from outside.” Source link

Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia’s nearly 3-year-old invasion by any means necessary. The Ukrainian leader’s address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country, which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years. “May 2025 be our year,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation just before the clock struck midnight in Kyiv. Source link

New York – Investors are expecting more gains for the U.S. stock market in 2025 after two straight standout years, fueled by a solid economy supporting corporate profits, moderating interest rates and pro-growth policies from incoming President Donald Trump. The benchmark S&P 500 was up 23.31% in 2024, even with a recent speed bump, marking its second-straight year of gains exceeding 20%, lifted by megacap tech stocks and excitement over the business potential of artificial intelligence. The index soared 53.19% over the last two years, the biggest two-year percentage jump since 1998. Source link

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba managed to survive 2024 following his Liberal Democratic Party’s loss of a majority in the Oct. 27 Lower House election, which forced him to to work with opposition parties to secure passage of a supplementary budget. To remain as prime minister in 2025, however, Ishiba will have to pass three tests that require deft use of his political and diplomatic negotiating skills. First, he must get cooperation from at least one opposition party to ensure passage of the 2025 fiscal year budget. Source link

The shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan as competitors from Europe and China sell their own high-speed trains in an increasing number of countries. Source link

Wajima, Ishikawa Pref. – Layers of ashen-brown mud cake the roadside, driftwood lies heaped in mangled mounds, and homes knocked down by landslides rest in eerie silence as the occasional truck roars past — scars left by torrential rain in September that battered the community of Machinomachi, a district in the northern corner of the city of Wajima. Taking the wheel of his minivan, Tsukasa Kurosawa drives through the bleak scene, explaining the work he and his team of disaster relief experts and volunteers have been engaged in since the ferocious downpours flooded rivers and triggered mudslides — dealing yet another blow to residents still struggling to rebuild their lives after a violent earthquake rocked the region on Jan. 1, 2024. A year after a magnitude 7.6 temblor resulted in a death toll that’s expected to surpass 500, reconstruction on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture remains a prolonged and complex ordeal. Source link