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When Daiki Nakamura (now ozeki Onosato) won back-to-back All Japan Sumo Championship titles in 2021 and 2022, it was the first time in 25 years that someone had repeated as amateur yokozuna. Incredibly, after that quarter century long gap — which followed wins by Keiji Tamiya (later ozeki Kotomitsuki) in 1996 and 1997 — the rare and extremely difficult achievement has happened twice in quick succession. On Sunday at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, 23-year-old Shun Ikeda downed Tuvaadorj Bukhchuluun for the second year running to take home the 2024 amateur yokozuna title. Source link

Saitama police arrested a 26-year-old woman Tuesday on burglary resulting in injury charges after allegedly acting as the financial coordinator for a yami baito operation that occurred in October. The suspect, Keiko Muto from the city of Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward, is accused of cooperating with the scheme’s mastermind and receiving stolen funds and transferring payments to accomplices in a violent burglary that occurred on Oct. 1 in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. A joint task force — comprising the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and others in Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures — is also investigating her involvement in a robbery and manslaughter incident that occurred a day earlier in Kokubunji, Tokyo. Source link

DUBAI – Formula One could expand to 12 teams now that General Motors’ brand Cadillac has been accepted as the 11th from 2026, according to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Formula One has always had a provision for 12 in the rules but there was strong opposition from commercial rights holder Liberty Media and existing teams to going beyond 10 before a deal was reached. “Why not?” Ben Sulayem said at Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix when asked if he would like to see the final slot filled. Source link

Seoul – Pohang Steelers inflicted a first Asian Champions League defeat on treble-chasing Vissel Kobe 3-1 on Tuesday, as Yokohama F. Marinos and Gwangju took another step toward the knockout round. Kobe racked up four wins and one draw from their opening five games but Vissel could not cope with a hungry Pohang side looking to haul itself into the eight qualification places in the east table. Han Chan-hee and Kim In-sung gave the South Korean side an early two-goal lead before Kobe’s Daiju Sasaki pulled one back from the penalty spot before halftime. Source link

Japan is planning to implement artificial intelligence to police anime and manga pirating websites that the pop-culture powerhouse accuses of costing it billions of dollars in lost revenue every year. There are at least 1,000 websites illegally offering free downloads of Japanese content, mostly its globally renowned manga graphic novels, a group of domestic publishers claimed earlier this year. But under a ¥300 million ($2 million) pilot program proposed by the Cultural Affairs Agency, AI will scour the web for sites pirating manga books and anime, using an image and text detection system. “Copyright-holders spend a significant amount of human resources trying to manually detect pirated content online,” an agency official Keiko Momii said on Tuesday. But human moderators can “barely keep up” with constantly proliferating illegal content, the agency said in a written statement. The initiative features in the agency’s supplementary budget request for this fiscal year ending in March. It is inspired by a similar project in South Korea and, if successful, could also be applied to other illegally shared films and music. Japan, the birthplace of comic and cartoon epics such as “Dragon Ball” and video game franchises from Super Mario to Final Fantasy, sees the creative industries as a driver for growth on par with steel and semiconductors. In its revised “Cool Japan” strategy released in June, the government said it aims to boost exports of these cultural assets to ¥20 trillion by 2033. Around 70% of pirating sites offering Japanese content operate in foreign languages including English, Chinese and Vietnamese, Japanese publishers say. In 2022, Japan’s gaming, anime and manga sectors raked in ¥4.7 trillion from abroad — close to microchips exports at ¥5.7 trillion, government data shows. Source link

Netflix’s subscribers in Japan surpassed 10 million in the first half of this year with the streaming firm’s Japanese-language programming grabbing attention in the growing market. The subscriber base has doubled in the last four years and the streamer has recently released a string of well-received Japanese-language shows tackling subjects that set it apart from Japanese broadcasters. “This year in particular we’re happy that productions such as ‘Tokyo Swindlers,’ ‘The Queen of Villains’ and reality-romance show ‘The Boyfriend’ have been watched by so many people,” said Kaata Sakamoto, vice president of content for Japan. Only two English-language series, the live-action adaptation of manga “One Piece” and the fourth season of “Stranger Things,” have topped the viewing rankings in Japan since Netflix began disclosing them in 2021. “Japan in particular is a country which wants to see a lot of its own content so we strongly feel the need to produce it,” Sakamoto said. Netflix said in September it has signed a five-year contract with Hitoshi One, the director of “Tokyo Swindlers,” a hit drama about real estate scammers. Streaming has encouraged consumers to watch foreign-language content, with entertainment players looking to Japan in recent years. Amazon has adapted Sega’s long-running “Yakuza” game series and Sony is reportedly in talks to acquire media powerhouse Kadokawa to bolster its entertainment portfolio. Netflix says Japanese content is its third-most-viewed non-English content after those in Korean and Spanish, and its anime titles were viewed more than 1 billion times globally last year. Shares in the streamer, which has been boosted by an ad-supported tier and had 282.7 million subscribers globally as of the end of September, have climbed around 84% so far this year at Monday’s close. Source link

During an unscheduled TV address late Tuesday night, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced the start of martial law, taking effect at 11p.m. In his speech, the nation’s leader vowed to eliminate what he referred to as “pro-North Korean and anti-state forces,” in reference to the majority-holding opposition in parliament. The decision sent shock waves through South Korea, which has not been under such a decree since 1979. Large numbers of protesters descended upon Seoul’s National Assembly building, clashing with police officers and demanding that Yoon step down. At 4:30 a.m., the lawmakers who assembled inside, with some having to bypass barricades to enter the building, voted to overrule the president and lift the decree. Here are glimpses of a night that tested the strength of democracy in South Korea. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a speech to declare martial law late Tuesday night. It was South Korea’s first martial law declaration in over 40 years, following the end of its military dictatorship in the late 1980s. | South Korean Presidential Office / AFP-JIJI Protesters rally outside the main gate of the National Assembly building. South Korea’s constitution allows the president to declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” or situations requiring military intervention to ensure peace and order. | Chang W. Lee / The New York Times People chant “end martial law” outside the National Assembly early Wednesday morning following the president’s announcement. | AFP-JIJI Protesters gather following the president’s martial law declaration. Local media reported that a presidential declaration of martial law could significantly curtail freedom of speech, as the Constitution permits restrictions on press freedom under such circumstances. | AFP-JIJI South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks to the media at the National Assembly after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. “There is no reason to declare martial law. We cannot let the military rule this country,” he said. | AFP-JIJI A protester’s sign reads “Democracy will not surrender to Yoon Suk Yeol” | REUTERS Placards calling for the president’s impeachment are placed on a police vehicle | REUTERS Police attempt to clear a path through a crowd of protesters for a military vehicle arriving at the National Assembly building on Tuesday night. | Chang W. Lee / The New York Times Soldiers clash with protesters in an attempt to enter the National Assembly building. | AFP-JIJI Military forces arrive at the National Assembly | REUTERS Police stand guard near the South Korean Presidential Office and the Defense Ministry in Seoul, following the president’s announcement. Local news agencies report a heavy police presence and helicopters circling the skies. | AFP-JIJI South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning, resulting in a resolution which passed unanimously, demanding the immediate lifting of martial law. By law, the president is obligated to honor the resolution. | AFP-JIJI Soldiers withdraw from the National Assembly after lawmakers voted to block martial law earlier declared by the president. South Korea’s National Assembly secretary general pledged to hold military members “legally responsible” for any “physical damage and illegal acts” during President Yoon’s brief martial law declaration, according to local broadcaster MBC. | Bloomberg In the aftermath, National Assembly officials remove furniture barricades from the doors of the building. | REUTERS Furniture is piled up behind a door which was damaged when military forces broke into the National Assembly building. | REUTERS Following the night’s chaos, people take part in a rally in Seoul to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s removal from power. | REUTERS A rally demanding South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, in the capital on Dec. 4. Yonhap news agency reports that around 40 South Korean lawmakers plan to propose a bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol as early as Wednesday. | Reuters Source link

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is fighting for political survival after declaring martial law on Tuesday night only to rescind it hours later, a surprise move that drew intense criticism and one that will have broad ramifications for regional security, including Seoul’s improved ties with Tokyo. Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday called for Yoon’s impeachment, following the shock measure that he said was directed at “antistate forces” in the National Assembly, the country’s parliament, which the president claimed have “paralyzed” his administration and the workings of the government. The declaration of martial law, which would have banned political activity and censored the media, was quickly rejected by the National Assembly, with all 190 of the body’s 300 lawmakers present — including members of Yoon’s People’s Power Party — voting against it. Source link

Tsutomu Hotta | Jiji Tsutomu Hotta — who investigated as a prosecutor a case known as the Lockheed bribery scandal, one of the largest corruption cases in postwar Japan — died of natural causes on Nov. 24. He was 90. Born in Kyoto Prefecture, Hotta became a prosecutor in 1961 and worked as a member of the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office for about eight years from 1976. In the investigation into the Lockheed scandal, he was dispatched to the United States and attended an interrogation of a former vice chairman of Lockheed, currently Lockheed Martin. In Japan, the scandal led to the arrests of politicians including former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Hotta later served as head of the Justice Ministry’s personnel division, chief prosecutor at the Kofu District Public Prosecutor’s Office and executive at the ministry. After leaving office in 1991, he registered as a lawyer. That year, Hotta established the predecessor of the Sawayaka Fukushi Zaidan public interest incorporated foundation. He led the organization to work on the promotion of volunteer activities amid the aging of the population. Hotta was active in a wide range of fields and selected as head of a study group the welfare ministry set up to discuss measures to improve elderly care services over the medium to long term. He also sat on the government’s Tax Commission. He chaired an expert panel to decide how to distribute donations made to the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. In 2023, he was recognized as an honorary citizen of Tokyo for his achievements in the area of social culture. Source link

Mitsubishi Corp. has suffered a loss of more than $90 million in China after uncovering suspected fraud by one of its copper traders, according to people familiar with the matter. The loss is the latest in a string of recent cases of alleged wrongdoing to hit a major commodity trading house, highlighting the risk that individual traders who handle billions of dollars in commodities may seek to enrich themselves at the expense of their own companies. In October, Trafigura Group said it was facing a $1.1 billion hit in Mongolia involving suspected wrongdoing by its own employees. While the scale of Mitsubishi’s loss is considerably smaller, it has nonetheless sent a chill through the huge but conservative Japanese trading house. Source link