月: 2025年2月

1. Japan’s Agriculture Minister Eto Taku said the government will release 210,000 tons of rice from government stockpiles amid a surge in prices of the staple food. 2. US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to start negotiations to reduce the US trade deficit with India. At a news conference after the summit, Trump said the US runs a huge trade deficit with India.
3.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested he is not pleased that US President Donald Trump spoke first with Russia’s president by phone before talking to him. Zelenskyy expressed concern that Russia may be trying to negotiate bilaterally with the United States in order to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

1. The United Nations says the recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after devastation by Israeli attacks is estimated to require at least 53.1 billion dollars. The UN released a report on its interim assessment for the recovery and reconstruction needs for Gaza on Tuesday. The report says more than 60 percent of homes and over 65 percent of roads have been destroyed in the strip.
2. Authorities in Taiwan say an explosion at a department store in central Taiwan on Thursday has left four people dead and one without vital signs. Footage aired by Taiwanese TV station TVBS shows significant damage to the upper part of the building, with debris scattered on the ground nearby as emergency responders work at the scene.
3. Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have decided to terminate merger talks that would have created the world’s third-biggest automaker group. The companies say they are instead seeking to prioritize “the speed of decision-making” in a rapidly changing EV market. The Japanese automakers started the merger talks in the face of intense competition from US and Chinese rivals in EVs and software development. They originally planned to integrate operations under a holding company. But Honda then switched strategy and proposed acquiring Nissan to make it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Nissan President Uchida Makoto says that proposal was unacceptable.

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip will end, if the Islamic group does not release his country’s hostages. Hamas announced on Monday that it would postpone the sixth round of hostage releases.
2. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DODE, to make drastic cuts to their workforces. The order, signed on Tuesday, requires each agency to “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart.”
3. The head of artificial intelligence developer OpenAI says his company is not for sale. The US-based OpenAI developed the ChatGPT generative artificial intelligence service.

1. US President Donald Trump has formally announced he will place a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports into the United States. Trump said the 25 percent tariff will be applied to all trading partners and that there will be no exceptions.
2. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning the use of paper straws at federal agencies. He criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for promoting the use of paper straws instead of plastic ones.
3. French President Emmanuel Macron says a large artificial intelligence data center will be built in France with investments from foreign companies. Macron was speaking to attendees at the AI Action Summit that opened in Paris on Monday.

1. The latest NHK opinion poll shows the approval rate for Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s Cabinet is 44 percent. This is 5 points up from January. The disapproval rate is 35 percent, which is down 5 points. Ishiba is considering revising the budget bill for the new fiscal year by adopting views from the opposition parties. The ruling parties are a minority in the Lower House.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Sigeru gifted US President Donald Trump a golden samurai helmet and a Japanese vase when the two leaders met in Washington on Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa told reporters on Monday that the helmet was presented with prayers for the health and well-being of President Trump’s family, especially his grandchildren, as the president cherishes his family.
3. China’s media say the country started countermeasures early on Monday against the additional tariffs placed on Chinese imports by the United States. The Chinese government had announced that it would put a 15-percent tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas, and it would also impose a 10-percent levy on goods such as crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine automobiles. The measures are meant to counter the additional 10-percent tariffs placed on Chinese products by US President Donald Trump’s administration on February 4.

1. Another strong cold spell is likely to hit wide areas of Japan on Friday. Forecasters also report that heavy snow is expected, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast. Many areas have seen an unusually high buildup of snow for this time of the year. As of 11 a.m., Niigata Prefecture’s Uonuma City reported more than 3 meters’ worth. Heavy snow is expected in the flat areas of the Kinki and Tokai regions, where it usually does not snow much. 2. Nissan Motor and Honda Motor plan to make a final decision on their potential management integration next week. Their talks are expected to be terminated after Nissan rejected Honda’s proposal to make it a wholly owned subsidiary. The Japanese automakers have been in talks since December about a merger under a joint parent company. But Honda recently changed its strategy and proposed acquiring Nissan’s shares to make it a subsidiary, an offer Nissan has rebuffed. Honda has indicated that it is difficult to continue negotiations unless Nissan accepts. 3. Media reports say US President Donald Trump met US Steel CEO David Burritt at the White House on Thursday. They are likely to have discussed a Japanese steelmaker’s planned takeover of the US firm. Observers say Burritt may have explained Nippon Steel’s plan to buy US Steel and asked for the president’s cooperation to help the deal go through. In January, former President Joe Biden issued an order to block the Japanese steelmaker’s buyout, citing national security’s concerns.

1. The US State Department says the Panamanian government has agreed to no longer charge fees for US government vessels transiting the Panama Canal. But Panamanian authorities managing the canal deny the claim.
2. Nissan Motor has told Honda Motor that it is opposed to Honda’s offer to acquire all of Nissan shares and make it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Nissan President Uchida Makoto told Honda President Mibe Toshihiro that many Nissan board members had expressed their opposition to Honda’s offer. But Honda has already told Nissan that it will be difficult to continue merger talks unless Nissan agrees.
3. Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is on his way to the United States to meet President Donald Trump. He says he wants to establish mutual trust with his American counterpart. Ishiba spoke to reporters before his departure on Thursday. He said: “I’d like to confirm in my meeting with the president that Japan and the US will cooperate in the economic and security fields. That we will work together toward peace, and developing freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”

1. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that its director general will visit Japan this month to inspect the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
2. The coldest air mass of the season is dumping a blanket of snow in many areas, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast.
3. Starbucks Coffee Japan is introducing location-based pricing at select stores to manage rising material and labor costs.

1. US President Donald Trump says he has agreed to a one-month delay on the 25 percent tariffs originally set to be imposed against Mexico and Canada from Tuesday. He cited their willingness to fight drug trafficking and other border issues as a reason.
2. Elon Musk says US President Donald Trump has agreed to shut down the country’s USAID international development agency as part of efforts to cut government spending. The billionaire entrepreneur is now the head of the Department of Government Efficiency and charged with slashing costs.
3. Norway’s embassy in Japan has hosted a celebratory party for last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nihon Hidankyo, which represents survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1. US President Donald Trump says he will speak with Canada and Mexico on Monday before planned tariffs take effect on the two countries. The White House announced on Saturday that Trump would impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. The president said that the countries owe the US a lot of money and “I’m sure they’re going to pay.”
2. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has said he does not expect any disagreement with US President Donald Trump over the importance of the rule of law at their summit later this week. 3. The strongest cold air mass of the season is likely to intensify snowfall and winds on the Sea of Japan coast from northern to western Japan from Tuesday. Officials from the Meteorological Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have jointly issued an alert for heavy snow. They say the influx of cold air is expected to continue for several days and its impact could be prolonged.