Latest news with #Inoue
The Mainichi
18-06-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Chusei Mannami sparks home run barrage as Fighters beat Giants
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Chusei Mannami, Torai Fushimi and Shun Mizutani homered in succession to break open the game in the second inning as the Nippon Ham Fighters outgunned the Yomiuri Giants 4-1 in interleague baseball on Tuesday. Nippon Ham starter Kota Tatsu (4-0) continued his strong season, fanning seven over 6-2/3 innings in which he allowed one run on four hits and three walks. Mannami broke the ice for the visiting Pacific League club at Tokyo Dome with his 13th home run of the year, a two-run blast to right field off a full-count slider from lefty Haruto Inoue (3-6). With none out, Fushimi launched a back-to-back bomb off his second pitch from Inoue, lifting it deep over left field. Inoue retired the next two batters before Mizutani joined the home run party with No. 4 of the season to right. The Fighters extended their win streak to three, while Yomiuri's loss was their fourth straight, dropping the Central League club below .500.
CNBC
17-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Why a pacifist Japan seems to be doubling down on arms exports
Japan, renowned for its pacifist constitution, is now setting its sights on the global arms exports market. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani earlier this month told Nikkei that he wanted to promote Japan's defense exports, signaling a clear shift in the country's arms policy, which has so far been largely restricted to catering to the Japan Self-Defense Forces, or JSDF. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has also signaled sharper focus on the defense sector and became the first sitting prime minister to attend DSEI Japan, the country's largest defense exhibition. While the shift in stance comes at a time when global defense spending has been on the rise, Japan's motivations are linked more to its security concerns than profiting from the surge in global arms demand, experts told CNBC. The biggest reason behind this shift is to deepen ties and increase interoperability of Japanese forces with allies and partners, said Rintaro Inoue, research associate at the Institute of Geoeconomics, a Tokyo-based think tank. By exporting its arms abroad, a country is able to improve interoperability with the purchasing parties by standardizing maintenance processes for hardware and creating joint training opportunities. "This rationale has been the main pillar after Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe created the concept of 'proactive contribution to peace' in 2013 which aims to deepen cooperation with other Western countries in this area, and especially in security fields," he said. When the late Abe was in office, he led efforts to revise the interpretation of Article 9 of Japan's constitution to allow the JSDF to more actively contribute to international peacekeeping efforts and defend allies. Japan also wants to develop its defense industrial base, which had been in "very poor conditions" before the country moved to increase its defense budget in 2022, Inoue said. Exports will allow it to achieve the economies of scale needed to make domestic production more viable. Instead of investing in Japan's domestic defense base, the country has largely purchased weapons from the U.S., such as the F-35 fighter jets and SPY-7 radar systems. "This created a severe situation among the defense industry based in Japan, and several companies have left the industry, especially in the supply chain," Inoue said. In 2023, more than 100 companies were reported to have left the defense industry in the past 20 years. Naoko Aoki, political scientist at U.S.-based policy think tank RAND, said that Japanese defense firms have traditionally operated with limited domestic demand from the JSDF. Being able to export defense items means that companies would have a bigger customer base, helping them develop production capacities, lower costs and have more flexibility. "Even if the JSDF needed more of, for example munitions, these companies would not be eager to invest in new facilities to produce more of them, if they think that is a one-time request. If there were more stable demand at a higher level, however, they can justify the investment," Aoki said. As of 2024, Japan's arms exports stood at 21 million TIV — just 0.1% of global arms exports — according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The TIV or trend-indicator value is a measure of the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons. In comparison, neighboring South Korea exported 936 million TIV in 2024, with 3.3% of global arms exports, while TIV for China, the largest Asian arms exporter from 2020-2024 stood at 1.13 billion, accounting for 3.9% of global shipments. Defense is attractive as a growth sector, according to veteran investor David Roche, strategist at Quantum Strategy. "Demand will exceed supply for a decade,he said. So, building domestic capacity is of paramount importance. Roche said that if nations such as Japan stay dependent on the U.S., the Trump administration's more transactional approach will oblige them to pay for much more of their own defense, or defense equipment supplied by the pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech during the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue, earlier this month: "We ask — and indeed, we insist — that our allies and partners do their part on defense ... NATO members are pledging to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, even Germany." "So it doesn't make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea," Hegseth added. "If they distrust the U.S. to honor its treaty engagements, then individual nations must ensure their own security and spend a lot of money doing so," Roche said. Japan in 1967 adopted "Three Principles on Arms Exports" that restricted arms exports, and later expanded those principles to a practically impose an across-the-board ban on arms exports, except for transfers of military technologies to the U.S. The country relaxed this stance under Abe, with former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida easing the curbs further in 2023. The most recent changes allow defense equipment manufactured in Japan under license from foreign defense firms, including finished products, to be exported to the licensing country and from there to third countries. For example, Japan agreed in late 2023 to manufacture — under license — and export Patriot interceptor missiles to the U.S., whose stockpiles were depleted after supplying these missiles to Ukraine. Neighbor South Korea has seen increasing global interest in its arms industry and is striving to become a major global arms supplier. Will Japan be able to compete? Experts says that Japan has the knowledge, skills and technology to be a major arms supplier, but IOG's Inoue warns that Japan may face manufacturing issues due to its falling population and growing proportion of seniors. "I think it's very difficult for Japan to once again focus into manufacturing jobs," he said. RAND's Aoki pointed to still-strict regulations. "Japan has the technical capacity to do many things," but as export regulations remain severe, it will use exports mainly as a tool to strengthen its defense industrial base and defense relations with like-minded countries, particularly the U.S.
Japan Times
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Junto Nakatani wins slugfest against Ryosuke Nishida to unify WBC and IBF titles
Junto Nakatani did not need anyone to tell him that Naoya 'Monster' Inoue was sitting ringside for his WBC and IBF bantamweight unification bout against Ryosuke Nishida. 'I saw him while I was looking up at the big screens,' he said with a chuckle. Nakatani (31-0 put on a show for Japan's most famous fighter, winning an electric and hard-hitting bout to retain his WBC title, relieve Nishida of the IBF belt and remain on a collision course with Inoue. Boxing fans around the world are salivating at the prospect of a blockbuster showdown between Nakatani, an undefeated three-weight champion, and also unbeaten Inoue. That fight, which both boxers have agreed to stage, could come in the spring of 2026. Nakatani, though, had to get past Nishida first. The bout got off to a start worthy of Natakani's 'Big Bang' nickname, as the pair fought at a frantic pace from the sound of the opening bell, as if each had the same strategy to land big blows early and often. 'Being aggressive in the first round and damaging my opponent was my strategy,' Nakatani said. 'I think it was successful.' The crowd, sensing early on that it might be watching something special, roared in approval through the first few action-packed rounds as Nakatani attacked with vicious, looping left-handed punches and uppercuts as Nishida tried to poke through his defenses. Nakatani managed to land a couple of blows early on that caused Nishida's eye to swell. Nishida's eye kept getting worse as Nakatani pushed forward. He was was exclaimed by the ringside doctor in the fifth round. The fight was stopped after the sixth due to Nishida suffering a dislocated shoulder. 'It was my first time to face a fighter like that, and that helped me focus more, and my motivation was even higher than in practice," Nakatani said. Earlier, kickboxer-turned-boxer Tenshin Nasukawa maintained his perfect record with a victory over Victor Santillian. This was a tough fight,' Nasukawa said. 'He was a really tough opponent.' Nasukawa won via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight, 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91. He sounded less-than-pleased after the bout as he stood in the ring drenched in sweat and with blood visible over his left eye. 'I was not able to do well in the match,' he said. The good thing is that we have a lot of work to do.' Nasukawa, who many fans outside Japan saw for the first time in 2022, when he faced former boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a high-profile exhibition on New Year's Eve, improved to 7-0 as a pro boxer. He ditched his famous platinum blonde look and fought with jet black hair, with the character for 'Ten' shaved into the right side of his head. He walked out to Eikichi Yazawa's 'Tomarabai Ha-Ha,' and his green and black robe glittered under the spotlight once he reached the ring. Nasukawa landed a couple of solid blows in the fourth round, but Santillan did not look to be in immediate danger. Nasukawa, though, rocked his opponent with three lefts to the head in the ninth inning, breathing life into the partisan crowd. The fighters aggressively chased the win in the 10th and final round, which devolved into desperate, wild swings from both before the bell rang and Nasukawa wrapped his arms around Santillan. In other fights, Tomoya Tsuboi survived a 10-round battle against Vietnamese fighter Van Thao Tran to win the vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title. Tsuboi could not have asked for a better start to his career, as he claimed a title just 88 days after making his pro debut with a win over Boonrueang Phayom. Tsuboi defeated Tran via unanimous decision, displaying his speed and hitting his opponent with flurries of punches at points during the fight. 'I felt that Tran was very strong physically and mentally, and it was not going to be easy to knock him down,' Tsuboi said. 'So I knew it might go 10 rounds.' The Osaka native later said he wanted to work on finishing off his opponents in future fights. 'I think I learned a lot today by fighting through 10 rounds,' he said. Riku Masuda lived up to his growing stature as the successor of the nickname 'God's Left' in the first main bout of the undercard when he floored Michell Banquez in the opening round of their bantamweight bout. Former bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka was known as 'God's Left' because of his prodigious power, and Masuda is looking to inherit the mantle from the retired great. He looked worthy of the name after following a pair of right-handed jabs with a left to the head that sent Banquez straight to the canvas. Masuda, who has championship aspirations, is ranked No. 7 in the IBF rankings, No. 8 by the WBO and No. 11 by the WBC. 'I think I proved I am a championship-caliber fighter tonight,' he said.
Japan Forward
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
New Music Zine N.E.R.O. Launches June 19 with Shibuya Party and Three Cool Bands
When was the last time you picked up a really good music magazine? You know – a bound sheaf of pages filled with insightful interviews and striking photography of your favorite musicians? If you thought print was dead, now's your chance to witness the birth of a brand new zine: N.E.R.O. Chief Editor Yukiko Inoue is a veteran of the analog world. She began her career as a member of Flipper's Guitar, the seminal late-1980s/'90s Shibuya-kei band led by musicians Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada) and Kenji Ozawa. Later, in 2010, she founded the premium music magazine nero, whose pleasingly thick editions featured bilingual interviews with revered artists from Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to Phoenix alongside a plethora of young up-and-comers. N.E.R.O. founder and Chief Editor Yukiko Inoue. Despite being an independent magazine, nero quickly attracted attention from music fans and fashionistas alike, with its glossy pages featuring exclusive shots from renowned photographers such as Ellen Von Unwerth and Autumn de Wilde. One issue even featured an exclusive cover illustration of French band Phoenix by artist Klaus Voorman, which referenced the cover artwork he made for the Beatles album Revolver in 1966. "I like print," says Inoue simply as we chat in a Shibuya cafe. "A lot of magazines have gone out of business over the years, and it has become tough, but I do believe that magazines, writing and photography will always remain. It's like fashion – the trends go round in circles." Borderless N.E.R.O. Now, Inoue is preparing to launch N.E.R.O., an English language publication made in Japan. It borrows from the aesthetics of fanzine culture to create bite-sized, carefully crafted issues themed around a different music artist each time. N.E.R.O. will launch with a party in Tokyo on June 19 that includes live performances from Melbourne band HighSchool, Paris-based Pol, and Tokyo's Luby Sparks. N.E.R.O. presents borderless night. The new zine's upcoming launch party will feature a live set by Melbourne band HighSchool. Inoue explains that N.E.R.O. was born from the ashes of her previous magazine nero, which faltered during the pandemic. "For various reasons, it felt like a good time to move on," she says. "I had some interviews already planned though, so I decided to find a new way to publish them, in a format that was more suited to the modern era. Magazines don't work the same way they used to, and a website didn't really appeal to me, as I am quite an analog person." With this in mind, Inoue settled on a zine format. While nero was presented as an aspirational magazine that made its bespoke photography look beautiful and timeless, N.E.R.O. will have a scrappier feel. It will be a series of zines devoted to one artist per issue, and readers can choose to buy just the ones they like or collect the whole set. Since each will have matching cover designs, they'll make a great collection. Countdown to the First/Last Issues Inoue is planning a set of around eight issues for this experimental first run – the first two of which feature interviews with HighSchool and POL. (Technically these are the last two issues, as they will count down backwards to zero, ending with an issue focused on Nick Knight.) Paris-based duo Pol will leave their first impression on Tokyo fans at the N.E.R.O. launch party in June. "In July, the next issues will be about Turnstile and Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, who will be coming that month to play at the Fuji Rock Festival," says Inoue. "The great thing about doing separate issues about each band rather than one big magazine is that each issue can be timed to release when the band is in Japan, so fans can see their show and pick up the zine at the same time." The bands featured in N.E.R.O. are not exactly household names, as Inoue has a passion for discovering artists early in their career. Some of her discoveries have gone on to become relatively big, such as Sky Ferreira, The 1975 and Clairo. But more importantly, Inoue brings a sense of human curation that is essential in this digital world. The lineup for the June 19 launch event at Shibuya WWW is a great example of this approach, with three bands whose sound is individually unique yet who complement each other perfectly. If you like one of them, you'll probably like all three. Advertisement First Invites Melbourne band HighSchool "The first band I invited to join the party was HighSchool," explains Inoue. "They first came to play in Japan last year (2024), and I love their music and live performance. They have a nostalgic sound that reminds me of New Order and Joy Division, so I think they'll appeal to fans of that kind of music." HighSchool's bright guitar tones, downbeat vocal delivery and confessional lyrics recall classic British bands like The Smiths and New Order, while their live shows carry an intensity that is electrifying. Luby Sparks The next addition to the lineup was Luby Sparks, a Tokyo-based band. "I don't listen to much Japanese music, but I'm good friends with the band, and I thought they would be a good match for HighSchool," says Inoue. While Luby Sparks hail from Japan, their music homages the dreamier end of the '90s Britpop scale, underpinned with a US alternative-rock heart. The music video for their single One Last Girl featuring bedroom-wall posters of Echobelly alongside raunchier artists like Hole and Joan Jett, giving a clear indication of their influences. French band Pol Adding Goth and a Touch of France Deciding that inviting only one foreign band and one from Japan was not quite enough of a challenge, she added Pol to the lineup, flying them in from France. The band's music takes things a little further back to the '80s, with their guitar and synth combo drawing from the well of Gary Numan and the Human League. "Pol are not very well known in Japan yet, but they have a great visual style and their music has so much potential, especially since the type of new wave music they make is due a resurgence," says Inoue. Lillies and Remains vocalist Kent will perform a special DJ set. In addition, Kent, the vocalist from cult Japanese band Lillies and Remains, will also appear as a guest DJ, adding a ripple of Goth to the event. "There will be elements of guitar-pop and Goth, but it's all through the filter of just one person – me – so even if you don't know all the bands, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as an event," says Inoue. "People who love music and beautiful things, and people who want to meet likeminded people – give it a chance and come check out the show!" Advertisement Representing Asia's Music Scene The HighSchool and Pol issues of N.E.R.O. will be available to buy at the launch party. All the issues will also eventually be available to order online, with overseas delivery likely available too. Each issue will be published in English, with a foldout insert that includes Japanese translations. Melbourne band High School. Inoue writes the bilingual versions of her interviews with the help of a translator and an interpreter. For now, the majority of the musicians she interviews are from the West. However, she originally envisioned nero as a magazine that could represent Asia's music scene and which could be read in English around Asia and elsewhere around the world. Her new zine takes a similar approach, embracing a "borderless" concept. Inoue's selective approach means she is able to channel her passion for each artist into her interviews. In turn, that encourages them to open up. For example, in Volume 8 of nero magazine, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon spoke in detail about personal topics such as their family dynamic, making for an unusually engaging article. Tokyo band Luby Sparks round out the bill at N.E.R.O.'s launch event. Inoue's Secret: Listening "I've been told that I'm like a counselor," she says. "With Sean Lennon, he was a fan of my magazine, and he offered to pay a photographer he liked (Greg Kadel) so we could do a cover shoot together. I don't know why, but music producers like Mark Ronson seem to connect with what I do as well, and they really open up to me. Maybe it's because I'm a good listener." As someone who has interviewed hundreds of creative people myself over the past couple of decades, I know how hard it is to build a rapport with someone in the few minutes before you hit record, and to have them forget their media training and speak from the heart. So I ask Inoue her tips for getting the best out of her interviewees. "The most important thing is to listen to their music over and over beforehand," she replies. "If you love their music, you'll have no problem finding questions to ask them, because you're naturally interested in what they have to say. "And then you have to listen carefully to their responses and follow up with deeper questions. If you do it with love, they can tell." Advertisement Interested in the June Event? N.E.R.O. presents borderless night takes place on June 19 at Shibuya WWW in Tokyo. It includes live performances from HighSchool, Pol & Luby Sparks. For tickets and further information about the show and the first issues of N.E.R.O., visit or RELATED: Interview by: Daniel Robson Read Daniel's artist interviews and his series Gamer's World on JAPAN Forward, and find him on X (formerly Twitter).
Japan Forward
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Kosei Inoue Poised for National and Global Judo Leadership Posts
Judo legend Kosei Inoue maintains an active lifestyle. For the foreseeable future, his daily calendar will get even busier. The men's under 100-kg division gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics is in the running for new administrative posts with the All Japan Judo Federation and the International Judo Federation. According to published reports, Inoue was formally approved as a candidate for the AJJF's board of directors during the organization's online meeting on Thursday, June 5. An election for the board's new members will be held on June 24. Ken Takayama, secretary general of Japan's judo governing body, believes Inoue is an ideal candidate to serve in a leadership role. "He has a strong sense of unity, knowledge of judo and energy. We have high expectations of him in all aspects," Takayama was quoted as saying by The Sankei Shimbun . Inoue, who turned 47 on May 15, previously served as the Japan men's national team head coach, including at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. He also served on the AJJF's strengthening committee as a vice chairman. After stepping down as head coach in 2021, Inoue reiterated his passion for the sport. "Judo and sports will remain my contributions to the world," Inoue said at the time. In related news, All Japan Judo Federation President Shinichi Nakamura is expected to be reappointed for another term.
