Kyoto University has been selected as a candidate for designation as an “University of International Research Excellence,” a national program that provides government funding to institutions aiming to conduct world-class research. (News On Japan)

The Bank of Japan has decided to raise its policy interest rate to around 0.75 percent, a level not seen in 30 years, prompting questions about how the move will affect the weak yen, rising prices, and household finances across different generations. (News On Japan)

Eastern Hokkaido saw its coldest temperatures of the 2025 winter season again on the morning of December 19th, with authorities urging caution over icy roads as freezing conditions spread across the region. (News On Japan)

Objects resembling human internal organs were found discarded in large numbers of bottles at a garbage collection area inside Osaka City’s Central Wholesale Market in Fukushima Ward in September, raising suspicions that the materials may be improperly disposed medical waste, according to police. (News On Japan)

The Bank of Japan decided on December 19th to raise its policy interest rate to 0.75%, a move expected to have a significant impact on daily life through higher mortgage and deposit rates. (News On Japan)

A prolonged weak yen and rising prices are pushing up the cost of everything, from daily necessities to seasonal treats, prompting Japan’s central bank—often described as the nation’s “guardian of prices”—to step in. The Bank of Japan is trying to curb the weak yen and inflation through interest rate hikes, but doubts remain over whether that alone will be enough. (News On Japan)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that it will increase subsidies for environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles by 400,000 yen. Under a revision to the clean energy vehicle promotion subsidy program, the ministry said it will raise the maximum subsidy for EVs by 400,000 yen to a ceiling of 1.3 million yen. (News On Japan)

As the year-end travel season approaches, a growing problem involving airline tickets has begun to surface, drawing attention from major carriers. Last week, Japan Airlines posted a warning on X stating, "Japan Airlines prohibits the transfer or resale of airline tickets to third parties." The airline said prohibited acts such as ticket resales and transfers are spreading across social media platforms. (News On Japan)

Finland’s prime minister has apologized to Japan, China and South Korea after photographs posted by Finnish lawmakers featuring a so-called “slant-eye” gesture were widely criticized as discriminatory toward Asians. (News On Japan)

Prosecutors have sought a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami in the trial over the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with debate now focusing on how the defendant’s upbringing and alleged religious abuse should influence sentencing in a lay judge trial. (News On Japan)

Electric vehicles, which run without gasoline and emit no carbon dioxide while driving, are drawing fresh attention as two of the world’s biggest manufacturers from the United States and China move into Hokkaido one after another. (News On Japan)

A new law designed to promote free competition in the smartphone app market came into full effect on December 18th, with Apple and Google designated as its primary targets. (News On Japan)

As part of a postwar 80th-anniversary project titled “Passing On, Staying Connected,” this article looks back on the Battle of Okinawa through the memories of Higa Tomiko, who survived one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II by holding up a white flag, reflecting on what she saw as a seven-year-old girl who wandered alone through a devastated battlefield and the feelings she now hopes to entrust to future generations. (News On Japan)

The extraordinary session of the Diet has closed, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi using a press conference to highlight what she described as concrete achievements by her administration. (News On Japan)

Shizuoka Prefecture announced that it held a public auction on December 16 for the governor’s official residence in Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City, with housing manufacturer Sekisui Heim Tokai winning the bid at 710.35 million yen. (News On Japan)

The grand prize has been announced in the annual Creative Four-Character Idiom Awards, which capture the social mood of the year through newly coined expressions, with the winning works unveiled this year through a dynamic calligraphy performance by high school students. (News On Japan)

The launch of Japan’s H3 Rocket No. 8 was aborted just seconds before liftoff on December 17th at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture after an abnormality was detected in ground equipment, prompting an automatic halt to the countdown 17 seconds before launch. (News On Japan)

With just over two weeks remaining in 2025, preparations are in full swing for osechi, the elaborately prepared New Year’s dishes that line Japanese dining tables each year, but few may realize that one of osechi’s most essential ingredients is now facing an unprecedented crisis. Experts are issuing stark warnings that, at a realistic level, kelp could disappear from Hokkaido by the end of this century, raising concerns that extend far beyond holiday cuisine and into the very foundations of Japanese food culture. (News On Japan)

The White House officially released the "National Security Strategy" report at the beginning of the month, outlining the adjustments made by the current US administration in foreign policy. (News On Japan)

"To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime brought untold sorrow to mankind," the statement in the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations regarding its founding purpose is thought-provoking. (News On Japan)