In this week’s news roundup, we report on the arrest of a 43-year-old man in connection with the McDonald’s Kitakyushu stabbings last Saturday. In the States, Akie Abe, the widow of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meets Donald Trump. Honda and Nissan are reportedly discussing a potential mega-merger. An unexploded American bomb is detonated and removed from a building demolition site in central Nagoya. The price of climbing Mount Fuji is set to increase. And Naoya Inoue’s Christmas Eve clash with Sam Goodman is postponed.
43-Year-Old Man Admits to McDonald’s Kitakyushu Stabbings
A 43-year-old man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of stabbing two junior high school students at a McDonald’s in Kitakyushu. Saaya Nakashima, a 15-year-old girl, died in the attack. Her male classmate was seriously injured after being stabbed in the waist. Authorities said it could have been fatal. The suspect has been identified as Masanori Hirabaru, 43. He has reportedly admitted to the stabbings. According to NHK, a woman who lives near the suspect’s home said she had heard him shouting something using what looked like a loudspeaker several times. Another neighbor described him as a well-built man who could often be heard listening to loud music.
The tragedy unfolded in just 30 seconds at a McDonald’s in Kitakyushu’s Kokuraminami ward at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two students were waiting in line to order at the cash register when a man suddenly stabbed them without speaking. According to the survivor of the incident, they were attacked by “a complete stranger.” The suspect spent less than half a minute inside the fast-food restaurant and fled the scene by car. Police analyzed security camera footage to track down Hirabaru, the man they believe is involved. They took him in for questioning on Thursday morning. Hirabaru was taken into police custody on Thursday morning on an initial charge of attempted murder of the 15-year-old survivor of the attack. The weapon has yet to be found.
Trump Meets Akie Abe, Says Meeting With Ishiba Possible Before Inauguration
The US president-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania met with Akie Abe, the widow of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday. The former president, who is set to return to the White House for his second term on January 20, had a very close relationship with Akie’s late husband. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Trump described the former Japanese prime minister as “a great man.” He added, “His wife wanted to know if it would be possible to have dinner. It was just out of respect to Shinzo.”
The meeting raised some eyebrows in Japan as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has yet to be able to hold an in-person meeting with Trump despite attempting to do so on his way back to Tokyo from South America in November. Trump said that a meeting with Ishiba before his inauguration is possible if the Japanese government wants it. “Yes, I’d love to see the prime minister,” he told reporters on Monday. “We will do that. I actually sent him a book and some other things for him through Mrs. Abe.” Later in the day, he announced George Glass as the next United States Ambassador to Japan.
Honda and Nissan Could Be Set for Mega-Merger
On Tuesday, the Nikkei financial newspaper reported on a potential mega-merger between carmakers Nissan and Honda. Neither company denied the story. “We’re discussing possibilities for cooperation between Honda and Nissan in the future, in a wide range of fields and in various areas, and those possibilities include the latest reports, but there’s nothing decided,” a Honda spokesperson told AFP. Talks are still believed to be at an early stage, but, according to Japanese media, the two companies could make an announcement by December 23. A merger between the two companies would create the world’s third-biggest automaker group behind Toyota and Volkswagen.
Honda and Nissan are Japan’s second- and third-largest car manufacturers. Between them, they sold around 7.35 million vehicles last year — 3.98 million and 3.37 million respectively — but are both struggling to compete against cheaper electric vehicles (EV) from China, such as BYD (Build Your Dreams), which earlier this year reported record-breaking quarterly revenues, surpassing Tesla for the first time. Beyond BYD, other Chinese EV manufacturers such as Nio, Zeekr, Xiaomi and Xpeng all recently broke personal sales records. In an attempt to catch up with Chinese competitors, Honda and Nissan put their rivalries aside to work together on EV technology, starting in March.
Unexploded WWII Bomb Detonated by SDF in Nagoya
An unexploded American bomb weighing around 250 kilograms was detonated and removed from a building demolition site in central Nagoya on Sunday morning. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) began removing the fuses from the bomb at approximately 10 a.m. While the operation was being carried out, a 300-meter radius security zone was set up. The city called for the evacuation of approximately 2,400 households, made up of more than 3,700 residents. The Higashiyama Subway Line between Sakae and Ikeshita stations and the Sakuradori Line between Taikodori and Imaike stations were both suspended. City buses were also detoured to avoid the area.
The bomb was discovered by a construction worker on October 17, 2024, in Nagoya’s bustling Higashi district. “I was digging with heavy machinery when I found a rusty, cylindrical object about three meters underground,” he said. “When I lifted it, it looked like a bomb. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” By midday, two fuses of the unexploded bomb were removed by the SDF. The subway services resumed shortly after and residents were given the green light to return to the area. It’s believed that hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried throughout Japan.
Mount Fuji To Double Toll Fees Next Year To Address Overcrowding
Starting next summer, the toll fee for Mount Fuji’s most popular trail will double from ¥2,000 to ¥4,000 in an effort to discourage overcrowding. The Yamanashi prefectural government also plans to close the entrance gate at the trail’s fifth station two hours earlier, at 2 p.m., to prevent overnight bullet climbers. Known in Japanese as dangan tozan, bullet climbing refers to the practice of climbing at night without taking enough rest the previous day. The aim is to reach the summit before sunrise, before descending without stopping. It is considered dangerous because it can lead to altitude sickness, injuries and other illnesses.
Shizuoka Prefecture also plans to charge a ¥4,000 climbing fee and restrict access from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. for its three trails to Mount Fuji’s peak. The governors of both prefectures are working together to curb overtourism for the summer climbing season. Preventative measures to combat overcrowding were already implemented by Yamanashi Prefecture back in July, when a gate was installed at the fifth station along the Yoshida Trail. Other changes included capping the number of climbers per day to 4,000, closing trail hours between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m. and adding a ¥2,000 toll fee per person.
Naoya Inoue’s ‘Nightmare on Christmas Eve’ Clash Postponed
Naoya Inoue’s “Nightmare on Christmas Eve” clash with Sam Goodman has been postponed due to the latter suffering an eye injury while sparring. The Australian reportedly needed stitches to patch up a significant wound above his left eye. The bout will now take place at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on January 24, 2025, instead. “I’m sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it,” wrote Inoue on his X account. “We hope you will come again on the new dates. Let’s fight at our best.” The Japanese boxer, nicknamed “the Monster,” is a four-weight world champion and one of boxing’s pound-for-pound stars.
Japan’s WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei was due to fight Yuttapong Tongdee of Thailand as part of the Inoue undercard on January 24. On Wednesday, though, he announced that he would be pulling out after suffering a cartilage tear in his right shoulder. In other boxing news, Ryosuke Nishida defeated Thailand’s Anuchai Donsua to win the first defense of his IBF bantamweight world title on Sunday. He finished off his opponent with a body blow in the seventh round at Sumiyoshi Sports Center in Osaka. Nishida claimed the title in May after defeating Emmanuel Rodríguez of Puerto Rico by unanimous decision.
