In this week’s news roundup, we report on the Los Angeles Dodgers World Series victory, which led to big celebrations in Japan. North Korea launches its longest ever intercontinental ballistic missile. The LDP loses its majority in parliament following Sunday’s general election. A record-breaking 73 women are elected to Japan’s Lower House. And Mount Fuji is still without snow.
A Huge Number of Fans Gather in Japan To Watch the Dodgers’ World Series Triumph
It was a dramatic night at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers came from 5-0 down to defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to secure their second World Series triumph in five years. Unsurprisingly, the celebrations in LA were wild, with fires lit in the streets. Half the world away in Japan, things were slightly calmer, though there was still a lot of excitement and pride as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto became world champions. Fans gathered around the edge of the Ginza shopping area and single-sheet, special newspaper editions were handed out.
The victory capped a remarkable season for Ohtani, who became the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single campaign. He is now a shoo-in for the National League’s MVP award. As for Yamamoto, he is now the first player to win a World Series, World Baseball Classic and an Olympic gold medal. On the domestic front, Yokohama DeNa Baystars are one game away from their first Japan Series triumph in 26 years. They’ve come back strongly after losing the first two games. They currently lead the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 3-2 going into Game 6.
North Korea Launches Longest Ever ICBM
A day before the launch, Seoul warned that the North was preparing to fire an ICBM close to the pivotal US presidential election, which takes place next Tuesday. Washington, Tokyo and Seoul issued a joint statement on Thursday strongly condemning the launch. Unsurprisingly, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unperturbed. “I affirm that [North Korea] will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces,” he said. Pyongyang, meanwhile, has stepped up its support of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. The Pentagon believes that approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to train in eastern Russia.
Shigeru Ishiba’s Snap Election Backfires As LDP Lose Majority
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a political gamble by calling a snap election even before he was officially confirmed as the country’s new leader. It was not the result he was hoping for, though, as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its single party majority in the Lower House. The party secured 191 seats, while its junior partner, Komeito, won just 24, meaning the coalition fell 18 short of the 233 seats needed for a majority. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), meanwhile, gained 50 seats, increasing its total to 148.
“We have made progress. We still hope to defeat the LDP and the Komei Party,” said Yoshihiko Noda, president of the CDPJ. “I am aware that we have been judged very harshly. We must humbly and solemnly accept this,” was Ishiba’s response to the election result. Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, told the BBC that the election was “about voters who are fed up with a party and politicians they see as corrupt and dirty. But it’s not one where they want to bring about a new leader.”
A Record-Breaking 73 Women Elected to Japan’s Lower House
A record number of 73 women were elected to Japan’s Lower House on Sunday. This year saw 28 more females win seats compared to the last election in 2021. The percentage of women holding seats is now 15.7%, compared to 9.7% three years ago. Despite the increase, the percentage is still far below 50%, which was the goal of Japan’s 2018 Act on the Promotion of Gender Equality in Politics. This Act proposed the principle of having equal numbers of male and female candidates in elections for the House of Representatives, the House of Councillors and local assemblies.
The increase in the number of female candidates this year can be partially attributed to both the LDP and the CDPJ placing a heavier emphasis on fielding women. Among the political parties, the CDPJ elected the highest number, with 30 female candidates. The LDP was next with 19, while the Democratic Party for the People was third with six. The Japanese Restoration Party, Komeito and Reiwa Shinsengumi each nominated four women for the House of Representatives. The previous record number of females elected to the Lower House was 54 in the 2009 general election.
Mount Fuji Remains Snowless: Breaking a New Record
It’s November 1 and Mount Fuji is still snowless. That’s the longest the active volcano has been without snow since records began in 1894. The peak usually begins to see a little snow in early October. News of the record-breaking lack of snow comes in the same week that Simon Stiell, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) chief, said that current national climate plans are falling “miles short of what’s needed to stop global heating from crippling every economy, and wrecking billions of lives and livelihoods across every country.”
Last month, Kyodo News reported that, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the country logged its hottest summer since comparable data started being tracked in 1898, tying the record set in 2023. “Temperatures were high this summer, and these high temperatures continued into September, deterring cold air,” Katsuta told AFP. Last month, almost 1,500 areas had what Japan’s Meteorological Society class as “extremely hot” days, which is when temperatures reach or exceed 35 degrees Celsius. Experts believe that, as well as the unseasonably hot summer and autumn, high levels of rainfall may have also contributed to the lack of snow.
