In this week’s news roundup, we report on Nissan as the automobile manufacturer announces 9,000 job cuts globally. Also this week, Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s election victory. Mount Fuji finally sees some snow after a record-breaking absence. The body of missing tourist Claudio Worm is found off the coast of Wakayama. Toho Studios delights Godzilla fans with a movie announcement. And in sport, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars win their first Japan Series in 26 years.
Nissan Job Cuts To Affect More Than 6% of Its Workforce
Nissan Motor Corp. announced on Thursday that it is planning to cut 9,000 jobs globally — over 6% of its workforce — while also reducing its global production capacity by 20%. Car manufacturers around the world have been struggling to compete with Chinese competitors, particularly in regard to electric vehicles, and Nissan is no exception. For the last quarter through September, the company lost ¥9.3 billion, compared with a ¥191 billion profit during the same period last year. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida said he would be taking a 50% pay cut from November.
“Sales of our core models did not reach the level we had expected them to. The market environment has become extremely severe,” Uchida told reporters. He admitted that the company didn’t foresee there being such a big demand for hybrid electric vehicles in the States and that has proved costly. It has left the Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer in a dire situation, but Uchida promised that a turnaround was coming. As well as the job cuts, Nissan is also planning to reduce its stake in Mitsubishi Motors from 34.07% to 24.05%.
Japan Reacts to Donald Trump’s Election Victory
It’s been described as “the greatest comeback in political history.” On Wednesday, Donald J. Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, four years after refusing to accept the results of the election that he lost to Joe Biden. A day after Trump’s dramatic victory over Kamala Harris, Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke to the president-elect over the phone. According to Ishiba, they had a five-minute conversation and agreed to meet as soon as possible. “I felt that he was very friendly,” said the Japanese PM. “So, from now on, I have the impression that we can talk frankly.”
There is concern among Japanese netizens that Ishiba will struggle to deal with Trump. While former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the president-elect were famously close, the feeling is that the relationship between Trump and Ishiba will be different. Some have even questioned whether they will be able to enjoy golf together. “The current problem with Trump’s victory is that Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, is no match for Trump,” wrote one user on X. “Trump hates people like Ishiba the most, who act intelligent but refuse to clearly state their conclusions. We need to replace the prime minister immediately.”
Mount Fuji Finally Sees Snow After Record-Breaking Absence
It has been a long time in coming, but there is finally some snow on Mount Fuji. White flakes were spotted at the peak of the active stratovolcano on Wednesday morning by the Japan Meteorological Agency’s branch in Shizuoka and via NHK footage from Fujinomiya city. Clouds obstructing the view meant that the presence of snow wasn’t officially confirmed by the weather agency’s office in Kofu until the following day. The snowcap arrived more than a month later than normal, which is the latest since observations began 130 years ago.
This record-breaking absence of snow on Mount Fuji came after Japan logged its hottest summer on record for a second consecutive year. On September 3, The Asahi Shimbun reported that this summer’s temperatures averaged 1.76 degrees higher than normal, with locations such as Sano in Tochigi Prefecture and Kuwana in Mie Prefecture hitting 41 and 40.4 degrees Celsius respectively in late July and early August. NHK reported that the abnormal heat significantly harmed Japan’s agricultural and fishing industries. Thousands also suffered from heatstroke and the number of deaths were in the hundreds.
Isonoura Coast, where the body of Claudio Worm was found
Body of Missing Tourist Claudio Worm Found off Wakayama Coast
The body of Claudio Worm, a 21-year-old German student who went missing in Japan in October, was found near the coast of Kada, a coastal town in Wakayama Prefecture. The body was spotted drifting face-up off the coast near Isonoura at approximately 2:50 p.m. on November 1. It was retrieved by local maritime authorities and was later identified as Worm’s through forensic examination. Based on the autopsy, officials estimate that he likely died in early October. Although significant decomposition hindered the determination of a precise cause of death, police are investigating the incident thoroughly.
Worm arrived in Japan on September 21 and moved from Tokyo to Wakayama Prefecture on September 30. His last contact with his mother was on the morning of October 10. Surveillance footage from October 11 showed him arriving alone at Nankai Wakayamashi Station. Five days later, a friend of Worm’s father contacted Japanese authorities, urging them to investigate as he had failed to return home as expected for the start of his academic term. Wakayama Police made a public appeal on October 21, sharing Worm’s photograph and requesting information from the public.
Godzilla-1.0 ©2023 TOHO CO., LTD.
Takashi Yamazaki To Direct New Godzilla Movie
On Sunday, Godzilla celebrated its 70th anniversary and fans of the franchise had even more reason to be cheerful following the news that a new movie has officially been confirmed. Toho Studios made the “emergency announcement” on X alongside a short video trailer. It was revealed that Takashi Yamazaki will be working as the writer and director, as he did for last year’s box office success, Godzilla Minus One. The title of the movie has yet to be confirmed and no other details, such as the names of any actors, were included in the video.
It’s also unclear whether the new movie will be a direct sequel to Godzilla Minus One. The third highest grossing film in Japan in 2023, it surpassed Shin Godzilla as the most successful flick in the famous Kaiju series. It also became the first ever Godzilla movie to be nominated for and win an Academy Award, picking up the accolade for Best Visual Effects. Set in Japan shortly after World War II, the 37th Godzilla film, starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, proved extremely popular with fans. Toho will be hoping for similar results from the 38th edition.
BayStars Win First Japan Series in 26 Years
Yokohama DeNA BayStars fans partied into the night on Sunday after watching their side win the Japan Series for the first time in 26 years. They defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 11-2 to secure the title with a game to spare. Manager Daisuke Miura was a key player in the last Yokohama squad to lift the trophy in 1998. Until Sunday, the BayStars had the longest championship drought among the 12 Japanese baseball teams. They finished third in the Central League, so had to play their play-off games against the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants away from home.
In men’s European soccer, Reo Hatate scored his first ever Champions League goal in Celtic’s 3-1 win over RB Leipzig. Three days earlier, Daizen Maeda hit a hat-trick and set up one for compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi in the Hoops’ 6-0 thrashing of Aberdeen. Other Japanese scorers in Europe this week included Takefusa Kubo and Yu Hirakawa for Real Sociedad and Bristol City respectively. NEC Nijmegen’s Koki Ogawa and Brøndby’s Yuito Suzuki both bagged braces. Also on the scoresheet last weekend were Ado Onaiwu (Auxerre), Soichiro Kozuki (1860 Munich), Shuto Abe (RWD Molenbeek) and Yutaka Michiwaki (SK Beveren).
