JAPAN: Nuclear Power Plant Lawsuit & more – 12th June 2025

Konnichiwa from BA! This is the Rorshok Japan Update from the 12th of June twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Japan.

The Tokyo High Court dismissed a lawsuit demanding that former Tokyo Electric Power Company or TEPCO executives pay damages over the twenty eleven Fukushima nuclear accident. This move overturned a lower court's ruling that told the operators of the nuclear power plant to pay up. The lower court ordered them to pay thirteen trillion yen, which is ninety billion dollars, in damages to cover compensation and cleanup costs. It said that the TEPCO executives hadn't done their due diligence according to a two thousand two government seismic assessment, which the lower court said made anti-tsunami measures mandatory.

However, the High Court ruled that TEPCO was not legally required to act on the assessment.

The plaintiffs plan to appeal the decision.

Further south, an unexploded World War II bomb detonated on Monday the 9th at a depot in Okinawa's US Kadena base in southern Japan, injuring four Japan Self-Defense Forces or SDF members. The blast occurred during the rust removal from the bomb to identify exactly what type it was. Thankfully, injuries were not life-threatening, and were mostly just burns and shrapnel wounds.

The depot, managed by Okinawa Prefecture, stores unexploded bombs and is used by the SDF's bomb-disposal squad. This marks the first time since nineteen seventy-four, when the SDF's bomb disposal unit was established, that a bomb explosion has injured its personnel.

Meanwhile, the Osaka Expo in western Japan just can’t catch a break. The Japan Association for the twenty twenty-five World Exposition, which runs the Expo, created a task force on Tuesday the 10th after health authorities found legionella bacteria at the Expo. More specifically, the bacteria were in the Water Plaza and Forest of Tranquility areas on Yumeshima Island. Following health authority advice, the association temporarily paused the Water Plaza fountain and water shows and started working to drain the area so they could get rid of the bacteria.

Quite a few people criticized the organizers, saying it took way too long to start dealing with the problem considering that they first detected the bacteria last week on Thursday the 5th.

With elections coming closer and so many people worried about rising living costs, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has proposed giving cash handouts to the public. The party said that the handouts could be tens of thousands of yen, which is hundreds of dollars, per person, funded by extra tax revenue.

However, the opposition party argues that cutting the consumption tax instead would be a much better move, but the ruling party doesn’t agree.

The Upper House election is set for the 20th of July, with campaigning starting on the 3rd of July.

Speaking of government plans, another one hopes to revitalize bookstores by promoting the use of digital equipment and IC tags to make management and operations easier. The ultimate goal is to help turn neighborhood bookstores into cultural hubs. A study group will keep track of what books sell best using IC tag data to help maximize bookstores’ efficiency. The plan also includes subsidies for digital tools and encourages collaboration with libraries and cashless payment support.

In international news, this year’s Group of Seven or G7 summit will take place starting on Sunday the 15th in Canada, where many global leaders will meet. On Wednesday the 11th, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said that he hoped to talk to Donald Trump, the US president, on the sidelines of the summit about making a tariff agreement so that Japan won’t have to pay twenty-four percent tariffs in trades with the US.

Akazawa Ryosei, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, will also be making a trip to the US around the same time to continue tariff negotiations with US officials.

Still on the international front, Japan's Defense Ministry said that a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft over international waters near Okinawa on both Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th. The Chinese jet got within forty-five meters or 148 feet of the Japanese aircraft, following it around and even flying 900 meters or half a mile directly in front of it.

Aside from the possibility of collision, a jet flying too close to another aircraft can cause engine issues from the jet's exhaust. The jets likely came from two of China’s aircraft carriers that were operating in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The Defense Ministry hasn’t taken any real action yet, but plans to keep an eye on the situation.

In imperial news, Princess Kako of Japan is currently visiting Brazil on an eleven-day trip that marks the 130th anniversary of Japan-Brazil diplomatic relations. During her visit, the princess met with Japanese community members and São Paulo's governor, and visited a memorial to early Japanese immigrants. She praised the efforts of Japanese immigrants in adapting to Brazil and strengthening bilateral ties. The Brazilian state of São Paulo also awarded her the Order of the Ipiranga, the highest honor the state gives to those who have done a great service for the people

Brazil is home to the world’s largest Japanese-descended population, with around 2.7 million people. Princess Kako is scheduled to visit several cities during her visit. On Wednesday the 11th, she visited Brasília and met President Lula da Silva. She also visited Brazil’s Congress for a ceremony celebrating the 130th anniversary of relations.

Shifting gears, Teikoku Databank, a business research company, said that shops and restaurants that specialize in selling Japanese lunch boxes called bento will likely face a record number of bankruptcies in twenty twenty-five. The bento shops’ biggest problem is the rising cost of ingredients, particularly rice, which is a huge part of almost all traditional bento meals. While some larger chains are doing okay, many smaller shops are struggling.

A few online users speculated that the bento shops going bankrupt are most likely the ones that cut corners and pack reheated frozen foods into their lunch boxes, not higher-quality shops that use fresh ingredients and hand-make everything.

In the gaming industry, Nintendo announced that it sold a record 3.5 million units of the Switch 2 within the first four days of its global launch, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo hardware in that timeframe. The Switch 2 has a larger screen and is faster than its predecessor, the original Switch, which has already sold 152 million units since twenty seventeen.

Despite strong initial sales, some analysts said that its higher price tag of 450 dollars might make long-term sales tough. Even so, Nintendo hopes to sell fifteen million Switch 2s this fiscal year.

In an update to a story from last week’s show, Hakuho, the retired sumo legend, announced in a press conference on Monday the 9th that he is leaving the Japan Sumo Association. This follows the association shutting down his stable because of abuse allegations against his trainee, Hokuseiho.

Despite this, Hakuho said he had no regrets and plans to promote sumo globally through a new project, the World Sumo Grand Slam, targeting amateur wrestlers. He hopes he can use sumo to combat discrimination and promote peace.

And to close this episode, Kimiko Nishimoto, also known as selfie grandma, a beloved Japanese photographer known for her humorous, photoshopped self-portraits, died on Monday the 9th at ninety-seven from cancer. Born in Brazil and raised in Kumamoto Prefecture, she became a photographer at seventy-two after earlier careers as a hairdresser and cyclist. Her playful, often absurd selfies earned her the nickname selfie grandma and over 380,000 Instagram followers. Her funeral will be private, with Kazutami Nishimoto, her son and art director, as chief mourner. He said she enjoyed a joyful later life surrounded by wonderful people.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Mata Ne!