JAPAN: Whistleblower Leak & more – 29th May 2025

Konnichiwa from BA! This is the Rorshok Japan Update from the 29th of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Japan.

In an update to a story from previous shows, Donald Trump, the US president, seems like he’s in favor of a new partnership between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel, judging by a recent statement. Trump said the company will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh, located on the US’s East Coast, and will likely create 70,000 new jobs and fourteen billion dollars for the US economy. These words alone boosted US Steel’s stock by over twenty-one percent.

However, he still has not given his official approval, which is due by the 5th of June, and the companies involved have not given out the full details of the deal.

In shocking news, a suspected gas leak caused an explosion at a construction site in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward, injuring ten people and setting a maintenance vehicle on fire. Fortunately, the injuries were mild, such as sore throats from smoke inhalation.

The blast damaged the windows and shutters of nearby buildings. A resident reported hearing a thunder-like sound and seeing black smoke. Police believe the explosion may have been triggered by damage to a gas pipe while the construction crew was working on the foundation.

Meanwhile, a third-party committee reported on Tuesday the 27th that Motohiko Saito, the Hyogo Governor, and Yasutaka Katayama, the former Deputy Governor, likely ordered Chiaki Inomoto, a former senior official, to leak personal information about a whistleblower who accused Saito of power harassment. The committee suspended Inomoto for three months for leaking the information, but Inomoto said that Saito was the one who told him to show the document to assembly members.

Saito denied ordering the leak, but said that he felt responsible and would take disciplinary action against himself. Most online users agree that he did order the leak, but quite a few were sympathetic to him, saying that he’s trying his best to get things done to improve Hyogo Prefecture despite a deeply corrupt local government. This raises questions about whether that actually justifies his own underhanded actions. Still, the public’s opinion on Saito is overall divided.

Saito’s not the only government official facing disciplinary action. An appeals court upheld a previous ruling, ordering the central and Tokyo Metropolitan governments to pay over 166 million yen, which is just over a million dollars, in damages for the wrongful arrest and detention of three executives from Ohkawara Kakohki, a chemical machine maker. The Tokyo High Court said the police and prosecutors' investigation into the alleged illegal exports was unlawful.

Police arrested the executives in twenty twenty over suspicions of exporting machinery with potential military applications, but later dropped the charges. The court found the investigation lacked a proper basis and failed to meet standard procedures for determining export control violations.

On another note, Shinjiro Koizumi, the new Agriculture Minister, suggested releasing rice from government stockpiles to lower the price of rice. Recall that in previous shows we mentioned that the average cost of rice has doubled since last year and the government tried to fix the problem by auctioning stockpiled rice to retailers. However, it didn't really affect the price of rice at all.

So, during a visit to Hokkaido, Koizumi said the government would take a different approach and sell 300,000 tons of rice through non-bid contracts, aiming to reduce the price of a five-kilogram or eleven-pound bag to around 2,000 yen, which is fourteen dollars, less than half the current average price. He also said the government would cover transport costs.

However, Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the Democratic Party for the People, got a lot of backlash when he criticized the plans to sell the government rice stockpiles, saying that it would be animal feed in a year. Technically, he is not wrong, as the stockpiles are from twenty twenty-one, and rice that is five years or older is sold as animal feed because it’s not safe for humans. However, some members of the public said he was trying to politicize the issue.

Despite the criticism against Tamaki, there were some users online who agreed that the plan to sell old stockpiled rice wouldn’t work long-term because it didn’t fix issues like the number of rice farmers going down each year, which means less rice being cultivated. Some also pointed out that older rice doesn’t taste as good as newer rice, and that many Japanese people may be unwilling to buy it because of the lower quality.

In business news, NTT Docomo announced on Thursday the 29th that it will acquire a majority stake in SBI Sumishin Net Bank, hoping to strengthen its financial services. Both NTT and SBI Holdings, the bank’s parent company, approved the move and aim to use the bank's functions with D payment, Docomo’s smartphone payment service. Before this, Docomo was the only major Japanese mobile carrier without a bank. Now, the company plans to expand into investments and personal loans.

That wasn’t the only big news in business this week. On Tuesday the 27th, Seven and i Holdings’s board approved Stephen Dacus, the former CEO of Seiyu, as the company's new president, making him the first foreigner to lead the Japanese retail giant. The board also appointed Ito Junro, a member of the company’s founding family, as chairman.

The new appointments are part of the company’s plan to avoid a takeover bid by Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian company. Dacus said he would expand the company’s network internationally to increase profits amid growing competition.

While it seems somewhat ironic that Seven and i is trying to avoid foreign takeover by appointing a foreigner as its head, most Twitter users in Japan aren’t complaining because even though Dacus is not Japanese, his mother is, and he has lived in Japan for many years. So, it’s not like someone who knows nothing about Japan will lead the company.

Speaking of foreigners, a US initiative led by Professor James Nolan Jr., whose grandfather worked on the Manhattan Project, donated a new bronze bell to Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, to replace one damaged by the nineteen forty-five US atomic bombing.

The new bell matches the original in size and weight, and will be installed in the cathedral’s north tower in July. The bell is currently on display alongside the damaged original until Sunday the 1st of June.

Shifting gears, Tokyo police recently arrested Meikyoshisui, a thirty-eight-year-old influencer who gained a social media following by promoting an illegal online casino and posting pictures of himself winning bets. Meikyoshisui’s real name is Makoto Chomabayashi, and he allegedly wagered about ninety-two million yen, which is 630,000 dollars, between twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-five. He also worked as an affiliate for the casino, earning roughly 48,000 dollars. Chomabayashi admitted to knowing it was illegal but thought he wouldn't be caught.

In science news, Japan will begin offshore blue carbon research to capture carbon dioxide (or CO2) using sea plants like kelp and store it in the ocean. Blue carbon refers to the CO2 stored within oceans and seas. The aquatic plants will help reduce CO2 emissions as they grow by absorbing dissolved CO2. Blue carbon will contribute to the decline of CO2 emissions, as the amount of forests that can lower CO2 is going down due to issues such as deforestation.

The Environment Ministry will lead the project alongside some other organizations. Together, they hope to capture one million tons of CO2 annually by twenty thirty-five and two million by twenty forty. If they can achieve it, it would be a huge improvement compared to the thirty-four tons of CO2 captured by coastal plants in twenty twenty-three.

And to wrap up this edition, Okawa Onsen Takegasawa Park in Higashiizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, will start hosting its annual firefly viewing event on Friday the 30th of May. The event will continue until the 8th of June, with toy booths and lots of food to try. The park will charge an entry fee of 300 yen, which is two dollars, that will go towards preserving the fireflies’ habitat.

The park is a twenty-minute walk from Izu Okawa Station.

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

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Mata Ne!