Shikinami
@shikinami.bsky.social
MA in Public Policy. UTokyo GraSPP alumnus. Trying my hand at the Japanese content industry. I stand for Human Rights. RTs≠endorsements He/him.
It’s baffling for a country drowning with tourists that access to Narita Airport remains this awful (two really expensive dedicated trains or an uncomfortable regular train line via Oshiage.
Whenever I have an option I always pick Haneda, but the savings this time were over 60k yen…
Whenever I have an option I always pick Haneda, but the savings this time were over 60k yen…
December 22, 2025 at 7:06 AM
It’s baffling for a country drowning with tourists that access to Narita Airport remains this awful (two really expensive dedicated trains or an uncomfortable regular train line via Oshiage.
Whenever I have an option I always pick Haneda, but the savings this time were over 60k yen…
Whenever I have an option I always pick Haneda, but the savings this time were over 60k yen…
Mark my words: the first of many artists to make allegiance pledges to the government.
Again, this is not business as usual - if you thought otherwise you’re in for more “surprises” like this one.
Again, this is not business as usual - if you thought otherwise you’re in for more “surprises” like this one.
Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona that was memorializing late activist Charlie Kirk, and used her time on stage to praise Trump and Vance as “role models” for young men, AP reports
Nicki Minaj Surprises Conservatives With Praise for Trump, Vance at Charlie Kirk Memorial Event
Female rapper Nicki Minaj on Sunday made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona that was memorializing late activist Charlie Kirk, and used her time on stage to praise President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men.
bloom.bg
December 22, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Mark my words: the first of many artists to make allegiance pledges to the government.
Again, this is not business as usual - if you thought otherwise you’re in for more “surprises” like this one.
Again, this is not business as usual - if you thought otherwise you’re in for more “surprises” like this one.
And yet no action taken.
Japan’s Top FX Diplomat Mimura: Recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves-fx
December 22, 2025 at 2:17 AM
And yet no action taken.
Yikes
日本の経営者、18%がAI対応で「1年以内に人員削減」
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
雇用への影響を世界の経営者が見込みます。業種別では消費財メーカーや小売りでの人員削減の意向が、テックや電気通信分野を上回りました。
KPMGインターナショナルが世界11カ国の経営者を対象に調査しました。
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
雇用への影響を世界の経営者が見込みます。業種別では消費財メーカーや小売りでの人員削減の意向が、テックや電気通信分野を上回りました。
KPMGインターナショナルが世界11カ国の経営者を対象に調査しました。
日本の経営者、18%がAI対応で「1年以内に人員削減」 KPMG調べ - 日本経済新聞
人工知能（AI）導入に伴う人員削減が始まった。KPMGインターナショナルによる世界の企業経営者を対象にした調査によると、AI対応で1年以内に人員削減を計画する経営者が15%にのぼり、日本では18%が計画していると回答した。業種別では消費財メーカーや小売り、医療分野などが20%水準で他の産業よりも高かった。KPMGが9月までに調査を実施し、北米や欧州、中国、インド、日本の世界11カ国の1350人
www.nikkei.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Yikes
Reposted by Shikinami
Finally, if you can get through the paywall this piece from earlier in the week illuminates how the experience above is just a tiny part of an industrial-scale, global, and sector-wide catastrophe of AI and citations to nonexistent papers in academic publishing bsky.app/profile/mile...
Academics and technologists are sounding the alarm about a growing crisis in scholarship as we know it: AI-generated citations of nonexistent papers that have infested real journals. Despite being fake, the sources are widely assumed to be authentic the more they appear in published literature.
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Finally, if you can get through the paywall this piece from earlier in the week illuminates how the experience above is just a tiny part of an industrial-scale, global, and sector-wide catastrophe of AI and citations to nonexistent papers in academic publishing bsky.app/profile/mile...
Reposted by Shikinami
トランプ運動MAGAの未来は？
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
約10年で国民の15%が「MAGA運動の担い手」を自認するほどに発展。
欧州・アジアにも影響を及ぼす一方、内部では多くの亀裂も生じています。
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
約10年で国民の15%が「MAGA運動の担い手」を自認するほどに発展。
欧州・アジアにも影響を及ぼす一方、内部では多くの亀裂も生じています。
December 21, 2025 at 3:00 AM
トランプ運動MAGAの未来は？
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
約10年で国民の15%が「MAGA運動の担い手」を自認するほどに発展。
欧州・アジアにも影響を及ぼす一方、内部では多くの亀裂も生じています。
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO...
約10年で国民の15%が「MAGA運動の担い手」を自認するほどに発展。
欧州・アジアにも影響を及ぼす一方、内部では多くの亀裂も生じています。
Was super happy to finally catch Baldur’s Gate 3 on sale on GOG only to be horrified that even with 25%OFF, the $45 price tag would still set me back 7k yen…
Considering that we are certain to have a Truss-like crisis with Takaichi next year, it might be the cheapest in the near future but still…
Considering that we are certain to have a Truss-like crisis with Takaichi next year, it might be the cheapest in the near future but still…
December 21, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Was super happy to finally catch Baldur’s Gate 3 on sale on GOG only to be horrified that even with 25%OFF, the $45 price tag would still set me back 7k yen…
Considering that we are certain to have a Truss-like crisis with Takaichi next year, it might be the cheapest in the near future but still…
Considering that we are certain to have a Truss-like crisis with Takaichi next year, it might be the cheapest in the near future but still…
Holy moly, was about to buy an eSIM via Airalo but decided to check local providers at home and the difference was massive: 7k yen via the former vs less than 2k yen via a local carrier.
Glad I looked beforehand.
Glad I looked beforehand.
December 20, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Holy moly, was about to buy an eSIM via Airalo but decided to check local providers at home and the difference was massive: 7k yen via the former vs less than 2k yen via a local carrier.
Glad I looked beforehand.
Glad I looked beforehand.
Yet another day doing Xmas shopping - hearing the same Xmas songs in every single store 🫠
Having a break at a Segafredo and finally got some holiday music variety - props to them for picking a slightly different playlist lol
Having a break at a Segafredo and finally got some holiday music variety - props to them for picking a slightly different playlist lol
December 20, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Yet another day doing Xmas shopping - hearing the same Xmas songs in every single store 🫠
Having a break at a Segafredo and finally got some holiday music variety - props to them for picking a slightly different playlist lol
Having a break at a Segafredo and finally got some holiday music variety - props to them for picking a slightly different playlist lol
There’s so much they can do to make it nigh impossible to get PR even without an N1 requirement. They can, for example, add an exam to the upcoming mandatory course that includes Japanese history and literature an and only accept those who get 100% of the answers correctly.
THERE IT IS.
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
Japanese proficiency eyed as permanent residency requirement www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12...
December 20, 2025 at 2:01 AM
There’s so much they can do to make it nigh impossible to get PR even without an N1 requirement. They can, for example, add an exam to the upcoming mandatory course that includes Japanese history and literature an and only accept those who get 100% of the answers correctly.
THERE IT IS.
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
Japanese proficiency eyed as permanent residency requirement www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12...
Japanese proficiency eyed as permanent residency requirement
To obtain the status, foreign nationals will also be mandated to take a program aimed at helping them smoothly integrate into local communities.
www.japantimes.co.jp
December 20, 2025 at 1:41 AM
THERE IT IS.
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
All they need to do is to require JLPT 1 and they will succeed in making PR near impossible (JLPT 2 holder here with very little extra time to add studies on top)
A nice change I’ve observed over the years is the increase of high school girls “rebelling” against uniforms by… wearing their PE pants under skirts during winter. There’s 0 reason for kids to undergo discomfort for the sake of a dress code - I hope this will bring some relaxation of outdated rules
December 20, 2025 at 1:18 AM
A nice change I’ve observed over the years is the increase of high school girls “rebelling” against uniforms by… wearing their PE pants under skirts during winter. There’s 0 reason for kids to undergo discomfort for the sake of a dress code - I hope this will bring some relaxation of outdated rules
Reposted by Shikinami
2025's last Japan Daily Briefing, free for all:
-Takaichi gov faces calls to fire official who discussed nukes
-LDP+Ishin finalize FY2026 tax plan, as DPFP celebrates victory
-Diet opening date could have electoral implications
-BOJ raises rates, JPY falls
observingjapan.substack.com/p/nuclear-ta...
-Takaichi gov faces calls to fire official who discussed nukes
-LDP+Ishin finalize FY2026 tax plan, as DPFP celebrates victory
-Diet opening date could have electoral implications
-BOJ raises rates, JPY falls
observingjapan.substack.com/p/nuclear-ta...
Nuclear taboo tested | Japan Daily Briefing
Opposition lawmakers call for official to be fired for nuclear weapons comment
observingjapan.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:31 PM
2025's last Japan Daily Briefing, free for all:
-Takaichi gov faces calls to fire official who discussed nukes
-LDP+Ishin finalize FY2026 tax plan, as DPFP celebrates victory
-Diet opening date could have electoral implications
-BOJ raises rates, JPY falls
observingjapan.substack.com/p/nuclear-ta...
-Takaichi gov faces calls to fire official who discussed nukes
-LDP+Ishin finalize FY2026 tax plan, as DPFP celebrates victory
-Diet opening date could have electoral implications
-BOJ raises rates, JPY falls
observingjapan.substack.com/p/nuclear-ta...
Reposted by Shikinami
🇯🇵YIELD ON 10-YEAR JGB RISES 4.5 BASIS POINTS TO 2.010%, HIGHEST SINCE 1999
December 19, 2025 at 4:50 AM
🇯🇵YIELD ON 10-YEAR JGB RISES 4.5 BASIS POINTS TO 2.010%, HIGHEST SINCE 1999
Just 5 days before my trip back home - greeeeat 🫠
Yen Weakens After BOJ Hike, Boosting Australian and New Zealand Dollars
December 19, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Just 5 days before my trip back home - greeeeat 🫠
They were already the largest licensee (if not master licensee) for Japan: they owned all Snoopy stores + the Snoopy Museum Tokyo
www.scp.co.jp/en
www.scp.co.jp/en
December 19, 2025 at 1:33 AM
They were already the largest licensee (if not master licensee) for Japan: they owned all Snoopy stores + the Snoopy Museum Tokyo
www.scp.co.jp/en
www.scp.co.jp/en
🤦♂️
EN DIRECT, crise agricole : la FNSEA reste « mobilisée » après l’annonce du report à janvier de la signature de l’accord UE-Mercosur
EN DIRECT, crise agricole : la FNSEA reste « mobilisée » après l’annonce du report à janvier de la signature de l’accord UE-Mercosur
La présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, a annoncé aux dirigeants des 27 pays de l’UE réunis à Bruxelles que l’accord commercial ne serait pas signé comme prévu samedi et qu’il faudrait attendre le mois prochain, ont rapporté des sources diplomatiques auprès de l’Agence France-Presse.
www.lemonde.fr
December 19, 2025 at 1:14 AM
🤦♂️
Reposted by Shikinami
"Japan’s low levels of street protest have not produced disengagement; participation has migrated online", Rina Komiya writes, as she explains how digital outrage increasingly manages to derail local inclusion policies in Japan.
How online outrage undermines local inclusion efforts in Japan
A specter is haunting local governance in Japan—the specter of the attention economy. Municipal officials, whose daily work usually revolves around routine community services, now find themselves conf...
www.tokyoreview.net
December 15, 2025 at 1:45 AM
"Japan’s low levels of street protest have not produced disengagement; participation has migrated online", Rina Komiya writes, as she explains how digital outrage increasingly manages to derail local inclusion policies in Japan.
This can only go well
Japanese ministries to adopt AI to help overworked bureaucrats
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/japanese-ministries-to-adopt-ai-to-help-overworked-bureaucrats
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/artificial-intelligence/japanese-ministries-to-adopt-ai-to-help-overworked-bureaucrats
Japanese ministries to adopt AI to help overworked bureaucrats
AI to craft responses delivered by top officials in parliamentary sessions
asia.nikkei.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:58 PM
This can only go well
Reposted by Shikinami
Japan PM Takaichi's government readies record budget, alarming market
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/japan-pm-takaichi-s-government-readies-record-budget-alarming-market
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/japan-pm-takaichi-s-government-readies-record-budget-alarming-market
Japan PM Takaichi's government readies record budget, alarming market
Minority government forced to include spending demands from opposition parties
asia.nikkei.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Japan PM Takaichi's government readies record budget, alarming market
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/japan-pm-takaichi-s-government-readies-record-budget-alarming-market
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/japan-pm-takaichi-s-government-readies-record-budget-alarming-market
Reposted by Shikinami
Thanks @nikkei.com Japan for this interview about the far right in Europe. We spoke also about the differences with the far left and the role of civil society. farpo.eu @scpo-research.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZ...
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZ...
極右・極左政党、日常化する世界 欧州から考える日本政治の将来 - 日本経済新聞
日本は2024年の衆院選と25年の参院選を経て多党化の傾向を強めた。多党制が定着している欧州では極右や極左といわれる政党が支持を集め、政権を担う例も珍しくなくなった。欧州の政治から日本の将来を考えてみたい。自国民を移民より優先すべきだとするネイティビズムや権威主義を前面に出す――。欧州学界の有力な論文を調べると、極右政党はおおむねこう定義できる。ポピュリズムの手法似る自らを大衆の代弁者と位
www.nikkei.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Thanks @nikkei.com Japan for this interview about the far right in Europe. We spoke also about the differences with the far left and the role of civil society. farpo.eu @scpo-research.bsky.social @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZ...
www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZ...
Here’s why I didn’t bother to try for naturalization in Japan.
The Trump administration plans to ramp up efforts to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizenship, marking an aggressive new phase in the president’s immigration crackdown. | via @nytimes.com
Trump administration aims to strip more foreign-born Americans of citizenship
New guidance from the administration is seeking 100-200 denaturalization cases per month in the 2026 fiscal year.
www.japantimes.co.jp
December 18, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Here’s why I didn’t bother to try for naturalization in Japan.
Good that this is finally making waves overseas too
“They burned millions but got nothing.” Major Japanese game font provider’s aggressive price hike could be result of parent company’s alleged AI failure and financial struggle
automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...
automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...
“They burned millions but got nothing.” Japanese game font provider’s aggressive price hike could be result of parent company’s alleged AI failure and financial struggle - AUTOMATON WEST
After it replaced a domestic $380 annual license plan for game fonts with a $20,500 plan, Monotype has come under scrutiny.
automaton-media.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Good that this is finally making waves overseas too
You can’t get more plutocratic than this
WHITE HOUSE IS SEEKING DONATIONS FROM THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN EACH STATE TO SUPPLEMENT TAXPAYER CONTRIBUTIONS TO “TRUMP ACCOUNTS” FOR NEWBORN SAVINGS, PER WAPO.
December 18, 2025 at 1:37 AM
You can’t get more plutocratic than this
Thank goodness, the wifi for my long haul flight next week is not from starlink
December 18, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Thank goodness, the wifi for my long haul flight next week is not from starlink