Well, it was a busy start to the year — and we put out a January news wrap-up on “Japan This Week.”

We also put the audio podcast on hiatus while we figure out what to do with it and so we can focus more on the “Japan Today Spotlight” video series.

In the episode, I share a few things that have been happening over here in Japan — some big, some weird, some just very, well… Japan.

A few highlights from the episode:

• Japan’s interest rates went up for the first time in 17 years. This might not sound exciting, but for a country that’s basically had zero interest forever, it’s a big shift.
• Kyoto is hiking hotel taxes because tourists are taking over the city. If you’ve ever tried walking through Fushimi Inari’s torii gates during peak season, you know what I mean.
• Osaka is cracking down on smoking in public ahead of Expo 2025. Japan still has a complicated relationship with smoking — smoking rooms in restaurants are still a thing — but this is a step toward change.
• Someone paid ¥207 million (about $1.4 million) for a single tuna. Yep, Japan’s New Year’s tuna auction madness continues. That’s a very, very expensive sushi dinner.
• And in case you thought Japan had normal seasons: it just officialy had its hottest year on record. Summer here is already brutal, so this isn’t great news.

Also, a little update — Japan This Week is may be taking a little break, but we’ve got some new things in the works with “Japan Today Spotlight” and the upcoming “Japan Yesterday” podcast. More on that soon!

If you’re curious, you can listen to the full episode here: https://youtu.be/rhGURPmsfVw

Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of what’s going on over here. Hope you’re all doing well — drop me a message if you want to catch up!