Japan Timeline for November 2025

Another Big Season for Ohtani

1

The Los Angeles Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series title with a team including Japanese players Ohtani Shōhei, Yamamoto Yoshinobu, and Sasaki Rōki. Yamamoto is named the World Series MVP. On November 13, Ohtani is chosen as the National League MVP. His four MLB awards in both leagues place him in second behind only Barry Bonds.

3

Baseball star Oh Sadaharu is among eight people to receive the Order of Culture from Emperor Naruhito.

5

The Akita prefectural government and the Ground Self-Defense Forces 9th Division sign an agreement to work together to capture wild bears to prevent attacks. It covers areas including transportation and installation of traps, but SDF members will not use firearms to kill bears.

A black bear in search of food in a buckwheat field outside a house. (© Kitaakita municipal government/Masuda Kō)

6

Nissan reports a net loss of ¥221.9 billion for the first half of fiscal 2025, compared with a ¥19.2 billion profit the previous year, affected by lower sales and additional tariffs imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The National Police Agency revises National Public Safety Commission regulations to allow police officers to cull bears with rifles. Units are sent to Akita and Iwate Prefectures to assist in extermination.

7

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae says in the Diet concerning a possible Taiwan contingency that “if it involves the use of force, it could be a crisis threatening Japan’s survival,” a statement potentially signaling that Japan could exercise its right to self-defense. Following a strong response to this by the Chinese government, on November 18, foreign ministry representatives from both Japan and China hold talks in Beijing, but these are inconclusive.

8

Actor Nakadai Tatsuya, known for films including Kurosawa Akira’s Ran and Kagemusha, dies of pneumonia at the age of 92. He also founded the Mumeijuku acting school.

Nakadai Tatsuya on August 15, 2022. (© Kazuki Oishi/Sipa USA via Reuters)

9

The Hyōgo prefectural police arrest Tachibana Takashi, head of the Party to Protect the People from NHK, on suspicion of defamation for spreading false information about a Hyōgo prefectural assembly member who committed suicide.

10

Nippon Professional Baseball announces the creation of the Nagashima Shigeo Award to honor the baseball legend who passed away in June. The award will go to players who excel in baserunning, hitting, and fielding.

15

The Summer Deaflympics begins in Tokyo, taking place in Japan for the first time. The games finish on November 26 with Japan winning by far its highest-ever total of medals at 51 (16 gold, 12 silver, and 23 bronze).

17

Princess Aiko goes to Laos for a five-day visit marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between Laos and Japan.

Princess Aiko speaks at a dinner hosted by Laotian Vice President Pany Yathotou in Vientiane on November 18, 2025. (© Jiji)

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle becomes the first Japanese film to gross more than ¥100 billion in global box office takings.

18

A major fire breaks out in the city of Ōita, resulting in the destruction of more than 170 buildings and one confirmed fatality.

A fire blazes in Ōita on November 18, 2025. (© Jiji)

19

According to Japanese officials, China will again suspend imports of Japanese fishery products. It previously halted imports after the start of releases of treated water from Fukushima Nuclear Power Station in August 2023, but agreed to resume them following talks in May this year. Partial imports had only just restarted in November.

20

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism conducts its first survey on condominium buyers. Among its findings, in the first half of 2025, 7.5% of buyers of new properties in Tokyo’s six central municipalities (Bunkyō, Chiyoda, Chūō, Minato, Shibuya, and Shinjuku) had overseas addresses.

21

Niigata Governor Hanazumi Hideyo approves the restart of TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station.

The government adopts a ¥21.3 trillion stimulus package. The general account expenditures in its fiscal 2025 supplementary budget, which will fund the package, will be around ¥17.7 trillion, the largest such outlay since the COVID-19 pandemic.

22

A Ground SDF member is arrested for the attempted murder of a woman in Akasaka, Tokyo.

23

Aonishiki becomes the first wrestler from Ukraine to win a Grand Sumō Tournament. On November 26, he is promoted to the rank of ōzeki.

Aonishiki receives the Prime Minister’s Cup from Inoue Takahiro, an advisor to Prime Minister Takaichi. (© Jiji)

25

Prime Minister Takaichi talks with US President Trump on the telephone. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump advises her not to provoke the Chinese government over Taiwan.

The film Kokuhō reaches total box office earnings of ¥17.38 billion, edging ahead of the 2003 feature Bayside Shakedown 2 at ¥17.35 billion to set a new record as the all-time highest grossing Japanese live action movie in the domestic market.

27

Asahi Group Holdings announces that the September 29 cyberattack on the company may have led to the leak of 1.9 million personal records.

28

The government approves an ¥18.3 trillion supplementary budget for fiscal 2025. More than 60%, or ¥11.7 trillion, will be financed by the issuance of government bonds.

Legislation to abolish provisional tax surcharges for gasoline and diesel fuel is passed in the Diet. Measures to secure alternative revenue resources have not yet been determined.

Hokkaidō Governor Suzuki Naomichi approves the restart of the number 3 reactor at Tomari Nuclear Power Station.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Various facial expressions by Ohtani Shōhei in 2025. © Kyōdō.)