In-depth News Features | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Japan's economy is facing mixed signals as 2026 gets underway. Stock market optimism, persistent inflationary pressure, and widening economic gaps will shape the year ahead. NHK Deputy Chief Commentator Iida Kaori breaks down the key forces likely to influence the economic outlook — from wages and prices to interest rates and global risks.

*This piece originally aired on NHK NEWSLINE on January 7. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?

Japan's economy is facing mixed signals as 2026 gets underway. Stock market optimism, persistent inflationary pressure, and widening economic gaps will shape the year ahead. NHK Deputy Chief Commentator IIDA Kaori breaks down the key forces likely to influence the economic outlook — from wages and prices to interest rates and global risks.

*This piece originally aired on NHK Newsline on January 7. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?

Scientists from around the world gathered in Hiroshima in November with the aim of charting a path toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Chairing the conference was Iraqi nuclear chemist Hussain Al-Shahristani, a man whose own life has been defined by the moral boundaries of science — and by the price he once paid for refusing to cross them.

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?

New Yorkers are preparing to bid farewell to a familiar companion: the MetroCard. Sales of the ubiquitous farecard are set to end by late 2025. For more than three decades, the card could be found in almost every wallet or pocket, swiped daily by the millions who navigated the city's subway. Few of them knew that a Japanese designer's work quietly shaped the way generations of riders moved through the city.

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?

It's been a year since dozens of countries got together to enforce a landmark ban on nuclear weapons, yet the goal of eradication seems as distant as ever. For the states that refused to sign the treaty—countries with nuclear arms and others under their protection—discussions to prevent further spread of nuclear arms are not progressing. That stalemate has prompted some to ask: If the world's most powerful countries can't even agree to slim their nuclear arsenal, what hope is there of abolishing the weapons altogether?