Latest news with #Koizumi
Time Magazine
5 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
How Rice Could Decide Japan's Next Election
Whether it's posting pictures of him eating gyudon (beef bowl) between meetings or holding rice balls at campaign stops, Shinjiro Koizumi has worked hard to portray himself as a regular Tokyoite. The son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, he took over the agriculture portfolio two months ago following the resignation of Taku Eto, who sparked outrage by claiming he had never bought rice because he was gifted it by political supporters. Koizumi's mandate: ease a domestic rice shortage that had sent prices soaring. But the challenge is political as much as agricultural. Koizumi must walk a fine line between lowering grocery prices for urban consumers—many of whom are abandoning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—and maintaining the support of rural rice farmers, a group long central to the LDP's base. With upper house elections looming Sunday, that balancing act could determine the government's fate. Polls suggest that the LDP's ruling coalition (with Komeito) is likely to lose its majority. That would be a major blow for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, especially after the party lost control of the more powerful lower house last October. The LDP faces the prospect of expanding its coalition, while the party has been frugal in its goals, wanting just to keep losses down to 16 seats. (The LDP currently holds 52 seats, and, with its coalition partner, needs to retain 50 seats out of the 125 up for election in order to defend its majority.) A bigger loss would also not bode well for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who may be expected to step down. It would also push Japan into political turmoil less than two weeks to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S. before Aug. 1, when President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs are set to kick in. Read More: Why Rice Is a Sticking Point in U.S.-Japan Trade Talks Koizumi's move signals a shift for LDP towards urban consumers Soon after Koizumi's appointment, bags of government-stockpiled rice were on grocery store shelves and the price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice had come down from around ¥4,300 to ¥3,500. It is a stark contrast from his predecessor's approach, which involved the gradual release of rice stockpiles at a rate that frustrated Japanese consumers. The country's rice market was partially liberalized in 1995—prior to that, prices were entirely set by the Japanese government. Since then, the market is determined by supply and demand, but the government artificially limits supply to indirectly ensure that rice prices don't fall too much, including by providing subsidies to farms to reduce the amount of acreage used for rice production and instead use it to produce other crops. Rice imports above a certain quota are also tariffed highly—much to the ire of Trump—while imported rice mostly gets stockpiled. But a combination of the government limiting rice production, Japanese diets expanding to include other staples, and extreme weather affecting yields has led farmers to produce less rice over time. That's since led to a rice shortage and rice prices surging. Many consumers have long been willing to pay a premium in order to support domestic farmers, Professor of Economics at Tokyo's Gakushuin University Hiroshi Mukunoki tells TIME. He adds that there is a 'widespread belief' that Japanese rice is of a higher quality. But 'the recent surge in rice prices may have tested that tolerance, making the issue more politically salient,' he says. 'Koizumi successfully made the rice price a non-issue,' says Tatsuo Hatta, president of the Asia Growth Research Institute. The main reason for protecting domestic rice is food security, says Hatta. But the fact that consumers have found themselves struggling to afford a basic staple of the Japanese diet has called that premise into question. Moreover, Hatta says food security can be maintained by stockpiling more imported rice and incentivizing Japanese farmers to produce more, not less. Hanno Jentzsch, an associate professor at the University of Vienna, tells TIME that Koizumi's move signals that the LDP is ready and willing to meet consumers' needs. 'Making him agricultural minister could be seen as a strategic political move to signal to consumers that now somebody is at the top who has their interests in mind.' Jentzsch says. 'The LDP is not just the party of rural Japan anymore, it is a party that needs urban voters.' Gut issues are top of mind for many voters, says Jeff Kingston, a professor of history and Asian studies at Temple University in Japan. 'Inflation is a huge issue here. Rice prices have doubled since last year. Gasoline prices are sky high. So households are feeling the pinch,' Kingston says, adding that largely stagnant wages only add to that pressure. 'I think there's a lot of grumbling: What about my pension? What about medical care? What about corruption in the party? Weren't you going to root it out, and then you just sort of did nothing?' But the move also risks alienating Japan's rural voters, especially small rice farmers whose livelihoods depend on government protections of the domestic rice market. 'Koizumi has a certain image, and that image is that he is not a friend of the agricultural lobby. Much to the contrary, he is, you could say, an adversary,' says Hanno Jentzsch, an associate professor at the University of Vienna. Declining influence of farm vote Virtually every farmer in Japan is a member of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), an association started by the government to act as a regulatory body but also lobbies for farmers' interests. The farm vote as a result has historically been well-organized by JA to support LDP rural candidates, Jentzsch tells TIME. 'For the LDP, this is a difficult situation, because they need to bind urban voters, but at the same time especially candidates running in rural districts are still very dependent on the farm vote,' says Jentzsch. 'It's a gamble,' he adds. Koizumi is aware of that. He's tried to convince Japanese rice farmers that he is on their side, meeting with farmers in their fields in different prefectures. Speaking to a crowd of 1,500 people, he said, 'I am sure we can achieve both: consumers will be able to buy rice without any worry, while rice farmers will be able to secure a [stable] income and increase production.' He added: 'Some say higher prices would have been good for farmers, but is that really so? If consumers stop eating rice because it's expensive, is that really in the interest of rice farmers?' But Kozuimi's attempts to level with farmers hasn't always hit home, especially for farmers who have seen a boost in income thanks to higher prices for the first time in a long time. 'What I've felt most since the start of the campaign is the intensity of the farmers' anger. They come to me and ask me if there's anything I can do with Koizumi,' said incumbent Michiya Haga, who is running as an independent, at a rally in Yamagata prefecture earlier this month. At the same time, the political power of the farm vote has waned over the years, especially with Japan's aging population, says Hatta. Japan's farming population has shrunk around 60% since 1985, while the average age of its farmers has steadily gone up. Even so, Mukunoki says, the farm vote 'still matters, especially in constituencies with strong agricultural interests.' 'Time and time again, especially in Upper House elections, we see that it can become important for candidates in tight races,' says Jentzsch. That's particularly true in less populated rural districts, where candidates are contesting just one seat. 'The relatively well-organized farm vote can make or break these races,' he says. On top of that, rural votes can carry twice the weight of urban votes, says Mukunoki, which gives rural areas 'significant electoral power.' Opposition parties like far-right Sanseito have moved to covet the farm vote in light of Kozuimi's measures, although the LDP is still ahead in polls. Trump tariff threats add more pressure to already strained system Trump threatened Japan with a 25% tariff that will take effect Aug. 1, after earlier suggesting he could make Japan 'pay 30%, 35%, or whatever the number is that we determine.' Trump has also been unwilling to budge on a 25% tariff on autos and auto parts and a 50% tariff on metals, which would hurt some of Japan's key exports. Whatever the new makeup of Japan's upper house come Sunday, its government will have a runway of less than two weeks to try to forge a better deal with the U.S. But access to Japan's rice market—alongside Japan's concerns around auto tariffs and demands that Japan import more American oil—has become a sticking point in trade talks between the U.S. and Japan. Trump has in recent months railed against Japan's rice protections. Japan imports 770,000 metric tons of rice tariff-free every year, around half of which comes from the U.S. Above that quota, Japan tariffs foreign rice at ¥341 (about $2.30) per kilogram, which works out to a tariff of around 227% according to a calculation by the Japan Times. Trump officials have suggested that Japan tariffs rice at 700%, a figure that likely comes from a 2005 tariff rate of around 778%. 'To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,' Trump posted on Truth Social on June 30. 'In other words, we'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.' Koizumi's emergency measures have to some extent signalled a receptiveness to opening up Japan's rice market, a topic previously politically taboo. 'Koizumi has at least opened the possibility that imports can be used to reduce the rice price and stabilize supply,' says Jentzsch, although he is skeptical that Japan's government would be willing to liberalize its market to the extent that Trump probably wants to see. 'This is a radical step that I do not see coming yet,' he says. Mukunoki agrees: 'Liberalizing Japan's rice market remains politically sensitive.' 'While consumers want lower prices, many don't make a direct connection between price drops and increased imports,' he adds. 'People worry that allowing more imports would displace domestic rice, invoking a sort of 'bad money drives out good' sentiment.' That may not necessarily be true, he says, noting that when complemented by direct support measures like subsidies and the increase of large-scale farming, domestic production may not be harmed by liberalization. But any moves towards longer-term reform will likely be 'complicated and politically risky,' Jentszch cautions. Too quick of a shift could lead many aging rice farmers to just retire, while large commercial farms may need more incentives to switch back to producing mainly rice over other crops. Still, to many observers one thing is clear: that reform is becoming increasingly necessary. 'The underlying problem is structural, the underlying problem is that the Japanese rice production control system in this instance has failed,' says Jentszch. 'The structural causes of this crisis are not yet resolved.' He adds: 'Another heat wave, another poor harvest, another sudden spike in demand, or more aging farmers leaving commercial rice production can further add to this crisis.' Chad de Guzman contributed reporting.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Top Bananza! Donkey Kong's long-awaited return is a literal smash-hit
When you think of Nintendo, it's almost impossible not to picture Donkey Kong. The ape that started it all, Donkey Kong's tie-donning, barrel-launching arcade antics introduced Mario to the world and almost bankrupted Nintendo in the process, after a near-miss legal battle over alleged King Kong copyright infringement. Yet despite Donkers' undeniable place in gaming history – and obligatory appearances in Smash Bros and Mario Kart – for the last few console generations, Donkey Kong platformers have been MIA. Enter DK's first standalone adventure in 11 years, Donkey Kong Bananza. While Mario's recent adventures saw him exploring the reaches of outer space or deftly possessing enemies with an anthropomorphic hat, DK's grand return is all about primal rage. Employing a similar voxel-based technology to Minecraft, DK's Switch 2 adventure swaps the former's thoughtful Lego-esque world-building for gleeful destruction, letting players shatter every colourful level into smithereens. As you smash and punch your way through walls, floors and ceilings, you can burrow all the way to the ground below, forging new paths and unearthing hidden treasures. It's a novel and enjoyably chaotic twist on the usually neatly ordered Nintendo platformer. 'Bananza started when my superior, Koizumi-san, came to our team and asked us if we could create a 3D Donkey Kong game,' recalls Donkey Kong Bananza producer and Super Mario Odyssey director, Kenta Motokura. It was a full-circle moment, he tells me, with the plastic bongo-controlled Donkey Kong Jungle Beat starting off his career at Nintendo 25 years earlier. 'The first time I ever played Donkey Kong was on Game and Watch, but as Donkey Kong became 3D, I started working on 3D games myself,' he says. 'In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Koizumi-san was director and I learned a lot from him in terms of taking on new challenges and figuring out the characteristics of Donkey Kong.' The question was, with Donkey Kong's last foray into 3D being on the Nintendo 64, where would Nintendo take its monkey mascot next? Seeking wisdom from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Motokura's old boss, it wasn't long until the team were drawn to DK's gigantic, furry hands. 'Speaking with Miyamoto-san, who had worked on the original and on developing the DK games with Rare, he said that he had focused on the power and the actions of Donkey Kong, such as the hand claps,' Motokura says. 'We were testing voxel technology – we were actually using it in Super Mario Odyssey – and we thought that by bringing together and combining the power of Donkey Kong and the voxel technology, it would fit together with the theme of destruction.' Motokura and the Super Mario Odyssey team had their fair share of 3D platformer experience. But Bananza's game director Kazuya Takahashi, who joined the project midway through development, had only worked on open world RPGs. 'It wasn't too intimidating,' Takahashi says about the pressure of reviving Donkey Kong, 'because the team had worked on Odyssey as well, there were a lot of people on the team who had skills related to 3D platform action games.' Yet even with the team's platforming pedigree, the voxel-based destruction presented a unique challenge for Nintendo's Tokyo team. 'For this sort of game, where you can destroy anything, there was no precedent,' Takahashi says. 'So in that sense, we did struggle with various things. Developing the levels was quite challenging. For each stage, we wanted to make sure that the level would be fun even without that destruction element.' Luckily, the team wasn't going in blind – they had help from an all-star playtester. 'We had Miyamoto-san check the game occasionally,' says Motokura. 'But instead of progressing through the game, he just stuck to one point, smashing and digging around a lot. It was a good thing to see him playing that way … it proved that there are a lot of things that players could potentially be curious about in the game.' To many Nintendo fans, there is no Mario or Donkey Kong without Nintendo veterans like Miyamoto or Takashi Tezuka, but the next generation of developers tell me they're more than ready to carry on their mentors' legacy. 'Longtime developers like Miyamoto-san and Teztuka-san also allow us younger developers to discuss things on the same level, so in that sense, I think a lot of ideas are going to be shared among the developers,' Motokura says. 'Newer, younger developers are also going to carry on the legacy of the developing that we do at Nintendo.' 'Although I joined this team partway through, I really enjoyed the work that I was able to do on this team, and that Nintendo was very open to being able to explore these kinds of new and challenging concepts,' Takahashi reflects. 'Having the freedom to find your own shortcuts in Bananza … In that sense, there's an expanded level of freedom compared with Odyssey and we were really able to provide a completely new kind of gaming experience.' Like most millenials, I've been reliving my mispent youth via the ultimate piece of playable noughties nostalgia: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. While there are some disappointing soundtrack omissions (and a bizarrely stripped-down take on 4's original sandbox campaign), grinding and kickflipping your way across Rio, London, Canada and Alcatraz is still as compulsive as it was in the early 2000s. While players of the originals might grimace at the lack of Alien Ant Farm, Papa Roach and Less Than Jake, the addition of Denzel Curry, Turnstile, Fontaines DC, Drain, Vince Staples and Mastodon – whisper it – almost makes up for it. Almost. This time around, I've opted to flail and face-plant on Nintendo's shiny new Switch 2. One of the first third-party releases on the platform, it's a surprisingly solid port, allowing me to take my trick-tastic escapades with me wherever I go. Here's hoping future Switch 2 ports fare as well. Ultimately, while this isn't quite as lovingly made as Vicarious Vision's 2020 1+2 remakes, when you're in the zone and have that six-figure high score going, Pro Skater is still an arcade-like thrill that satisfies like little else. Available on: Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, PCEstimated playtime: 20-2,000 hours, depending on how gnarly you are Sign up to Pushing Buttons Keza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gaming after newsletter promotion Stop Killing Games, a petition dedicated to preserving online media, has received 1.2m signatures, prompting a response from one of the vice-presidents of the European parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță. The initiative seeks to highlight consumer rights and navigate the complexities of 'ownership' in a world where live service games are turned off. A noble fight, but I'm still a little shocked that this has all kicked off because of The Crew, of all games. You can read more on PC Gamer. Did you miss out on nabbing anything from the PS5 30th Anniversary range last year? Fear not, fellow stuff lovers, as these retro PS1-inspired controllers, consoles and PS Portals are getting a restock on 21 July. I absolutely adore my anniversary controller, so I thought I'd selflessly share the news. Get all the details over on Eurogamer. After laying off thousands of its workforce, several Xbox employees have added salt to the wound by endorsing AI, in two rather tonally insensitive LinkedIn posts. In one, a publishing lead suggested that laid-off employees should turn to AI for career guidance, while in the second, Xbox posted a job advertisement that clearly used an AI image. Aftermath has a suitably depressing summary of events. 'The way a child plays is the way they live': how therapists are using video games to help vulnerable children 'It fully altered my taste in music': bands reflect on the awesome power of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks Cosy video games are on an unstoppable rise. Will they unleash a darker side? Gaming in their golden years: why millions of seniors are playing video games Reader P Holck asks this question about how to bridge the generational gaming divide: 'I used to really enjoy my son's Civilization III. Now I've bought a PlayStation 5 and thought I'd play some modern and more active games. But the ones I've tried are simply too hard – I get stuck and have no idea how to move forward! What games do you recommend for a 70-plus player?' First, congratulations on taking the playable plunge! Much like encountering a genre of music for the first time – or, heaven help you, getting into anime – reconnecting with gaming can often feel overwhelming. Finding genres that you click with can be challenging – let alone having to learn the increasingly complex control schemes, gameplay mechanics and visual cues that longtime players take for granted. It's hardly an action-packed experience, but a game I'd recommend if you liked the original is Tetris Effect – which takes the classic block-dropping puzzler and adds a psychedelic visual layer, taking you on a weirdly profound journey. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and 2018's God Of War are both good action games to start with. They are fun story-led epics, and the gameplay is fairly simple at lower difficulty settings, giving you a good grasp of third-person game mechanics. If you want something a bit deeper, The Witcher 3 is a brilliantly immersive RPG, as is Baldur's Gate 3 – the latter of which comes with the option of pausing combat to help make the action more manageable, and the Mass Effect trilogy offers a nice blend of turn-based RPG choices and third-person action. Last year's Astro Bot is a jolt of colourful, platforming-based serotonin. If you're after something a little scarier, the Resident Evil 4 remake and The Last Of Us Part 1 are modern masterpieces, and again, have lower difficulty settings to help ease you in. Best of luck – let us know how you get on. If you've got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Top Bananza! Donkey Kong's long-awaited return is a literal smash-hit
When you think of Nintendo, it's almost impossible not to picture Donkey Kong. The ape that started it all, Donkey Kong's tie-donning, barrel-launching arcade antics introduced Mario to the world and almost bankrupted Nintendo in the process, after a near-miss legal battle over alleged King Kong copyright infringement. Yet despite Donkers' undeniable place in gaming history – and obligatory appearances in Smash Bros and Mario Kart – for the last few console generations, Donkey Kong platformers have been MIA. Enter DK's first standalone adventure in 11 years, Donkey Kong Bananza. While Mario's recent adventures saw him exploring the reaches of outer space or deftly possessing enemies with an anthropomorphic hat, DK's grand return is all about primal rage. Employing a similar voxel-based technology to Minecraft, DK's Switch 2 adventure swaps the former's thoughtful Lego-esque world-building for gleeful destruction, letting players shatter every colourful level into smithereens. As you smash and punch your way through walls, floors and ceilings, you can burrow all the way to the ground below, forging new paths and unearthing hidden treasures. It's a novel and enjoyably chaotic twist on the usually neatly ordered Nintendo platformer. 'Bananza started when my superior, Koizumi-san, came to our team and asked us if we could create a 3D Donkey Kong game,' recalls Donkey Kong Bananza producer and Super Mario Odyssey director, Kenta Motokura. It was a full-circle moment, he tells me, with the plastic bongo-controlled Donkey Kong Jungle Beat starting off his career at Nintendo 25 years earlier. 'The first time I ever played Donkey Kong was on Game and Watch, but as Donkey Kong became 3D, I started working on 3D games myself,' he says. 'In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Koizumi-san was director and I learned a lot from him in terms of taking on new challenges and figuring out the characteristics of Donkey Kong.' The question was, with Donkey Kong's last foray into 3D being on the Nintendo 64, where would Nintendo take its monkey mascot next? Seeking wisdom from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Motokura's old boss, it wasn't long until the team were drawn to DK's gigantic, furry hands. 'Speaking with Miyamoto-san, who had worked on the original and on developing the DK games with Rare, he said that he had focused on the power and the actions of Donkey Kong, such as the hand claps,' Motokura says. 'We were testing voxel technology – we were actually using it in Super Mario Odyssey – and we thought that by bringing together and combining the power of Donkey Kong and the voxel technology, it would fit together with the theme of destruction.' Motokura and the Super Mario Odyssey team had their fair share of 3D platformer experience. But Bananza's game director Kazuya Takahashi, who joined the project midway through development, had only worked on open world RPGs. 'It wasn't too intimidating,' Takahashi says about the pressure of reviving Donkey Kong, 'because the team had worked on Odyssey as well, there were a lot of people on the team who had skills related to 3D platform action games.' Yet even with the team's platforming pedigree, the voxel-based destruction presented a unique challenge for Nintendo's Tokyo team. 'For this sort of game, where you can destroy anything, there was no precedent,' Takahashi says. 'So in that sense, we did struggle with various things. Developing the levels was quite challenging. For each stage, we wanted to make sure that the level would be fun even without that destruction element.' Luckily, the team wasn't going in blind – they had help from an all-star playtester. 'We had Miyamoto-san check the game occasionally,' says Motokura. 'But instead of progressing through the game, he just stuck to one point, smashing and digging around a lot. It was a good thing to see him playing that way … it proved that there are a lot of things that players could potentially be curious about in the game.' To many Nintendo fans, there is no Mario or Donkey Kong without Nintendo veterans like Miyamoto or Takashi Tezuka, but the next generation of developers tell me they're more than ready to carry on their mentors' legacy. 'Longtime developers like Miyamoto-san and Teztuka-san also allow us younger developers to discuss things on the same level, so in that sense, I think a lot of ideas are going to be shared among the developers,' Motokura says. 'Newer, younger developers are also going to carry on the legacy of the developing that we do at Nintendo.' 'Although I joined this team partway through, I really enjoyed the work that I was able to do on this team, and that Nintendo was very open to being able to explore these kinds of new and challenging concepts,' Takahashi reflects. 'Having the freedom to find your own shortcuts in Bananza … In that sense, there's an expanded level of freedom compared with Odyssey and we were really able to provide a completely new kind of gaming experience.' Like most millenials, I've been reliving my mispent youth via the ultimate piece of playable noughties nostalgia: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. While there are some disappointing soundtrack omissions (and a bizarrely stripped-down take on 4's original sandbox campaign), grinding and kickflipping your way across Rio, London, Canada and Alcatraz is still as compulsive as it was in the early 2000s. While players of the originals might grimace at the lack of Alien Ant Farm, Papa Roach and Less Than Jake, the addition of Denzel Curry, Turnstile, Fontaines DC, Drain, Vince Staples and Mastodon – whisper it – almost makes up for it. Almost. This time around, I've opted to flail and face-plant on Nintendo's shiny new Switch 2. One of the first third-party releases on the platform, it's a surprisingly solid port, allowing me to take my trick-tastic escapades with me wherever I go. Here's hoping future Switch 2 ports fare as well. Ultimately, while this isn't quite as lovingly made as Vicarious Vision's 2020 1+2 remakes, when you're in the zone and have that six-figure high score going, Pro Skater is still an arcade-like thrill that satisfies like little else. Available on: Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, PCEstimated playtime: 20-2,000 hours, depending on how gnarly you are Sign up to Pushing Buttons Keza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gaming after newsletter promotion Stop Killing Games, a petition dedicated to preserving online media, has received 1.2m signatures, prompting a response from one of the vice-presidents of the European parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță. The initiative seeks to highlight consumer rights and navigate the complexities of 'ownership' in a world where live service games are turned off. A noble fight, but I'm still a little shocked that this has all kicked off because of The Crew, of all games. You can read more on PC Gamer. Did you miss out on nabbing anything from the PS5 30th Anniversary range last year? Fear not, fellow stuff lovers, as these retro PS1-inspired controllers, consoles and PS Portals are getting a restock on 21 July. I absolutely adore my anniversary controller, so I thought I'd selflessly share the news. Get all the details over on Eurogamer. After laying off thousands of its workforce, several Xbox employees have added salt to the wound by endorsing AI, in two rather tonally insensitive LinkedIn posts. In one, a publishing lead suggested that laid-off employees should turn to AI for career guidance, while in the second, Xbox posted a job advertisement that clearly used an AI image. Aftermath has a suitably depressing summary of events. 'The way a child plays is the way they live': how therapists are using video games to help vulnerable children 'It fully altered my taste in music': bands reflect on the awesome power of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks Cosy video games are on an unstoppable rise. Will they unleash a darker side? Gaming in their golden years: why millions of seniors are playing video games Reader P Holck asks this question about how to bridge the generational gaming divide: 'I used to really enjoy my son's Civilization III. Now I've bought a PlayStation 5 and thought I'd play some modern and more active games. But the ones I've tried are simply too hard – I get stuck and have no idea how to move forward! What games do you recommend for a 70-plus player?' First, congratulations on taking the playable plunge! Much like encountering a genre of music for the first time – or, heaven help you, getting into anime – reconnecting with gaming can often feel overwhelming. Finding genres that you click with can be challenging – let alone having to learn the increasingly complex control schemes, gameplay mechanics and visual cues that longtime players take for granted. It's hardly an action-packed experience, but a game I'd recommend if you liked the original is Tetris Effect – which takes the classic block-dropping puzzler and adds a psychedelic visual layer, taking you on a weirdly profound journey. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and 2018's God Of War are both good action games to start with. They are fun story-led epics, and the gameplay is fairly simple at lower difficulty settings, giving you a good grasp of third-person game mechanics. If you want something a bit deeper, The Witcher 3 is a brilliantly immersive RPG, as is Baldur's Gate 3 – the latter of which comes with the option of pausing combat to help make the action more manageable, and the Mass Effect trilogy offers a nice blend of turn-based RPG choices and third-person action. Last year's Astro Bot is a jolt of colourful, platforming-based serotonin. If you're after something a little scarier, the Resident Evil 4 remake and The Last Of Us Part 1 are modern masterpieces, and again, have lower difficulty settings to help ease you in. Best of luck – let us know how you get on. If you've got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@
30-06-2025
- Business
Japan Retail Rice Prices Fall for 5th Straight Week
News from Japan Economy Jun 30, 2025 22:02 (JST) Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)--The average price of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan was 3,801 yen per 5 kilograms in the week through June 22, down by 119 yen from the previous week, the fifth consecutive weekly decrease, the agriculture ministry said Monday. This is the first five-week falling streak since the ministry began releasing the weekly average price in March 2022. The average retail price is believed to have been pushed down by accelerated sales of rice released from the government's stockpile under discretionary contracts. "I think (rice prices are) entering a downtrend steadily," agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters. "We'll continue to closely monitor the situation." Koizumi also announced a plan to hold the next auction on July 16 for rice imported by the government as part of its obligation. At the previous auction on Friday, 30,000 tons were offered, and bids exceeded 2.5 times the amount. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
30-06-2025
- Business
Japan Hails China's Partial Resumption of Fishery Imports
News from Japan Jun 30, 2025 16:48 (JST) Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Monday welcomed the Chinese government's decision to partially resume imports of fishery products from Japan, calling it a significant milestone. "The public and private sectors will work together to resume (fishery product) exports quickly and smoothly," he told reporters after Chinese customs authorities announced the decision Sunday. China imposed a blanket import ban on Japanese fishery products in August 2023, in response to the release into the Pacific of tritium-containing treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Beijing will keep the import ban for 10 of Japan's 47 prefectures, including Tokyo and Fukushima, which hosts the TEPCO plant, the site of the March 2011 nuclear accident. "We'll continue to urge China to remove the import ban for the 10 prefectures and resume Japanese beef imports," Koizumi said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
