Every year, the Japanese public votes for a single Chinese character to sum up the past 12 months. In 2025, that was the kanji for “bear,” after ursine attacks dominated the headlines.
There was a much better option: the character for taka — as in Sanae Takaichi. She made history as the first woman to become the country’s prime minister. But that’s not all — as the character means “high,” it was used in all kinds of phrases that defined 2025.
There are high prices, the biggest gripe of the electorate, or U.S. President Donald Trump’s excessive tariffs. How about the new highs reached by the Nikkei 225, with the index hitting 50,000 for the first time. After the Bank of Japan’s recent hike, rates are at their highest in three decades. And tensions with China can certainly be described as elevated after Beijing’s backlash against Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.