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July 09, 2026
 

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LDP

Japan Innovation Party co-leader Hirofumi Yoshimura and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meet in parliament on March 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2026
LDP less eager than JIP on Lower House seat cut
For the 10% cut, the JIP aims to reduce the number of proportional representation seats by 45 from the current 176.
Hideko Hakamata (front, second from left) and others participate in a protest against the proposed revision of Japan's retrial system, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2026
Former death row inmate’s sister slams Japan’s retrial review plan
Iwao Hakamata’s elder sister called for public prosecutors to be barred from appealing court decisions granting retrials.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at parliament on March 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2026
LDP and JIP remain divided over revision of Constitution’s Article 9
The Liberal Democratic Party is worried the Japan Innovation Party’s hawkish approach to revising the pacifist clause won’t sit well with the public.
Team Mirai leader Takahiro Anno speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
Team Mirai will consider joining ruling coalition if asked
“We would make a final decision after weighing the potential gains and losses,” party leader Takahiro Anno has said.
Members of the House of Representatives council on the electoral system meet in the parliamentary building on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
LDP wants Lower House panel to discuss seat cuts
Reducing the number of Lower House seats is a signature policy for the Japan Innovation Party and was included in its coalition agreement with the LDP.
Chairperson Hiroyuki Nagahama (center rear) and others attend a House of Councilors constitutional review committee hearing at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2026
Four things to understand in Japan’s constitutional debate
Japan’s legislature started debate on constitutional amendment as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to have a proposal ready in a year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last October, saw her Cabinet's approval rate hit its lowest level for the second month in a row but it remains high compared with her predecessors' Cabinets.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2026
Support for Takaichi’s Cabinet slightly lower at 59.1%, poll shows
The prime minister saw her Cabinet’s approval rate hit its lowest level for the second month in a row but it remains high compared with predecessors’ Cabinets.
House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori (right) and House of Councilors Speaker Masakazu Sekiguchi hold a news conference after concluding ruling and opposition party talks on securing the number of imperial family members, on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Lower House head wants Imperial House Law revision this session
In the discussions so far, ruling and opposition parties have considered two proposals presented by a government expert panel.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have asked the Justice Ministry to amend a bill aimed at revising Japan’s retrial system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
LDP members demand rewrite of bill to revise retrial system
The bill proposes a one-year limit on court proceedings initiated by prosecutors’ appeal against a retrial ruling, but party members want such appeals banned entirely.
Princess Aiko’s popularity is triggering expectations that one day she could become the reigning emperor of Japan like her father, Emperor Naruhito.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Why Princess Aiko won’t ascend the chrysanthemum throne
The princess has proven to be popular in Japan, but politicians, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, are dragging their feet when it comes to changing the succession law.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks during a news conference in the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 15, 2026
Where will the Centrist Reform Alliance’s soul-searching take it?
The party’s internal study has confirmed what many political observers had already concluded — the attempt to fuse the CDP and Komeito faced structural flaws from the start.
The Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention held in Tokyo on Sunday. Opposition parties have criticized the performance of the national anthem by a Ground Self-Defense Force sergeant at the event as a violation of a ban on political activities by service members.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
GSDF officer’s anthem performance for LDP not political act, Koizumi says
Opposition parties have argued that the performance violated Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces law, which restricts political activities by SDF members.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2026
Takaichi seeks one-year timeline for constitutional amendment proposal
The prime minister also stressed the significance of her administration’s fiscal policy.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2026
LDP’s new vision says constitutional revision ‘critically needed’
The new vision states that Japan must create a Constitution with its own hands and together with its people and show what kind of nation it aims to become.
The Commission on the Constitution in the House of Representatives holds its first debate of the current Diet session, on Thursday at the Diet building.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2026
Ruling bloc proposes constitutional amendment drafting panel
The plan to introduce an article on national emergencies “has reached a stage to hammer out a draft at long last,” Yoshitaka Shindo of the LDP said.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku, parliamentary affairs chief of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks at a party meeting in the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2026
Parties call for extra budget amid concerns over energy crisis
There are concerns that currently available funds this may be insufficient if the conflict in Iran is prolonged and continues to disrupt global energy supplies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during the Upper House budget committee meeting at parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2026
Japan’s fiscal 2026 budget passes Upper House
The ¥122.3 trillion budget is the largest ever, reflecting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s goal of an expansionary fiscal policy.
Hiroyuki Kuzuno, professor at Aoyama Gakuin University (left), and other legal experts on retrials hold a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
142 retrial experts blast Japanese government panel proposal
The Legislative Council proposal, which would maintain the right of the prosecution to appeal retrial orders, is saddled with “serious problems,” the group said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at the Lower House plenary session on Thursday as the bill to upgrade the nation’s intelligence framework was put to debate.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 6, 2026
Japan’s much-needed intel debate could cost Takaichi political points
While the Liberal Democratic Party will not likely face major obstacles in the intelligence debate, it still could weigh down Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration.
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
Opposition Democratic Party for the People eyes change in strategy
The Democratic Party for the People’s influence has diminished due to the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the February Lower House election.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
Violence toward ambulance crews in Tokyo higher in 2025 and rising this year
A bloodstained helmet worn by an ambulance crew member who became involved in a case of violent abuse against the crew
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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