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July 01, 2026
 

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Gabriele Ninivaggi
Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party lawmakers present a bill to reduce at least 45 Lower House seats by the end of next year, for submission on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
LDP and JIP submit bill to eliminate at least 45 Lower House seats
The path to the bill’s submission has been rough as the parties had been at loggerheads over the number of seats to cut and which ones, and the legal framework for implementation.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 3, 2025
Takaichi’s Taiwan tumult: A closer look at the Japanese leader’s contentious remarks
The prime minister’s remarks about a Taiwan emergency have caused a diplomatic uproar, sending Japan-China ties to new lows.
Independent Lower House lawmakers (from left) Hiroki Abe, Takeshi Saiki and Tadashi Morishima speak to reporters in parliament on Friday after meeting with Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2025
LDP-led coalition regains Lower House majority with three independents’ backing
With the three lawmakers in the LDP’s in-house group, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be able to pass key budget bills without opposition support.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi takes part in a debate with opposition party leaders, including Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda (right center), in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2025
Takaichi hints that Taiwan remarks were off the cuff
The PM has indicated that she didn’t initially intend to offer an example of what she could consider a “survival-threatening situation” that would allow the SDF to be deployed.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (left) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Katayama seemed dismissive of concerns that the new “Office for Administrative Reform and Promotion of Efficiency” would cause widespread havoc similar to that seen in the United States.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2025
Japan gets its own bureau of government efficiency, but no Elon Musk in sight
Concerns of DOGE-like chaos were dismissed, with the finance minister stressing the importance of cutting back on wasteful spending.
Former Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (third from left) attends a meeting with Japan Innovation Party lawmakers in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
LDP and JIP agree to submit bill outlining reduction of Lower House seats
The two parties are postponing reaching a conclusion on the actual number of seats to be cut and whether to cut proportional seats.
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
Tokyo has warned nationals living in China to be on alert for anti-Japanese sentiment, while a Japanese animated film’s release date in the nation was postponed.
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2025
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
Masaaki Kanai, a top Foreign Ministry official, will be looking to explain that there has been no change in Japan’s existing position on the Taiwan issue.
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Satsuki Katayama’s shattering of another glass ceiling last month puts her in charge of selling Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “responsible and proactive fiscal policy.”
Representatives from the Japan Innovation Party hand over a proposal to designate Xue Jian, the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, as persona no grata, to a staff of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2025
China warns of military response if Japan intervenes in Taiwan contingency
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong hauled in Japan’s top envoy to China, lodging an angry protest and issuing a direct threat.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura in Tokyo on Oct. 21. An agreement between the two parties included a promise, at the JIP's insistence, to introduce legislation in the current parliamentary session that reduces the number of Lower House seats.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 11, 2025
LDP-JIP coalition faces friction over parliamentary seat-reducing bill
Differences over the measure to reduce parliamentary seats could weaken the ruling minority coalition’s unity and test its ability to compromise.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a session of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee in parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2025
Takaichi stands firm on controversial Taiwan contingency remarks
While the prime minister says she has “no intention” of changing the government’s position, her remarks push the line further than those of her predecessors.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions from Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda regarding her policy speech at the Lower House in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 5, 2025
Takaichi sticks to script in second day of parliamentary questioning
The prime minister remained elusive in her answers, much to the chagrin of the opposition.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and minister in charge of growth strategy Minoru Kiuchi (center right) attend a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 4, 2025
Takaichi eyes economic growth plan by next summer
A newly established government panel has been tasked with mapping out a growth plan for 17 key sectors, including AI, chips and defense.
A screenshot from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's X account shows Takaichi exchanging greetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Friday.　
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2025
Takaichi and Xi reaffirm pledge in first meet to pursue ‘mutually beneficial’ ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held her first in-person talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit Friday afternoon.
National security adviser Keiichi Ichikawa (fourth from right) is seen as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump review an honor guard of the Self-Defense Forces at the Akasaka State Guesthouse in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2025
Who is Keiichi Ichikawa, Takaichi’s new national security adviser?
Ichikawa is expected to play a leading role in the prime minister’s ambitious endeavors on the diplomatic and security front.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges ‘new golden age’ for alliance
The meeting was a crucial test of Takaichi’s diplomatic chops as she seeks to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance while staving off pressure from the U.S. on defense spending.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her first policy speech in the Lower House in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2025
Takaichi focuses on economic and security concerns in first policy speech
Over half of the new prime minister’s speech was dedicated to economic policies, and she described the fight against inflation as the top priority for her administration.
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi reacts to applauding lawmakers after being elected prime minister at the Lower House on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2025
Takaichi makes history as Japan’s first female prime minister
Monday’s coalition agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party made her ascent to the nation’s top post all but certain.
Minoru Kihara (second from left) attends a Lower House plenary session on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2025
Who is Minoru Kihara, Takaichi’s new ‘cool-headed’ spokesman?
The former defense minister has many things in common with Japan’s first female prime minister.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

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