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July 11, 2026
 

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DIET

The Lower House plenary session, which passed legislation on the dwindling number of imperial family members on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2026
Bills on preservation of imperial family pass Lower House
The pieces of legislation will now be deliberated in the Upper House, which is expected to clear them by the end of the current session of parliament.
The House of Councilors
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2026
Nearly 150 Japanese academics oppose bill banning national flag desecration
The legislation faces significant pushback among opposition parties who say it violates a constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Members of Japan's imperial family during a public appearance for New Year celebrations at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 2
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Imperial family bill may clear Lower House as early as Friday
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party said it would agree to hold intensive discussions at the Budget Committee of the Diet’s lower chamber, with the prime minister in attendance.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
LDP and JIP agree to delay bill to reduce Lower House seats
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and JIP chief Hirofumi Yoshimura decided to postpone debate on the bill to a later session of parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a meeting of the Upper House audit committee in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
Controversial bills threaten to push parliament session into overtime
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is caught between honoring a promise to the Japan Innovation Party and the reality that it will be difficult to pass the bills in the Upper House.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a parliament committee session on June 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 5, 2026
Takaichi holds key to breaking parliament deadlock
Political maneuvering is expected to intensify, with less than two weeks to go before the current parliament session ends on July 17.
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 3, 2026
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
After decades of discussion over their future, the princesses may soon have the option to either leave or remain in the imperial family.
Newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito takes part in a ritual at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in May 2019, in which imperial envoys are dispatched to the Ise Grand Shrine and imperial mausoleums.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 3, 2026
Tradition vs. change: Japan’s imperial succession debate intensifies
For decades, the government has postponed action. This week, however, Prime Minister Takaichi’s administration submitted a bill to the Diet to revise the Imperial House Law.
The women's restroom next to the Lower House's main chamber has only two individual toilet cubicles for women, but that number will be expanded to four.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2026
Following petition, female lawmakers in Japan get two more toilets
The cross-party petition, whose 58 signatories included Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, asked for more toilets for women in the parliament building.
Three major opposition parties are hoping to finalize a three-way merger by this fall.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2026
Opposition parties CRA, CDP and Komeito discuss merger
The three parties agreed that they should establish a new political structure ahead of the fall session of parliament.
LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki before a meeting with the Centrist Reform Alliance on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2026
LDP to halt debate on JIP priorities to focus on imperial family bill
The LDP is ready to halt debate on controversial bills while discussions on proposed Imperial House Law revisions are underway, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki has said.
Revisions to the laws meant to tackle the imperial family's dwindling numbers included clauses that throw succession rules into question.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
Law revisions regarding imperial family invite controversy about succession
Revisions to the laws meant to tackle the imperial family’s dwindling numbers included clauses that throw succession rules into question.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, seen with other imperial family members, walk down a hill to greet guests during a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace's imperial garden in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2026
Japan adopts bill to revise Imperial House Law
The government aims to enact the bill during the ongoing Diet session, currently scheduled to end on July 17.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House committee session in Tokyo on June 22.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
Will Takaichi invoke 60-day rule to pass controversial bills?
The ruling coalition aims to pass bills to trim Lower House seats and establish the concept of a secondary capital in the current session of parliament, which ends in three weeks.
According to the 2025 reports on lawmakers' incomes, the average income among nine party leaders stood at ¥24.53 million.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2026
Takaichi tops 2025 income rankings for Japan party heads
The prime minister earned ¥36.41 million in 2025 while the average income among nine party leaders stood at ¥24.53 million.
The bill stipulates that imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to ¥200,000 be imposed on acts that publicly damage the national flag.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
LDP’s flag desecration bill clears Lower House
Under the bill, desecrating the flag is punishable by up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥200,000.
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
LGBTQ+ people in Japan face such limited fertility treatment options, they could ultimately be deprived of the right to safely start a family.
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 28, 2026
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Japan does not offer same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits granted to married couples.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku (third from right), Lower House parliamentary affairs chief of the Centrist Reform Alliance, and other members submit a request to Shunichi Yamaguchi (center), chair of the Committee on Rules and Administration, regarding a bill to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives, at the parliament building in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2026
Shrinking Lower House by 45 seats to hit smaller parties hard
Debates on the LDP-JIP bill are slated to start Monday at a political reform special committee of the Lower House.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on economic policy at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Japan government to avoid deficit-covering bonds for food tax cut
The move to avoid the issuance of deficit-covering bonds follows a policy that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has consistently emphasized.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
World’s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
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.
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.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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