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July 11, 2026
 

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DIET

Former Liberal Democratic Party President Yohei Kono, who had also served as Lower House speaker, during an interview in Tokyo in 2015. Kono was known as a dove in the party, and staunchly opposed revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 11, 2026
Late LDP dove Yohei Kono widely known for landmark apology over ‘comfort women’
As chief cabinet secretary in 1993, he issued a statement expressing Japan’s “sincere apologies and remorse,” which sparked a domestic and international controversy.
Yohei Kono (center), head of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, shares a light moment with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as they head to a meeting in Beijing in July 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2026
Former Lower House speaker Yohei Kono dies at 89
Kono was a leading dove within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and championed stable ties with neighbors of Japan, including China and South Korea.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako with other royal family members at the Akasaka Palace's imperial garden in Tokyo in April
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2026
Parliamentary panel approves draft proposal on revising Imperial House Law
The move paves the way toward legal amendments to help prevent the number of members of the imperial family from further dwindling.
Lower House Speaker Eisuke Mori (third from left) speaks to reporters alongside Upper House Speaker Masakazu Sekiguchi (second from left) in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2026
Parliament leaders adopt draft proposal for imperial succession
The draft calls for allowing female members of the imperial family to retain their status after marriage and male heirs to be adopted from former branches.
Digital minister Hisashi Matsumoto
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2026
Japan could end up an ‘AI colony’ if it falls behind, digital minister warns
Japan’s push to keep pace with the global AI race reflects a broader anxiety among governments worldwide, fearful of becoming ever more dependent ​on foreign technology.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki speaks during the party's meeting on political system reform in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2026
LDP considering cutting 45 proportional representation seats in Lower House
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is said to be seeking consensus within the party on reducing Lower House seats through cuts to proportional representation seats.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), delivers a question during a House of Representatives plenary session on May 25. Making the DPP a coalition member would make it easier for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (above left) to drive forward her legislative agenda.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2026
The LDP wants another coalition partner. Will it happen?
The Liberal Democratic Party floated the idea of inviting the Democratic Party for the People to join the ruling bloc.
Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, attends a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2026
Three Japanese opposition parties explore new alliance
With the current Diet session slated to end July 17, the three parties hope to confirm such plans by mid-July, according to sources.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Lower House parliamentary affairs chief of the Centrist Reform Alliance (center, left), and Yoshitaka Saito, Upper House parliamentary affairs chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (center, right), meet in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2026
Japan ruling and opposition parties at odds over extra budget
The budget committees of both the upper and lower chambers will each spend one day deliberating the extra budget for the fiscal year that started in April.
Health minister Kenichiro Ueno at an Upper House plenary session following the passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care insurance system
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2026
Japan passes bill to raise co-payments for prescription drugs similar to OTC counterparts
The health ministry plans to require individuals to bear additional costs for some 1,100 over-the-counter-like prescription drugs starting in March 2027.
Royal family members greet guests during the spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace's imperial garden in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / Explainer
May 29, 2026
Who are the former royals who may be reinstated to the imperial family?
A proposal to allow the reinstatement of former male royals along the male line of the imperial family through adoption is being considered by policymakers.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in March. The Japanese leader currently has the political and procedural leverage to pursue sweeping reforms, including the creation of an intelligence agency modeled on the CIA.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2026
Long overdue, Japan updates its intelligence infrastructure
The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is taking steps to improve that capability with passage of the National Intelligence Council Law.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Cabinet Committee meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 27, 2026
How the intel bill showed Japan’s new political reality
The debate surrounding the National Intelligence Council Law revealed less about Japan’s intelligence system than the current contours of the country’s new political reality.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions about the criminal procedure law in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2026
Takaichi stresses ‘great significance’ of retrial system reform
The government bill prohibits in principle public prosecutors from filing appeals against court decisions to start retrials.
The House of Representatives passes a bill to revise the personal information protection law with support from the ruling bloc and the Democratic Party for the People on Tuesday at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2026
Lower House approves bill to revise personal information protection law
The bill includes a provision requiring businesses that repeatedly commit violations to pay fines equivalent to the earned profit to state coffers.
Katsunobu Kato, chairman of the National Power Research Group, addresses the group's inaugural meeting held at the parliamentary building in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2026
What will the LDP’s new National Power Research Group become?
The group’s scale and participation by party heavy hitters would’ve been unusual even for former factions, let alone for policy research.
A new disaster management agency, to be placed directly under the Cabinet, will draw up basic disaster management policy and coordinate responses to large-scale calamities.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2026
Japan Lower House passes bill to create disaster management agency
The bill is expected to be enacted during the current parliamentary session, with the government aiming to set up the agency this autumn.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks to reporters last week.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2026
Japan opposition to grill PM on extra budget in leaders’ debate
Opposition parties are set to grill Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a party leaders' debate on Wednesday over her delay in preparing an extra budget to combat rising oil prices and inflation.
A Cabinet meeting on Friday that approved a revised bill on the retrial system
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2026
Cabinet approves revision of controversial retrial system
Critics of Japan’s retrial system have said prosecutors’ right to appeal is prolonging the court procedures needed for those seeking a retrial, with it sometimes taking decades.
Keisuke Suzuki, who heads a Liberal Democratic Party panel on the judicial system, speaks during a party meeting on retrial revisions on Wednesday at the party's headquarters in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2026
LDP approves government proposal to revise retrial system
The approval paves the way for the revision — a top priority for the government — to be submitted to the current parliamentary session.
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.

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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