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July 08, 2026
 

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CRA

Lower House Constitution Commission Chair Keiji Furuya (center) in a session on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2026
Panel on change to Constitution eyes ‘emergency’ clause to deliver breakthrough
Those favoring revision discuss streamlining policy shifts and extensions of lawmakers’ terms, while others question if changes are necessary.
Former co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance Yoshihiko Noda speaks during an interview at the Diet building in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2026
Some in LDP were positive about formation of CRA, says Noda
The former CRA co-leader says several moderate conservative members of the LDP were approached for cooperation to realize a broad political realignment.
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.
Opposition parties are demanding Cabinet approval for exports of highly lethal weapons and for first-time projects.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2026
Opposition calls for prior notification to parliament over arms exports
The opposition parties also demand Cabinet approval for exports of highly lethal weapons and for first-time projects.
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.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks during an interview at the Diet building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2026
CRA leader Ogawa calls for full merger with CDP and Komeito
“Prolonged stagnation ... could sink them together,” Junya Ogawa said, referring to the three Japanese opposition parties.
Members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan attend its regular party convention on Sunday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
CDP stops short of specifying when to merge into CRA
A draft of the CDP’s campaign policy had included a plan to make the decision in June 2027, after unified local elections earlier that year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in an Upper House Budget Committee on Monday. With the fiscal deadline approaching, the prime minister's government is facing pressure to secure enough support to pass the budget while avoiding accusations it is ramming legislation through parliament.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 16, 2026
LDP tries to move carefully but quickly as budget deadline looms
The budget cleared the Lower House, where the LDP’s ruling bloc has a supermajority, but the path through the Upper House is much less certain.
Komeito leader Toshiko Takeya shake hands with Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa (right) and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Shunichi Mizuoka during a Komeito party convention in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Komeito chief open to full integration with Centrist Reform Alliance
The CRA currently comprises only lawmakers of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
A Lower House plenary session is held to vote for a fiscal 2026 budget bill on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Japan ruling bloc uses ‘power majority’ to push through fiscal 2026 budget
Opposition parties have intensified their criticism, calling the ruling bloc’s move a threat to fiscal democracy.
Junya Ogawa, who became head of the Centrist Reform Alliance a month ago, is seeking to rebuild Japan’s opposition after last month’s election defeat while focusing on policy debate.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
CRA leader Junya Ogawa faces host of challenges, one month after election defeat
Junya Ogawa has held back on grilling government leaders, something that opposition parties usually prefer doing, and instead tried to focus on policy debate.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at parliament on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Ruling bloc pushes fiscal 2026 budget through Lower House in supermajority flex
Opposition parties voted against the budget in a plenary session on the argument that it needs more time for deliberations.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discusses tax reduction at a national council in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
CRA might join national council on consumption tax cut after all
Like the Democratic Party for the People, the party fears the political cost of not taking part in talks over the proposed consumption tax cut for food items.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2026
DPP to join panel on consumption tax cut
The Democratic Party for the People’s announcement comes after it, along with the Centrist Reform Alliance, skipped the panel’s inaugural meeting on Feb. 26.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions from Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa (left) at a Lower House Budget Committee session on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2026
Government and ruling bloc adamant about passing budget before fiscal 2026
The ruling bloc of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party is aiming to pass the draft budget through the Lower House on March 13.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Thursday. While Takaichi wants to use a nonpartisan panel to achieve consensus across party lines on how to pause consumption tax on groceries for two years, opposition parties are concerned about the political fallout of being seen as agreeing too much, or not enough, with her effort.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
Consumption tax panel kicks off without two opposition parties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had hoped to use the panel to achieve consensus across parties on how to lift the tax for two years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looks toward Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2026
Despite Lower House dominance, Takaichi puts emphasis on cooperation
The prime minister urged opposition parties to work with her coalition to get the fiscal 2026 budget passed before the end of March, when the current fiscal year concludes.
Sanae Takaichi and her ruling party's election victory strengthens Japan’s stability and its role in regional and global diplomacy amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2026
Stability as strategy: Japan’s moment for global leadership
Rising anti-China sentiment may have contributed to Takaichi’s strong mandate.
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.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
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.
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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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