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July 01, 2026
 

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DIET

Over 53% of respondents to a recent survey support a plan to reduce 45 of the 176 proportional representation seats in the Lower House.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2026
38% back parliament’s proposal on imperial family, poll shows
The government and the ruling coalition aim to enact the revision during the current parliamentary session ending July 17.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya speaks to reporters in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Sanseito submits bill to create agency on policies related to foreign nationals
After submitting the bill, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s policies on foreign nationals.
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki speaks during a news conference at the Diet building in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Japan set to enact bill criminalizing vandalism of the national flag
Backing from the opposition Democratic Party for the People paves the way for the bill’s passage through the Upper House, where the ruling bloc is a minority force.
Hirofumi Yoshimura (left), head of the Japan Innovation Party, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also Liberal Democratic Party president, during a meeting at the Diet in Tokyo on March 17
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 15, 2026
Bills on JIP’s signature policy goals in limbo as parliamentary session nears end
The party, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai, continues to push for the creation of a secondary capital and a reduction of seats in the Lower House.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a House of Councillors budget committee session at the Diet in Tokyo on June 5.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 14, 2026
Japan opposition raps Takaichi over imperial law revision
Some opposition lawmakers said that her move could undermine previous discussions held by the Diet to form its consensus on the measures.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2026
Komeito aims to merge with CRA before next parliamentary session
Informed sources say the party plans to declare its plan to join the CRA in July and formally approve the move at a party convention by September.
The Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives approves a bill to revise Japan's criminal retrial system on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 12, 2026
Lower House panel approves retrial system reform bill
The bill is expected to clear the Lower House on Tuesday and be enacted during the current Diet session ending in July.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara holds a news conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2026
Japanese government starts work to draft Imperial House Law amendment
The government hopes to submit the legislation to the Diet late this month, aiming to secure its enactment during the ongoing parliamentary session.
Katsunobu Kato, head of the Liberal Democratic Party's political system reform headquarters, addresses a meeting held at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 11, 2026
LDP approves bill to cut 45 seats in Lower House
As reducing only the number of proportional representation seats could affect smaller parties more severely, some in the LDP were cautious of the idea.
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.
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.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
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."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.

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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