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July 10, 2026
 

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DIET

Keiji Furuya (center rear), chair of the House of Representatives’ Commission on the Constitution, attends a meeting of senior committee members at parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2026
Draft of emergency clause for Constitution includes extending lawmakers’ terms
The draft did not show an upper limit for how long lawmakers’ terms can be extended, while stating there are opinions calling for setting it to “one year” or “six months.”
Hirofumi Ryu, chief of the Centrist Reform Alliance's panel on imperial succession, speaks to reporters in the parliamentary building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2026
CRA accepts proposals on imperial family membership revision
The proposals include allowing female imperial family members to retain their status after marriage and adopting male members of former imperial branches back into the family.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a House of Councilors plenary session at the parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2026
Takaichi to debate with six opposition party heads May 20
Opposition parties with 10 or more seats in either the House of Representatives or the House of Councilors are eligible to participate.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves as she departs a Royal Australian Air Force base in Canberra on May 5, after a three-day official visit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2026
Was Japan’s recent Golden Week diplomatic offensive effective, let alone ‘strategic’?
Prime Ministger Takaichi risks continuing a pattern of compressed, opportunistic diplomacy — busy, but not always effective.
At a meeting of the Centrist Reform Alliance’s group studying stable imperial succession, Hirofumi Ryu (second from right), head of the group, delivers remarks on Thursday at the Diet building.
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
CRA to back adoption proposal for imperial family
The proposal calls for male members on the paternal line of former imperial family branches to be adopted back into the family.
Digital minister Hisashi Matsumoto answers questions at a Lower House plenary session in April.
JAPAN
May 6, 2026
Government to launch AI pilot program to boost efficiency and encourage tech’s adoption
Gennai, a generative artificial intelligence platform developed for internal use by civil servants, will be rolled out across 39 government agencies.
Hideko Hakamata (right), the elder sister of Iwao Hakamata who was acquitted of a 1966 murder, attends a rally in Tokyo on April 18 to oppose the Justice Ministry's bill to revise the retrial system, which would continue to allow public prosecutors to appeal decisions to start a retrial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 5, 2026
Growing number of critical views expressed online over proposed retrial reforms
Many social media users took interest in the topic after the draft bill to revise the code drew severe objections — even angry outbursts — from some lawmakers.
Some are calling for the food tax rate to be set at 1% instead of fully shelving the tax, so that changes needed for cash register systems becomes easier and require less time.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2026
Food tax rate of 1% pitched as industries push back on PM’s campaign promise
Although the government aims to implement the two-year tax cut to 0% within fiscal 2026, it would take a year to make cash register systems compatible with such a rate.
A bill to strengthen the government's intelligence capabilities was passed a Lower House plenary session on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2026
Japan Lower House OKs bill to boost intel capabilities
The bill calls for setting up a national intelligence council to be headed by the prime minister and a national intelligence bureau.
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.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tomomi Inada (second from left) attends a party panel meeting on revising Japan's retrial system at the party's headquarters on April 15.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2026
LDP and Justice Ministry remain divided over how to revise retrial system
One key issue at the heart of the impasse in revising the retrial system has been whether to allow prosecutors to appeal a court decision to reopen a case.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 20, 2026
Knife-carrying man arrested at Upper House office building
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested the man on suspicion of violating the firearms and swords control law.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of opposition party the Democratic Party for the People, says the government should present a five-year road map toward achieving a primary surplus by around 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2026
Japan’s opposition DPP presses for 5-year road map to primary surplus
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that while a deficit is acceptable in the near term, Japan should aim for a surplus by around 2030.
Japan Innovation Party co-leader Hirofumi Yoshimura and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meet in parliament on March 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2026
LDP less eager than JIP on Lower House seat cut
For the 10% cut, the JIP aims to reduce the number of proportional representation seats by 45 from the current 176.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at parliament on March 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2026
LDP and JIP remain divided over revision of Constitution’s Article 9
The Liberal Democratic Party is worried the Japan Innovation Party’s hawkish approach to revising the pacifist clause won’t sit well with the public.
Members of the House of Representatives council on the electoral system meet in the parliamentary building on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
LDP wants Lower House panel to discuss seat cuts
Reducing the number of Lower House seats is a signature policy for the Japan Innovation Party and was included in its coalition agreement with the LDP.
Chairperson Hiroyuki Nagahama (center rear) and others attend a House of Councilors constitutional review committee hearing at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2026
Four things to understand in Japan’s constitutional debate
Japan’s legislature started debate on constitutional amendment as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to have a proposal ready in a year.
House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori (right) and House of Councilors Speaker Masakazu Sekiguchi hold a news conference after concluding ruling and opposition party talks on securing the number of imperial family members, on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Lower House head wants Imperial House Law revision this session
In the discussions so far, ruling and opposition parties have considered two proposals presented by a government expert panel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
‘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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