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July 12, 2026
 

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FOREIGN MINISTRY

Former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa is interviewed in Tokyo on Dec. 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2025
Japan faced tough U.S. demands in 1994 North Korea nuke crisis
U.S. congressional heavyweights openly expressed frustration when they met with the visiting Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.
Japan plans to cut application fees for passports next year.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2025
Japan to cut passport fees by up to ¥7,000
The application fee will be lowered to about ¥9,000 from about ¥16,000 for 10-year passports.
The Foreign Ministry is planning to create an office to provide assistance to third countries, spanning from peace mediation to post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2025
Foreign Ministry to set up peace mediation office, sources say
The new office is expected to help Japan provide assistance spanning from mediation to post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
The United Nations headquarters in New York in September
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2025
Japanese workers at U.N. agencies hit record high
While the figure is close to the Japanese government’s target of 1,000 workers in 2025, it accounts for only 2% of the overall total of U.N. agency workers.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi points to Botswana on a globe in a video clip posted on the ministry's official X account.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 8, 2025
Japan’s Foreign Ministry emphasizes visuals on social media
The Foreign Ministry’s infographics on its social media accounts help it effectively send its message around the world, but they also extend beyond the realm of public relations.
Generational shifts are changing how Japanese people get the news and perceive the world, with younger generations showing different attitudes, particularly toward China, compared with older generations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2025
In Japan and elsewhere, a ‘generational shift’ is upon us
In short, how people get news — especially political and international information — is undergoing a global generational shift.
The Diet building in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
Japanese government plans to launch new intelligence bureau in July
The envisaged bureau will be formed by upgrading the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
Tokyo has warned nationals living in China to be on alert for anti-Japanese sentiment, while a Japanese animated film’s release date in the nation was postponed.
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2025
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
Masaaki Kanai, a top Foreign Ministry official, will be looking to explain that there has been no change in Japan’s existing position on the Taiwan issue.
Shinjiro Koizumi — son of a former prime minister and rival to the current one — was appointed defense chief after falling short in his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency earlier this month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 22, 2025
For three key Cabinet posts, Takaichi turns to an eclectic trio
The prime minister’s picks for Japan’s new defense, foreign and economic security ministers are not your typical stodgy line-up.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2025
Japan will not recognize Palestinian statehood for now
The decision is believed to have been made in light of Israel hardening its stance against Palestinian statehood, as well as U.S. opposition to such recognition.
The World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Japan will appoint a permanent representative focusing on the WTO for the first time.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2025
Japan to appoint first permanent representative focusing on WTO
The decision is designed to strengthen trade cooperation with other countries and counter steep tariffs from the U.S.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, Russia, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan expands sanctions against Russia
Tokyo will freeze the assets of 14 individuals and 51 organizations, including Russian officials, company executives and pro-Russian figures in Ukraine.
Sheremetyevo international airport in Moscow. Japan has partially eased its travel restrictions to Russia, allowing unavoidable travel.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan partially eases travel restrictions to Russia
Tokyo says unavoidable travel — such as those for humanitarian, business, study, research, education, or artistic purposes — are allowed.
The Foreign Ministrys budget request for fiscal 2026 will call for building information infrastructure and developing digital human resources.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Foreign Ministry to seek ¥874.3 billion budget for fiscal 2026
The budget request will call for building information infrastructure and developing digital human resources.
Jose Takei, an 82-year-old man of Japanese descent in the Philippines, speaks during an interview on Aug. 8 at the Foreign Ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Stateless man of Japanese descent in Philippines eager for Japan citizenship
The son of a Japanese man and Filipino woman, Jose Takei never met his father, who left before he was born to join the Japanese military during World War II.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference last month.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2025
Japan’s foreign minister urges Myanmar to restore democracy
Japan strongly urges Myanmar’s military to “swiftly restore the country’s democratic political system,” Iwaya told a news conference.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (left) is escorted by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the start of their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2025
Japan-South Korea top diplomats’ meeting shows ties on solid footing
In an unusual move, Seoul’s foreign minister visited Tokyo before Washington, as the Asian neighbors emphasized the importance of maintaining stable relations.
The Foreign Ministry will implement a large-scale organizational reform on Friday, including the establishment of an economic security division under the Economic Affairs Bureau.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan’s Foreign Ministry to set up economic security division
It will be the first time in 19 years for the ministry to carry out a large-scale organizational reform involving multiple bureaus.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand shakes hands with Japan's top diplomat, Takeshi Iwaya, at the end of a signing ceremony for an information security agreement, after bilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
Japan and Canada ink key intel-sharing deal
The agreement is another important step toward deepening ties with individual members of the Five Eyes intelligence grouping.
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 scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
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.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
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.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘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.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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