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July 12, 2026
 

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SUPREME COURT

There are at least 17 murder retrials in which guilty sentences have been overturned in Japan since the end of World War II, and public prosecutors had appealed court decisions to hold retrials in 12 of the cases, resulting in delays in the completion of the retrials, according to sources.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 14, 2024
70% of murder retrials with acquittals delayed by prosecutors
Retrial decisions where prosecutors didn’t appeal to the top court took a short amount of time to finalize.
The Supreme Court has upheld a damages order against police for removing a heckler during a stump speech by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2024
Japan’s top court finalizes damages order over removal of heckler
Hokkaido police officers grabbed the heckler’s shoulder and arm, moved her away from the location, and followed her for about an hour afterwards.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida receives a petition from victims of forced sterilization on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 17, 2024
Kishida apologizes to victims of forced sterilization
The apology from the prime minister follows a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month declaring that the now-defunct eugenics law was unconstitutional.
A plaintiff in a damages lawsuit regarding the Unification Church's alleged illegal solicitation of donations holds a news conference in Tokyo following a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2024
Ruling in favor of Unification Church overturned by Japan’s top court
A case related to the group’s controversial donation collection activities has been sent back to the high court.
A Japanese high court decision on Wednesday touched on the contentious issue of whether transgender people need to undergo surgery in order to have their gender changed in official records.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2024
Japan high court backs gender status change without surgery
The development is likely to put more pressure on the government to revise the contentious 2003 law on gender dysphoria.
Plaintiffs of a series of lawsuits on forced sterilization and their lawyers hold banners saying "victory ruling" after the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 3, 2024
Japan’s top court orders compensation for forced sterilization victims
The landmark ruling was made on the basis that the now-defunct eugenics law was unconstitutional.
Hanako and Taro Nomura, who are suing the government over forced sterilization, show their late daughter's birth register issued by a temple, in their living room in a city in Osaka Prefecture. For years, the couple wondered why they could not conceive after the death of their firstborn.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2024
Seeking justice, deaf couple confronts issue of forced sterilization
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will rule on lawsuits against the government filed by the Nomuras and others who were sterilized under a now-defunct eugenics law.
The Supreme Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024
Japan’s Supreme Court recognizes transgender woman as parent
It was the first decision by the top court on whether to recognize a parent-child relationship in a case in which a biological father had a child after transitioning.
The Supreme Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. This case will mark the first time for the Supreme Court to rule on a parent-child relationship in a case in which the biological father has a child after transitioning to a woman.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2024
Top court to rule on recognizing post-transition woman as parent
The Tokyo Family Court rejected the woman’s petition in 2022, stating that she did not fit the definitions of a father or a birth-giving mother under the Civil Code.
Plaintiffs and lawyers march to the Supreme Court to attend a hearing on lawsuits against the government over forced sterilization carried out under a now-defunct eugenic law, on Wednesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2024
Victims of forced sterilization speak of their suffering at Supreme Court
They are seeking compensation from the government over their forced sterilization due to their disabilities under a now-defunct eugenic law.
With the rise of populist, anti-democratic political movements and parties, many democracies are increasingly relying on the courts to uphold their constitutional order.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024
Judgment days for democracy
Populist politics have increasingly strained many countries’ constitutional orders, leading to more instances of courts asserting themselves.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2024
Supreme Court may review judgement against benefits for same-sex partner
The review would mark the first time the Supreme Court makes a decision regarding the issue of public benefits for a same-sex partner.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Dec 23, 2023
Push to disqualify Trump pits democracy against the rule of law
Trump’s status as the Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination has created severe tensions.
Plaintiffs filing damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law head to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2023
Grand Bench of top court to rule on forced sterilization damages
Five district courts have found the old law to be unconstitutional, but all rejected damages claims citing the statute of limitations.
Lawyers Kazuyuki Minami (left) and Masafumi Yoshida (right) representing a transgender woman show off signs that say "unconstitutional" and "sent back" to a lower court, during a news conference Wednesday in Tokyo after a Supreme Court decision.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 25, 2023
Supreme Court hands down landmark decision on transgender rights
A law requiring sterilization surgery to change a person’s legal gender has been declared “unconstitutional.”
Kanata Kimoto had his womb and ovaries removed in Thailand when he was 24, so he could have his legal gender status changed. Now he questions whether such an invasive and costly procedure was necessary.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 22, 2023
Calls grow to abolish Japan’s surgery requirement for gender change
Between 2004 and 2022, a total of 11,919 people had their gender changed through the law in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023
Supreme Court may adjust requirements for gender status change
If the court deems the surgery requirement for a gender change to be unconstitutional, it is expected to pave the way for an amendment of the law.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2023
Top court rejects claims over Abe’s failure to call Diet session
Presiding Justice Yasumasa Nagamine at the top court’s Third Petty Bench made the decision to dismiss the three appeals.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2023
Japan top court upholds ruling against Okinawa over Futenma move
The decision may accelerate the relocation effort, as it requires the prefectural government to approve design changes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2023
Japan’s top court takes steps to ensure preservation of case records
The Supreme Court plans to work hard to change the mentality of court officials and prevent any recurrence of document destruction.
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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