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March 07, 2026
 

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Himari Semans
A window overlooks Shinjuku¡¯s skyscrapers, at a high-rise building in Tokyo, Japan, in 2016.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2026
Government panel on foreign buyers of land to submit proposal this summer
The panel convened as the government aims to submit a bill to tighten restrictions on land purchases by foreign nationals in the current parliamentary session.
A woman checks Bitcoin¡¯s price chart on a smartphone.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2026
Takaichi clarifies she is not affiliated with ¡®sanae token¡¯ cryptocurrency
The cryptocurrency is a meme coin that NoBorder ¡ª a YouTube channel featuring political content run by Japanese entrepreneur Yuji Mizoguchi ¡ª announced last month.
Smoke rises after coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in Tehran on Sunday, as joint military operations hit targets in the capital.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2026
Trump¡¯s Iran attacks put Japan in tough spot as it emphasizes rules-based order
Japan is seeking to balance its strong support for the rule of law with its need to maintain its robust alliance with the U.S.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Lower House Budget Committee session on Friday where Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi urged officials to consider creating a "China-free" supply chain for defense equipment.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2026
Koizumi urges pivot away from China for defense equipment supply chain
The defense minister underlined the importance of boosting self-reliance following Beijing¡¯s ban on exporting dual-use items to Japan.
An Liberal Democratic Party panel calls for a review of existing measures to deter and detect foreign intelligence activities and states that new legislation should be considered if current safeguards are found to be insufficient.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
LDP panel approves proposal to strengthen intelligence capabilities
Both the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, have said that Japan¡¯s current capabilities are inadequate.
Iranians walk through Tehran's Grand Bazaar on Tuesday. Tokyo on Wednesday called for the release of a Japanese national who it says was detained in Tehran on Jan. 20.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2026
Tokyo ¡®strongly demands¡¯ release of Japanese national held in Iran since Jan. 20
Details were not immediately clear, but media reports named the person as Shinnosuke Kawashima, Japanese public broadcaster NHK¡¯s Tehran bureau chief.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks in parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2026
Scrutiny of Takaichi¡¯s gift catalogs for LDP lawmakers could delay budget debate
The prime minister said she gave gift catalogs to 315 lawmakers to celebrate their election on Feb. 8, saying she believes the move is above board.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her policy speech during the House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2026
Touting ¡®responsible and proactive¡¯ fiscal policy, Takaichi seeks to reassure markets
In her policy speech to parliament, the prime minister attempted to alleviate concerns that her policies are overly expansionary.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks in a news conference Wednesday night at the Prime Minister¡¯s Office.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s rocky road ahead to eliminate consumption tax on groceries
Before the Feb. 8 Lower House election, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to eliminate consumption tax on groceries for two years. How will she deliver?
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is applauded after being reelected as prime minister in the Lower House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2026
Takaichi heads into parliament with key agenda points in mind
Passing the budget, setting up an intelligence agency, and cutting the consumption tax are all top priorities for Sanae Takaichi, who was reelected as prime minister.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Feb. 9
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
LDP retains high approval rating post election, Nikkei poll shows
While the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s high approval ratings continued after its Feb. 8 election win, support for the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito stayed sluggish.
Newly elected Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2026
Junya Ogawa elected leader of Centrist Reform Alliance
The former CDP lawmaker pledged to strengthen the CRA¡¯s internal structure as the party reels from its election defeat.
Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks at a news conference on Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 12, 2026
Why coalition partner JIP is now set to take a Cabinet post
A JIP member is expected to take up a ministerial post sometime later this year.
The streets of the Kabukicho district in Tokyo in July 2021. Overseas, many countries ¡ª including most U.S. states ¡ª criminalize both those who sell and buy sex.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 10, 2026
Japan mulls revising anti-prostitution law to penalize sex buyers
The revision would close what critics say is a loophole to the law, which currently only penalizes sellers who solicit sex for money.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito during a news conference on Monday in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 9, 2026
The long road to recovery after the CRA¡¯s election loss
The new party must find new leadership after a crushing debut defeat.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito speak during a live TV program Sunday in Tokyo following the party's defeat in the Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
CRA's Noda and Saito hint at resignations after electoral drubbing
The Centrist Reform Alliance¡¯s poor performance in Sunday¡¯s Lower House election could force co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to resign.
Sanseito, a party led by Sohei Kamiya (second from right), opposes the long-term settlement of foreign nationals but supports the use of short-term foreign labor.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2026
Conservative parties push for capping of foreign resident population
The Japan Innovation Party, Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan are taking a hard-line stance while other parties are proposing alternative measures.
Team Mirai leader Takahiro Anno stumps in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Jan. 27, the first day of campaigning for the Lower House election slated for Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2026
Team Mirai could overtake more established parties in Lower House
The 9-month-old party could win up to 10 seats, more than the Japanese Communist Party¡¯s nine and Reiwa Shinsengumi¡¯s six, according to a weekend poll.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to voters in Aichi Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2026
LDP-JIP coalition on track to secure two-thirds majority, survey shows
The opposition Centrist Reform Alliance is projected to lose more than half of the seats it held before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the Lower House, a new survey shows.
Sohei Kamiya, leader of the Sanseito party, delivers a campaign speech in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 29, 2026
Sanseito aims to win favor with conservative voters by aligning with Takaichi
The party plans to deliver on policy by positioning itself as an ally to the prime minister while targeting her left-leaning party colleagues at the ballot box.
Drones and missiles: U.S. Marines in Okinawa evolve for sea-denial role
Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, speaks to marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America at Naval Base White Beach in Okinawa Prefecture on Aug. 10.
Japan¡¯s national museums to implement dual-pricing system
Admission fees for the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and 11 other state-run museums are set to increase for visitors from outside Japan.
Three arrested over illegal hiring of Vietnamese workers in Japan
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested three men over alleged involvement in employing Vietnamese nationals without work permits in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Violence in sumo provokes anger but little surprise
Terunofuji pictured at Isegahama stable on Jan. 29, 2024
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
Cherry blossom season set to begin up to a week earlier than usual
Cherry blossoms are expected to bloom earlier than usual this year, with flowering forecast to begin in Nagoya on March 17 and in Tokyo on March 19, according to Japan Meteorological Corp.
Taiwan¡¯s FM calls for Taipei to be part of 'first island chain' security framework
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung speaks during an interview last week in Taipei. Lin has called on Japan and other partners to step up cooperation in areas such as intelligence-sharing, joint exercises, defense-industry tie-ups, data links and dealing with hybrid threats such as China¡¯s gray-zone activities.
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
¡®My hope has fear inside it¡¯: Iranians in Japan react to attacks back home
Somayyeh Mehri speaks in an interview on Monday in Tokyo. The psychological weight of watching events unfold from Japan is gut-wrenching for Mehri.
Shohei Ohtani returns to Japan as the center of attention ahead of WBC
Shohei Ohtani is back with Samurai Japan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani was the MVP of the 2023 tournament.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

As Japan accelerates AI adoption, policymakers and corporations frame the technology as essential to offsetting a projected labor shortfall of 11 million workers by 2040.
Japan is betting big on AI. Few workers have used it.
By Eric Margolis

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