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March 08, 2025
 

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Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda addresses a rally calling for the introduction of a system allowing married couples to choose whether to use the same or different family names on Feb. 26 at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Some 44% of Japanese lawmakers back selective dual surname system
The figure far outstrips the 1% who said that the country should maintain its current same surname system.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba cancels planned August medical expense cap hike
It is the third time for the Ishiba administration to change its policy about the high-cost medical care system.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan and Britain stress free trade in Tokyo talks
The comments followed Japan and Britain's first "two-plus-two" talks between the country's trade and foreign ministers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with parliamentary vice ministers at the Prime Minister's Office in November. The share of women among Japan's lawmakers was 15.7% as of last December.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Japan's share of female lawmakers lowest among G7 members
While the global average was 27.2%, the figure in Japan stood at 15.7% as of last December.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
By Eric Johnston
Japan's top government spokesperson underlined the agreement's cooperative element after the U.S. president complained the deal was one-sided.
Hiroko Nagano, a former member of the assembly of Tokyo's Toshima Ward, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Female assembly members with children seeing better work conditions
By Miki Hirano
As of July 2024, there were 5,187 female municipal assembly members in the country, or only 17.9% of the total, however.
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara (left) greets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after the budget was passed at the Lower House — with the support of the opposition party — on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Is Nippon Ishin the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's friend or foe?
By Eric Johnston
The party is juggling between supporting the ruling coalition in return for some of its policies being realized, and opposing them to win votes.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrives at the Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar, previously known as Wallace Air Station, in San Fernando City, La Union province, Philippines, on Feb. 23. Japan and the Philippines have entered into a reciprocal access agreement that is pending approval by the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
LDP panels approve implementation bill for defense pacts
By Himari Semans
The bill will streamline laws associated with such agreements, for instance, when a member of a foreign military deployed to Japan commits a crime.
Elbridge Colby appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to be undersecretary of defense for policy at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Trump Pentagon policy pick pushes Japan and Taiwan to boost defense spending
By Jesse Johnson
Tokyo should boost its defense budget to 3% of GDP "as soon as possible,” said Elbridge Colby, Trump's pick for the top policy job at the Pentagon.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato. Subject to the Moritomo document disclosure are paper documents of 17 pages or more, as well as electronic data, Kato told a parliamentary meeting.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Government to release controversial Moritomo documents
The government will start disclosing documents related to a controversial state land sale to school operator Moritomo Gakuen in a month's time at the earliest.
Yuichiro Tamaki, who has been reinstated as leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Tamaki sets sights on Upper House election after retaking DPP reins
By Eric Johnston
The opposition party aims to increase its seat count in the upper chamber of parliament from 12 to 21.
The Lower House Budget Committee votes for the fiscal 2025 budget in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Budget clears Lower House in key win for Ishiba
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The budget’s approval in the Lower House has long been seen as an indispensable requirement for the survival of the Ishiba administration.
Natsumi Sakai, a Lower House member of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, during an interview in parliament last month
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Gender equality in politics remains elusive in Japan
Japan has a long way to go before fully achieving gender equality in politics.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Japan unlikely to attend future meetings for nuke ban treaty
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicates that Tokyo's absence from this week's meeting is due to the treaty being incompatible with U.S. nuclear deterrence.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Ishiba says Japan won't take sides in U.S. row with Ukraine
By Jesse Johnson
The Japanese leader sought to strike a balance for Japan, the sole Asian G7 member, in its alliance with the U.S. and its longstanding support for Kyiv.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. The Cabinet has decided to spend an additional ¥106.8 billion ($710 million) from its fiscal 2024 budget reserve funds on disaster relief for areas hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2025
Japan to spend additional ¥106.8 billion on aid for quake-hit Noto
The latest relief, using reserve funds from the fiscal 2024 budget, takes the total of financial aid for the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture to more than ¥820 billion.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks at the party's convention in Tokyo on Feb. 11.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2025
DPP goes on offensive after failing to secure budget deal with LDP-Komeito
By Eric Johnston
The opposition party plans to oppose the ruling coalition's budget proposal after talks between them broke down.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, at a news conference on Friday, said the Cabinet has approved a bill to revise relevant laws to digitalize criminal procedures in the country.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2025
Japan's Cabinet approves bill to digitalize criminal procedures
By Francis Tang
Once passed, existing laws will be amended to allow greater use of technologies by law enforcers and the judiciary.
Lower House Budget Committee Chairman Jun Azumi (third from left) and other members of the panel wait for Junichiro Matsumoto to turn up for his testimony in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
LDP accountant's testimony on slush funds scandal leaves much in the dark
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Junichiro Matsumoto, the ex-accountant of a faction previously led by Shinzo Abe, did not name the person who reinstated the kickback scheme.
Minoru Kishiguchi, a prefectural assembly member expelled from the Hyogo prefectural arm of Nippon Ishin no Kai (left), and Makoto Masuyama, a prefectural assembly member who received a recommendation to leave the party, at the Hyogo Prefectural Government Office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
Nippon Ishin's Hyogo group expels member over probe info leak
Minoru Kishiguchi had been serving as the committee's deputy chief and head of the party's assembly group at the time.
Komeito head Tetsuo Saito speaks at a party meeting in Tokyo on Jan. 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2025
Policy differences push Komeito to tread carefully in LDP coalition
By Eric Johnston
Komeito is likely to emphasize where it stands apart, but it isn't preparing for a breakup with the ruling party.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks at the party's convention in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025
Is time running out for CDP in budget talks with the ruling coalition?
By Himari Semans
Concerns have emerged that the main opposition party might have lost its bargaining chip after Nippon Ishin no Kai clinched a deal with the minority government.
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara speaks at the party's executive meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Ruling coalition clinches budget deal with Nippon Ishin
By Himari Semans and Gabriele Ninivaggi
The agreement is expected to lead to an increase in government spending on public and private education from April.

Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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