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August 11, 2026
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
The effort to cut consumption tax on food has created a rift between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and several senior members of her own party who are openly critical of the plan.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 5, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet approves consumption tax cut on food
While the majority of the Liberal Democratic Party endorsed the cut, some party veterans opposed lowering the tax rate, fearing it will lead to economic and political chaos.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with evacuees after last week's magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, at an evacuation shelter in the town of Hikawa on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2026
Takaichi meets victims and local leaders in quake-struck Kumamoto
The prime minister¡¯s visit comes almost a week after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake, which has killed at least 38 people and left over 9,200 in evacuation shelters.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a meeting with Liberal Democratic Party executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2026
Takaichi announces plan to lower consumption tax rate on food to 1%
The decision comes despite opposition party criticism and concerns among fellow LDP members about how lost revenue ¡ª ?5 trillion annually ¡ª from the reduction would be covered.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Itsunori Onodera, who chairs the National Council, speaks in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2026
Takaichi finalizing plan to cut consumption tax rate on food products
The prime minister is expected to make a formal decision on the matter as early as Thursday.
A view of downtown Sapporo. Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki is pushing Sapporo as a candidate for a second capital outside Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 28, 2026
With secondary-capital bill passed, competition between cities heats up
In addition to Osaka, others including Fukuoka, Sapporo and Nagoya have indicated interest in being the fallback if a disaster strikes Tokyo and renders it unable to function.
The Upper House passes a bill to create a secondary capital for Japan, after a last-minute showdown between the ruling and opposition camps, with 123 votes in favor and 121 against at parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2026
Secondary capital bill passes after showdown at parliament
The legislation¡¯s passage ended a week of intense debate and cleared the way for parliament to end Saturday after 158 days.
An Upper House joint committee discusses a backup capital bill in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2026
Lawmakers remain divided on secondary capital, with talks of further extension
As the LDP considers its options, an opposition party leader has threatened a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Sanae Takachi¡¯s government.
Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi speaks at a ruling parties meeting in Tokyo on July 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2026
Parliament extension grounds some lawmakers from overseas travel
The Lower House¡¯s rules committee turned down requests from senior Liberal Democratic Party officials so they would be available to respond to questions during the extension.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing growing criticism over the lack of unity between her Liberal Democratic Party and ruling coalition partner Japan Innovation Party.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 22, 2026
Takaichi faces growing headache over LDP and JIP¡¯s lack of unity
Poor communication and mistrust were major sources of governance problems and parliamentary chaos that led to an extension of the current session of the Diet.
Two Ainu men sit in front of an altar during a memorial service for Ainu people killed by <i>wajin</i> (ethnic Japanese) in a 15th-century battle in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido, in 2019.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 20, 2026
With lawsuit over remains, Ainu continue fight for cultural recognition
The Shibechari Ainu Tribe in Hokkaido hopes the lawsuit will set a legal precedent that helps address the injustices stemming from the removal of Ainu remains from their graves.
The current session of parliament has been extended for eight days through July 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2026
Parliament extends current session through July 25
The extension will allow further discussion on a bill to establish the concept of a secondary capital.
A bill on establishing a backup capital clears the Lower House plenary session on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2026
Parliament likely to seek extension as time runs out on backup capital bill
The ruling bloc is expected to submit a request for an extension ¡ª up to 10 days ¡ª by Friday.
The 139-kilometer extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line is expected to take around 26 years to complete.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 15, 2026
LDP and JIP decide on Kyoto route for Hokuriku Shinkansen line extension
The 139-kilometer extension, which will run through eastern Kyoto Prefecture and will have its own stop near Kyoto Station, is expected to take around 26 years to complete.
The Upper House on Monday passed a bill to establish a new disaster management agency and legislation aimed at curbing the online spread of election-related misinformation and defamation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2026
Upper House passes bill to set up disaster management agency
Bills aimed at curbing the spread of election-related misinformation and defamation on social media and the internet were also passed on Monday.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
LDP and JIP agree to delay bill to reduce Lower House seats
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and JIP chief Hirofumi Yoshimura decided to postpone debate on the bill to a later session of parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a meeting of the Upper House audit committee in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
Controversial bills threaten to push parliament session into overtime
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is caught between honoring a promise to the Japan Innovation Party and the reality that it will be difficult to pass the bills in the Upper House.
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan&#039;s renewable goals.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jul 3, 2026
Iran war exposed, but hasn¡¯t changed, Â鶹´«Ã½ reliance on imported oil
Japan received over 93% of its oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz last year before it was effectively closed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House committee session in Tokyo on June 22.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
Will Takaichi invoke 60-day rule to pass controversial bills?
The ruling coalition aims to pass bills to trim Lower House seats and establish the concept of a secondary capital in the current session of parliament, which ends in three weeks.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to the party&#039;s local members in the city of Osaka on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Backup capital progress shows Takaichi is listening to JIP despite LDP concerns
A deal on the matter gave Takaichi the needed votes to become prime minister and form a ruling coalition.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2026
Takaichi and JIP agree to pass bill on backup capital this parliamentary session
The Japan Innovation Party has long sought a backup capital plan, agreeing to join the ruling coalition last year in exchange for passing legislation on it.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital&#039;s largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn&#039;t just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it&#039;s an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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