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August 11, 2026
 

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LDP secretary-general post emerges as focal point as Takaichi mulls changes
JAPAN / Politics
LDP secretary-general post emerges as focal point as Takaichi mulls changes
At a time when public support for her administration is falling, Takaichi may shake up her Cabinet and the LDP¡¯s executive lineup to reinforce her standing in the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan protests South Korean maritime survey off disputed Takeshima
According to Tokyo, a South Korean vessel was found dropping what appeared to be a wire into the sea near the islets.
JAPAN / Politics
Tamaki faces challenge in DPP leadership race
Lower House member Mikihiko Hashimoto, 30, is going up against Tamaki in the contest, which will be decided on Sept. 6.
South Korea said it conducted a defense drill around the disputed Sea of Japan islets known as Takeshima in Japan, which are controlled by Seoul but claimed by Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2026
South Korea conducts defense drill for Japan-claimed islands
Japan has lodged a protest over the exercise, which the South Korean Navy said involved a similar training method and size of participating troops as previous drills.
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 7, 2026
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
Debate on the consumption tax debate has become a test of party cohesion for the LDP under the prime minister¡¯s leadership.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa (center) and Komeito leader Toshiko Takeya (right) at a ceremony to mark 81 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2026
Opposition leaders voice concerns over Takaichi¡¯s Hiroshima address
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, pointed out that Takaichi ¡°just reiterated the government¡¯s long-standing policy.¡±
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concludes her speech during a ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2026
Takaichi emphasizes Â鶹´«Ã½ commitment to nonnuclear principles on Hiroshima anniversary
By Kenji Yoshida
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s first appearance at the ceremony as the nation¡¯s leader comes as the government prepares to revise key national security documents later this year.
Sanae Takaichi campaigns alongside Koichi Hagiuda ahead of the Lower House election, in Tokyo in October 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2026
Senior LDP official points to Abe-era lessons for Takaichi
By Kenji Yoshida
Party heavyweight Koichi Hagiuda says the prime minister¡¯s administration lacks the discipline that characterized her political mentor¡¯s approach.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attend a joint news conference in Andong, South Korea, in May.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2026
Have Tokyo and Seoul overcome their on-again, off-again dynamic?
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
This week offered two different images of Japan-South Korea relations, with a poll seeing improved public attitudes, while Seoul lodged a protest over Tokyo¡¯s defense white paper.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, during a visit to U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 5, 2026
Japan and U.S. begin working-level talks on host nation support
The U.S. government during preliminary talks indicated that it would ask Japan to increase its host nation support.
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
By Eric Johnston
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.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi holds a news conference at the Diet building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 5, 2026
Shinjiro Koizumi backs nuke-free world after controversy
The defense minister¡¯s proposal last month for debates without any taboos on nuclear policy sparked criticism, including among hibakusha atomic bomb survivors.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher, during the Balikatan annual joint military exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes, in Paoay, Philippines, on May 6.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 4, 2026
Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ¡®overall national strength¡¯
By Jesse Johnson
Tokyo¡¯s annual defense white paper says that cooperation with allies and like-minded nations is crucial to Â鶹´«Ã½ own security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a meeting with U.S. senators on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2026
Zelenskyy says relations with Japan have fallen short of ¡®high expectations¡¯
By Jesse Johnson
The Ukrainian leader had hoped for more following ¡°significant political changes¡± ¡ª an apparent hint at Tokyo¡¯s evolving defense posture.
Members of the Liberal Democratic Party's tax and social security panels hold a meeting on Monday to discuss a consumption tax cut.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2026
LDP members worry about two-year tax cut¡¯s impact on 2028 poll
Under the plan, the consumption tax rate on food will be lowered to 1% for two years from next April.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, speaks at a meeting with supporters in the city of Wakayama on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2026
Opposition DPP not to join ruling bloc for now, citing consumption tax cut
Some in the LDP sought to realize the DPP¡¯s participation before an extraordinary session of parliament is convened possibly this autumn.
Japan's the lower chamber of parliament will install security cameras in the Diet building starting in fiscal 2027.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2026
Japan Lower House to install security cameras in Diet building
The plan has been considered partly in response to an incident in which a government employee secretly filmed a woman in a Diet building restroom in 2021.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announces a plan to lower the consumption tax rate on food items at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on July 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ politically sensitive consumption tax faces first-ever cut
Takaichi has championed a proposal to lower the tax rate on food purchased at stores, which would mark the first cut to the rate since it was implemented in 1989.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discusses cybersecurity in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2026
Japan launches National Intelligence Bureau in bid to streamline intelligence
By Kenji Yoshida
For Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has sought to modernize Â鶹´«Ã½ intelligence system, the upgrade represents a political win and the foundation for a broader overhaul.
Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka during a news conference in the city on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2026
Third-party probe confirms workplace harassment by Yokohama mayor
The report, submitted to the city on Thursday, found that Takeharu Yamanaka, 53, yelled at subordinates, called them ¡°morons¡± and ¡°human scum.¡±
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%
By Eric Johnston
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.
With the parliamentary session over, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi now finds herself under pressure to do something about the rising cost of living.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s popularity slide exposes deeper governing challenges
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s drop raises the question of whether it is from the normal growing pains of a new administration or if it indicates deeper structural problems.
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
By Eric Johnston
The prime minister is expected to make a formal decision on the matter as early as Thursday.

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'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't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it'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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