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August 14, 2026
 

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CONSTITUTION

The National Diet building in Tokyo. Democratic capitalism faces challenges, but institutions can adapt and survive if societies resist inequality, concentrated power and political complacency.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2026
Beyond the language of decline: Hope for democratic renewal
The question is not whether democracy and capitalism should survive unchanged, but whether they can be renewed so they once again serve society rather than narrow interests
The Upper House Commission on the Constitution approves a bill to revise the law on national referendums on Wednesday at the parliamentary building.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2026
Upper House panel approves referendum reform bill
The bill to revise the law was backed by the ruling coalition as well as several opposition parties.
A fan holds Japanese flags at a public viewing in Tokyo for a 2026 World Cup match in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2026
Upper House passes flag-desecration bill despite constitutional concerns
The law, to take effect in August, will punish anyone who publicly damages, removes or defaces the flag in a way deemed likely to cause ¡°extreme discomfort or disgust to others.¡±
The House of Councilors
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2026
Nearly 150 Japanese academics oppose bill banning national flag desecration
The legislation faces significant pushback among opposition parties who say it violates a constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The bill stipulates that imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to ?200,000 be imposed on acts that publicly damage the national flag.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
LDP¡¯s flag desecration bill clears Lower House
Under the bill, desecrating the flag is punishable by up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of up to ?200,000.
Lawmakers who proposed a bill banning the desecration of the national flag bow as the bill was approved at a meeting of the Lower House Cabinet Committee on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Lower House committee approves flag bill in appeal to conservatives
The proposed law would prohibit publicly damaging, removing or defacing the national flag in a way that ¡°causes extreme discomfort or disgust to others.¡±
A bill to criminalize the act of damaging the national flag is among the measures the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party plan to enact during the current special Diet session under their deal to form a ruling coalition.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Lower House begins discussions on flag-vandalism bill
Under the bill, those who publicly deface the flag in a way that causes the public to feel extremely uncomfortable or disgusted would be subject to imprisonment or a fine.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a World War II memorial event in Okinawa on Tuesday
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2026
Takaichi heckled at WWII memorial in Okinawa
A small but vocal number of demonstrators shouted slogans throughout Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s speech at an event commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa.
Debate on constitutional revision is intensifying in commissions on the Constitution in both chambers of the Diet, Japan's parliament, during the ongoing special session.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2026
Constitutional debates intensify in Japan parliament over emergency clause
Lower House lawmakers have been debating an emergency clause that would allow legislators¡¯ terms to be extended in the event of a disaster or crisis.
A Lower House committee votes on a revised constitutional referendum bill in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2026
Bill easing referendum procedures for constitutional amendments clears Lower House
While the bill addresses concerns about counting votes and public service announcements, the question of legislating internet and social media commercials about amendments remains.
A resident of a village isolated by the Noto earthquake expresses his gratitude as he heads to a Self-Defense Forces rescue helicopter, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, 2024.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 17, 2026
¡®Poor kids join the SDF¡¯ remark reflects deeper debate over Â鶹´«Ã½ military
The statement by a CDP lawmaker exposed a widening gap between public support for the SDF and the political debates that continue to shape Â鶹´«Ã½ civil-military relations.
The Legal Education Support Association was established in January 2023 by lawyer Akihide Kumada and others concerned about the decreasing number of young people wanting to become legal professionals.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 3, 2026
Association champions legal careers through judicial education for students
The Legal Education Support Association was established amid concern about fewer young people wanting to become legal professionals.
Protesters opposed to revising Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡°peace¡± Constitution take part in a rally in Tokyo on May 3.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2026
Goyo gakusha: Welcome to Â鶹´«Ã½ new cancel culture
Guilt by affiliation is not scholarship. It is the abandonment of scholarship.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People voiced support Sunday for creating an emergency constitutional clause to extend lawmakers¡¯ terms during major disasters.
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2026
LDP, JIP and DPP seek emergency clause in Constitution
The LDP¡¯s Yoshitaka Shindo said, ¡°If a state of emergency coincides with an election period, how will we run the country?¡±
A Japanese national flag outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo last July.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2026
LDP OKs draft bill to punish national flag vandalism
The draft calls for penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of as much as ?200,000 for acts of vandalism that cause ¡°extreme discomfort or disgust.¡±
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a debate at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2026
Takaichi Cabinet¡¯s approval rate almost flat at 59.4%
By political party, Takaichi¡¯s ruling Liberal Democratic Party remained the most popular party, backed by 27.8% of all respondents, up 2.1 points.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has presented a draft bill proposing penalties for both public vandalism of the Japanese national flag and the posting of related videos and images on social media, but it withheld approval amid concerns over freedom of expression.
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2026
LDP seeks to penalize sharing national flag vandalism online
The outline also calls for?penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of up to ?200,000 for individuals who publicly damage the flag.
Keiji Furuya (center rear), chair of the House of Representatives¡¯ Commission on the Constitution, attends a meeting of senior committee members at parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2026
Draft of emergency clause for Constitution includes extending lawmakers¡¯ terms
The draft did not show an upper limit for how long lawmakers¡¯ terms can be extended, while stating there are opinions calling for setting it to ¡°one year¡± or ¡°six months.¡±
The Osaka High Court in the city of Osaka. While the court did not order specific action in the case of a person seeking a nonbinary gender designation in Japan's family register system, it said that the lack of legal recognition infringes on Article 14 of the Constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2026
High court finds exclusion of nonbinary gender option in family register system unconstitutional
Gender identity is ¡°directly linked to an individual¡¯s personal existence, making it a significant legal good,¡± the court has said in its judgment.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gives a speech in Hanoi on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2026
Article 9 in focus as Takaichi pushes for revision of Constitution
Without explicitly mentioning Article 9, Takaichi said the charter ¡ª unchanged since 1947 ¡ª must be updated to reflect today¡¯s international environment and security realities.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
New ¡®Katsu Curry Index¡¯ aims to show how weak the yen really is
A CoCo Ichibanya curry house in Tokyo.
Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan
Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.

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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