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August 13, 2026
 

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MARRIAGE

As of June 30 this year, the Tokyo Enmusubi matchmaking app had 16,000 registered members ¡ª whittled down from around 36,000 applicants ¡ª and 760 couples in "serious relationships," according to government data released this month.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2026
¡¯Appy marriages: AI helps hundreds of Japanese wed
A total of 265 couples have married after meeting on an AI-powered dating app launched by the Tokyo government in 2024 to lift the low birth rate, according to official data.
A traditional Shinto wedding takes place at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo. Â鶹´«Ã½ wedding gift custom has stayed fixed at outdated prices even as inflation sharply raises the real cost of such ceremonies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 26, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ wedding gifts are leaving couples deflated
Wedding cash gifts in Japan remain fixed at ?30,000 even as inflation drives ceremony costs higher, leaving newlyweds to shoulder the extra burden.
Miyako Kudo addresses an Osaka fertility clinic during a speaking engagement on understanding and supporting women without children.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2026
Out of the shadows: Japanese women building a life beyond motherhood
One woman is leading the charge to build a community where a life without children ¡ª whether by choice or circumstance ¡ª is an accepted social norm.
Retirement can bring unexpected changes to long-established relationships, prompting some Japanese couples to adjust to new routines and a shared daily life.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 17, 2026
Japanese has a word for when your husband makes you sick
Explore Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡°husband-origin illness¡± while learning vocabulary and grammar about marriage, retirement and relationships.
The ruling party lawmaker Hirofumi Nakasone said on Sunday that no one would marry Princess Aiko if she ascended the imperial throne while unmarried, prompting criticism.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2026
LDP¡¯s Hirofumi Nakasone regrets remark about Princess Aiko
In a speech in Toyama Prefecture on Sunday, the lawmaker added that no one would marry the princess if she were to succeed to the throne while unmarried.
An engineering graduate student demonstrates a part of the semiconductor manufacturing process at Korea University in Seoul on June 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2026
In South Korea, a job or partner at Samsung or SK Hynix is the new ¡®A+¡¯ catch
South Korean matchmaking firms say people working at the companies?are now being ranked alongside doctors, lawyers and those from other traditionally elite professions.
Californians Ben and Ariella Jacoby, who married with Mount Fuji as their backdrop, are part of a growing trend of inbound weddings in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Foreign couples are turning Japan into a wedding destination
Personal and cultural connections, as well as a weak yen, are driving more foreign couples to choose Japan to mark major life events.
The Children and Families Agency has established a subsidy system to make it easier to secure child support payments from former spouses.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 4, 2026
Japan to subsidize costs to seize salaries and assets for child support
The subsidy system was created in line with the revised Civil Code, which entered into force Wednesday.
Japan's rollout of a new joint custody system for divorcing couples has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some abuse survivors voicing concerns over continued contact with or interference from former partners while proponents welcomed the move because it puts the country more in line with international standards.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan rolls out new joint custody system
The change ends the country¡¯s long-standing sole custody framework, under which only one parent could retain parental rights following a divorce.
Men hiding their marital status to get women into a sexual relationship is nothing new. But a growing number of victims are speaking out on the men who deceived them for feigning singlehood ¡ª or dokushin gis¨­.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2026
Deceived women seek criminal penalty for married men pretending to be single
As it stands, men feigning singlehood to enter into sexual relationships can only be sued in the civil courts.
The high court in Osaka Prefecture, near Wakayama Prefecture, dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the Wakayama District Court's December 2024 ruling that had found the defendant not guilty.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 24, 2026
Osaka High Court upholds ex-wife¡¯s acquittal in ¡®Don Juan of Kishu¡¯ case
The wealthy businessperson¡¯s wife was indicted in May 2021 on suspicion of murdering him by making him take a lethal dose of a stimulant drug at their home in 2018.
Until now, sole custody was the only option a divorced couple had, in contrast with many Western countries where joint custody is commonplace.
JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
Mar 24, 2026
What you need to know about Â鶹´«Ã½ new joint custody system
For the first time ever, revisions to the family law will allow parents to choose between sole custody or joint custody following a divorce.
With parental authority at stake, abuse victims¡¯ looming fear of the possibility that their ex-spouse could once again be in their lives is real. But the frustration of the current sole custody arrangement for a noncustodial parent is also hard to ignore.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2026
Fear and fairness: Â鶹´«Ã½ joint custody reform sparks debate
From April, Japan will allow joint parental authority. For some, that means more time with their child, but for domestic abuse survivors, there is only fear.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 18.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Japanese government OKs gender equality plan featuring use of maiden names
It aims to submit legislation related to the sixth gender equality basic plan, which contains measures to be taken over the next five years, to the ongoing session of parliament.
The Liberal Democratic Party holds a meeting to discuss the government's sixth basic plan for gender equality at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2026
Japan considers legalizing use of original surnames on their own after marriage
The plan is expected to be approved by the Cabinet later this month.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, flanked by Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso, attend a party meeting at LDP headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
LDP uses election manifesto to pledge stable rare earths supply amid China row
The ruling party says it will also accelerate talks on eliminating the current 8% consumption tax on food for two years as Japan grapples with inflation.
Tomoko Yoshino, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, met Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday, where they are believed to have discussed the draft report.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2025
Japan to delay new gender equality program to next year
The delay comes amid concerns over a plan to legalize the use of birth names for married couples, which was added to the draft of a report serving as the basis for the program.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2025
Head of Rengo opposes government¡¯s plan on surnames
Tomoko Yoshino showed her intention to cooperate with political parties supporting the introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples.
Rei Watanabe Prosper (left) and Coralie Prosper attends a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2025
Same-sex international couple petitions for marriage recognition in Japan
The Japanese-French couple says Â鶹´«Ã½ refusal to acknowledge their marriage is preventing them from starting a family in France.
More than a quarter of married people in Japan report spousal violence of some kind, and nearly 1 in 10 women have experienced financial abuse, according to a 2023 survey by the Japan Cabinet Office.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 8, 2025
Finding a way forward from financial abuse
In Japan, nearly 1 in 10 married women have been the victim of financial abuse. Two expats share their stories, along with the resources and advice that helped them through.
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
¡®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.
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.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
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.
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.

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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