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December 06, 2025
 

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The Diet building in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Japanese government plans to launch new intelligence bureau in July
The envisaged bureau will be formed by upgrading the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Takaichi earned most among Japanese party leaders in 2024
Takaichi had ¥255.37 million in revenue last year, a sharp increase from ¥100.1 million the previous year.
JAPAN / Politics
LDP and JIP submit bill to eliminate at least 45 Lower House seats
The path to the bill's submission has been rough as the parties had been at loggerheads over the number of seats to cut and which ones, and the legal framework for implementation.
While media polls show a high support rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet, the support for the LDP is not as great, meaning there’s no guarantee of a coattail effect if a snap poll is called.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 5, 2025
Will Takaichi bank on her high approval ratings to call a snap election?
By Eric Johnston
Calling a snap vote ahead of next year’s parliamentary session could bring great rewards for the prime minister and her party, but the risks may outweigh them.
A surveillance radar system developed by Mitsubishi Electric and exported to the Philippines
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
Japan likely to scrap defense equipment export restrictions
Tokyo hopes through the move to expand security cooperation with allies and like-minded nations and bolster its defense industry.
Lawmakers discuss the issue of political donations during a Lower House special committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
Japan's political parties still apart over donation reform bills
Opposition parties criticized the political reform bills, with a Komeito lawmaker calling one of them "totally unacceptable."
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in parliament in October
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2025
Japanese envoy sends U.N. chief another letter over China's claim
The Japanese ambassador to the U.N. reiterated Tokyo's stance outlined in his previous rebuttal letter sent to the U.N. leader Nov. 24.
Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto speaks at a news conference at the prefectural government office on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2025
Fukui governor resigns over sexual harassment of government employees
Tatsuji Sugimoto, 63, stepped down after admitting to sending inappropriate messages that constitute sexual harassment to multiple Fukui government workers.
Ruling and opposition lawmakers deliberate on bills related to political donations reform at a House of Representatives committee session in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2025
Japan’s parliament starts debates on corporate donation reform bills
Some have speculated that the ruling side is putting the bills on the back burner.
Katsunobu Kato, head of the Liberal Democratic Party's political system reform panel, speaks at a party meeting on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2025
Proposed Lower House seat reduction could affect 20 prefectures
As the 20 prefectures include areas with many conservative voters who strongly support the LDP, an increasing number of party members are voicing their opposition to the measure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Moscow on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2025
China unleashes diplomatic campaign to isolate Japan amid Taiwan row
By Jesse Johnson
Meetings with top Russian, British and French officials are seen as part of an attempt by Beijing to rally support for its cause as it continues to heap pressure on Tokyo.
Lin Chia-lung, Taiwan's foreign minister, during an interview in Taipei on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
China-Japan tensions may continue for a year, Taiwan foreign minister warns
Lin Chia-lung said that Taipei hopes the two sides can find a way to resolve their differences, as the row over Japan's potential role in a Taiwan crisis roils ties.
Two Chinese coast guard patrol ships entered and later left Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands early Tuesday, the Japan Coast Guard has said.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Japan Coast Guard reports standoff with Chinese vessels near Senkaku Islands
Relations have been strained since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last month that Japan could intervene militarily in a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (fourth from left) delivers a greeting at the first ministerial meeting on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office to review tax measures, subsidies and funds, in an effort inspired by the U.S. "department of government efficiency."
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Japan holds first meeting on DOGE-inspired waste cut
The government has established a department of about 30 people in the Cabinet Secretariat to find and eliminate wasteful spending in a DOGE-inspired style.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi receives a petition regarding the Northern Territories from Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki (fourth from left) and Nemuro City Mayor Masatoshi Ishigaki (far left) at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Takaichi vows to resume grave visits to northern islands by ex-residents
Grave visits by former residents had been suspended following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
LDP and JIP lawmakers discuss Lower House seats reduction in Tokyo on Nov. 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2025
Takaichi and JIP's Yoshimura agree to submit bill reducing Lower House seats
By Eric Johnston
Passing a bill to cut seats in the lower chamber was a key demand for the Japan Innovation Party to enter into a coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan has reportedly held informal talks with the Philippines on the possible export of a Type-03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system to Manila.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2025
Japan defense firms saw sales boom in ’24 as Tokyo eyes end of more export curbs
By Jesse Johnson
Sales by Japan’s top defense firms rose 40% year-on-year in 2024, new research has shown, as Tokyo looks to further ease rules on the export of lethal defense gear.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (left) meets with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki in Naha on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2025
Central government and Okinawa remain apart over U.S. base relocation
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara visited Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the prefectural office in Naha in Sunday.
Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of the Japan Innovation Party, speaks at a news conference on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 1, 2025
Uncertainty looms over Lower House seat reduction
Frustration is increasing within the Liberal Democratic Party over the attitude of the Japan Innovation Party.
Takayuki Kobayashi speaks to fellow Liberal Democratic Party members in Gifu Prefecture on Nov. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2025
LDP's Kobayashi advocates Japan's economic independence from China
The remark came during discussions on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary remark on a potential Taiwan contingency and subsequent Chinese pressures on Japan
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government plans to adopt a new cybersecurity strategy next month that calls for needed measures to address foreign threats such as election interference.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 29, 2025
Japan to seek steps on foreign threats in new cybersecurity strategy
The new strategy will set out policy goals for the next five years for a longer-term perspective.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya during an interview in September. Kamiya's party, which surprised many with its gains in this year's Upper House Election, increased its spending on online outreach by fourteenfold in 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2025
Japan political parties boost spending on online outreach
Sanseito, which significantly expanded its seats in the July election for the Upper House, paid a total of ¥37 million in advertising fees to Google Japan in 2024.
Independent Lower House lawmakers (from left) Hiroki Abe, Takeshi Saiki and Tadashi Morishima speak to reporters in parliament on Friday after meeting with Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2025
LDP-led coalition regains Lower House majority with three independents' backing
By Himari Semans and Gabriele Ninivaggi
With the three lawmakers in the LDP's in-house group, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be able to pass key budget bills without opposition support.

Japan to require nationality in property registrations
The government is looking to include nationality in a planned property registration database amid concerns that condominium purchases by foreign citizens have driven up prices.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
Man accused of shooting Abe apologizes to former PM’s widow and family
The Nara District Court where Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, is on trial for the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe's wife, Akie, attended the trial on Wednesday for the first time.
China massing military ships across region in show of maritime force, sources say
A Chinese warship participates in joint Navy exercise of Iran, China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12.
Japan’s fitness industry is catering to a new clientele: Health-conscious seniors
Masato Edamitsu, the 60-year-old founder of Shinshin Kenko Club, training and guiding his client
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan’s box office returned
In 2025, “Demon Slayer” and “Kokuho” broke box-office records, while films such as “Renoir,” A Pale View of the Hills” and “Two Strangers, Two Seasons” garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year’s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema’s postwar golden age.
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
A French cabbie behind the wheel in small-town Japan
A native of the Jura region of France, Severine Lamielle moved to Tottori Prefecture in 2024 and found a job as a taxi driver.
A new animation festival lands in Nagoya with big plans
Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival director Shinichiro Inoue (left) and artistic director Tadashi Sudo (right) started the new event in Nagoya in part due to local government support and Aichi Prefecture’s ongoing investment in arts and culture.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as “Yuming.”
Yumi Matsutoya’s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

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