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June 30, 2026
 

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Japan calls China Coast Guard moves in its EEZ near Yonaguni ‘unacceptable’
JAPAN / Politics
Japan calls China Coast Guard moves in its EEZ near Yonaguni ‘unacceptable’
The unusual moves follow an agreement between Japan and the Philippines last month to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas claimed by Beijing.
JAPAN / Politics
Koizumi holds rare talks in Seoul with South Korean defense chief
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his counterpart, Ahn Gyu-back, held the first talks in South Korea between the countries’ defense chiefs in 11 years.
JAPAN / Politics
Shrinking Lower House by 45 seats to hit smaller parties hard
Debates on the LDP-JIP bill are slated to start Monday at a political reform special committee of the Lower House.
Ryota Takeda, former internal affairs minister and current chairman of the Japan–Korea Parliamentarians' Union (center), speaks to reporters in Seoul on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Senior LDP lawmaker and South Korean president agree to work on boosting ties
“I would like to facilitate close communication at various levels (with South Korea),” Ryota Takeda told reporters after the meeting.
A worker refuels a truck at a biogas station next to the Higasinada sewage treatment plant in Kobe in October 2020.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Japan and India to set up framework for promoting biogas-run cars
The two sides will aim to increase the number of plants in India that manufacture methane from fermented cow dung for compressed natural gas vehicles to 1,000.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on economic policy at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Japan government to avoid deficit-covering bonds for food tax cut
The move to avoid the issuance of deficit-covering bonds follows a policy that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has consistently emphasized.
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
By Sakura Murakami
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 female technician maintaining and inspecting machinery
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Takaichi’s blueprint of women’s policies focuses on menopause, education and housekeepers
By Tomoko Otake
Support for women’s health in different stages of life forms one of the main pillars of the government plan.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said a bill enacted by parliament on Friday will allow his ministry to respond to the most severe and complex security environment of the postwar period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Japan enacts bill to add space operations into ASDF’s fold
The renaming of the ASDF by the end of fiscal 2026, will mark the first name change for any branch of the Self-Defense Forces since its establishment in 1954.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has, in addition to traditional media appearances, focused more on direct communication through social media, official messaging and rapid online rebuttals since taking office.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 26, 2026
Takaichi’s social media strategy tests old political norms
By Kenji Yoshida
While traditional media outlets remain vital, the greatest merit of online platforms is “giving the full context” in a timely manner, Takaichi’s public affairs chief said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in April
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Japan unveils multiyear framework as part of budget reform
By Erica Yokoyama
The mechanism is expected to start next fiscal year and will be used to fund measures including investments in economic security and crisis preparedness.
Eighteen officials have been certified to be eligible to handle critical economic security information, with those results included in a draft of the government's upcoming report on economic security information.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Japan clears 18 officials to handle economic security info
The personnel were qualified under the security clearance assessment system based on the law, which was enacted in May 2024.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a parliamentary meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 25, 2026
Takaichi’s smear video scandal shows Japan’s digital campaign rules are behind the curve
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
A scandal involving alleged AI-generated attack videos has exposed gaps in Japan’s laws governing online election campaigns.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to the party'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
By Eric Johnston
A deal on the matter gave Takaichi the needed votes to become prime minister and form a ruling coalition.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modu (center right) in Evian, France, last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2026
Venue of Japan-India summit may be changed to New Delhi
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stay in India is likely to be brief and tightly scheduled due to her parliamentary duties.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to skip an upcoming two-day NATO summit in Turkey from July 7, government sources have said.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2026
Takaichi to skip NATO summit in July
Since Russia began invading Ukraine in 2022, NATO has invited Japan’s leader to attend its summits.
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
By Eric Johnston
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a Lower House budget committee session on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2026
Takaichi says consumption tax cut would last only two years
Asked if the cut would expire after two years even if the economy worsened, the prime minister said the measure is only “a bridge” until a refundable tax credit program is created.
While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have kept relations from sliding backward, experts say they have struggled to turn stability into concrete steps forward.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 22, 2026
Japan-South Korea detente persists — but breakthrough remains elusive
By Kenji Yoshida
Tokyo and Seoul have become better at preventing ties from fraying but have been less successful at turning stability into concrete gains.
Shunichi Suzuki
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2026
Japan ruling LDP’s Suzuki negative on Diet extension
The remarks came after Hiroshi Nakatsuka, secretary-general of the JIP, called for an extension of the Diet session in talks with Suzuki on Monday.
Eisuke Mori (second from right), speaker of the House of Representatives, speaks to reporters in Tokyo's Nagatacho area on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2026
Parliament leaders OK outline of Imperial House Law amendment bill
The outline calls for allowing male members of the male line of former imperial family branches who are 15 or over to be adopted into the family.

Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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