J Update

Just thirty years have passed since the United States agreed on returning Futenma Air Base in Okinawa to Japan on April 12 th , 1996. Although both governments confirmed to build an alternative facility at Henoko in Nago city, it has not finished so far, facing firm protest of the people in Okinawa and technical difficulty to build new air base with landfill along the coast. This issue has been remaining as a major problem for Japan to maintain “indispensable ally.”   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Walter Mondale,  reached  an agreement thirty years ago that the U.S. would return Futenma Air Base of U.S. Marine Corp within 5 to 7 years. It was a measure responding to anger of the people in Okinawa against U.S military personnel. In 1995, three U.S. servicemen raped a girl at twelve years old. The incident ignited frustration of the people against U.S. Forces stationing in Okinawa.   Futenma Air Base is located in the middle of urban ar...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) released its annual   Diplomatic Bluebook of 2026   on April 10 th . The bluebook acknowledges current situation of free and open international order as significantly shaken, indicating negative impact of military attack by major power. Reflecting exacerbation of relations with China, since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made controversial comment on Taiwan contingency, the bluebook downgraded China in terms of importance as a neighbor country. Japan keeps on seeking “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” as a basic concept of its diplomacy.   The Diplomatic Bluebook is published by MOFA every year since 1957. The book describes international relations from the perspective of Japan and records Japan’s yearly diplomatic activities to let the people know what direction Japan is going in the international community. The 2026 bluebook, containing the events in 2025 with additional paragraphs on the War in Iran, is distributed to the ministers of Ta...

Sanae Takaichi administration postponed submission of a bill of revised Code of Criminal Procedure to the Diet. The bill would include reform of retrial system to eliminate false charge. Although the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) attempted to maintain the right of public prosecutors to dispute request of retrial, some lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) firmly opposed the idea. There is a humanitarian concern that an innocent defendant will be blocked from release by public prosecutors’ dispute.   Japan has three-instance system in trial. If a defendant cannot accept a decision of a district court, it can appeal to a high court. If it still disputes high court’s decision, the trial will be brought to the supreme court. A decision of the supreme court should be the final one. However, a defendant can request a retrial, only when it submits new evidence which is recognized by the court that it may prove innocence of the defendant.   However, the public prosecutors have a...

The United States and Iran reached a deal on two-month ceasefire on April 7 th . The greatest concern for Japan is whether the deal will work for normalizing energy supply in Japan, because agreement of the two parties does not guarantee opening the Strait of Hormuz. Despite Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s diplomatic efforts to secure energy resources, the business sector in Japan has yet been relieved. On the ceasefire agreement, the U.S. and Iran announced different conditions. U.S. President Donald Trump supposed to have  demanded  dismantlement of existing nuclear capability in Iran and opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Contradicting Trump’s argument, Iran  requested  maintenance of its control on the Strait of Hormuz, no further military attack on Iran, approval of uranium enrichment and retreat of U.S. Forces from the Middle East. After all, the deal is far from an agreement.   Takaichi had  a telephone talk  with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshki...

Annual budget bill for fiscal year 2026   passed  the Upper House of the Diet and enacted on April 7. Although Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tried to catch up the deadline of budget bill to be enacted at the end of March, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) failed in meeting her demand, due to consumption of time caused by Takaichi’s abrupt decision to have a snap election in February. Takaichi must have realized current situation in which she does not have a majority in one of the two chambers of the Diet.   FY2026 budget bill includes 122 trillion yen of spendings, which marked the greatest size ever. Spendings for defense exceeded 9 trillion yen for the first time. It does not include measures to stabilize people’s life that is suffering from price inflation caused by military attack in Iran by the United States and Israel. Takaichi argued that the budget would contribute to build a “strong economy” based on her concept of “responsible and proactive public finances.” ...

The discussion on stable succession to the throne is expected to be accelerated in current session of the Diet. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Japan Innovation Party (JIP) have reached a deal in their agreement for forming a leading coalition last October. They determined to revise Imperial House Law in the ordinary session of the Diet this year. It is focused how parties in the Diet will discuss this issue in current session.   “The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage,” says Article 1 of  Imperial House Law . Concerning decline of number of “male offspring” in Imperial House, how to make imperial succession stable became one of the most important political agenda. The experts on this issue reported two options in 2021: allowing female members of the imperial family to retain their status after marriage and adopting male members from the paternal line of former imperial family branches.   Uphold...

A divorced couple can share custody on their children under revised Civil Code enforced on April 1 st . The government of Japan   decided  that it would not be enough for the children of divorced parents to be in custody of one of them. The parents will need to find the best way for their children through close discussions even after cancelling their marriage. It has been usual that one of the parents would be responsible for raising their kids as a parent under the rule in Civil Code established in 1947. Now 180 thousand couple cancel their marriage every year. Father or mother who live together with the children under 18 years old would decide how to educate them or control their assets. But this single custody system sometimes caused the mother of father to take away the child, or some other criminal cases.   The revised Civil Code  requires  parents, regardless married or not, to take good care of their children, fundamentally based on the children’s interes...

Japan’s Self-defense Force for the first time possessed standoff missile capability, which can strike military bases of an enemy from the place out of enemy’s reach. The force   deployed   cutting-edge counterstrike missiles in bases in Kumamoto and Shizuoka on March 31 st . Acknowledging Iran’s strikes on bases of the United States Force in Gulf countries, the residents around the bases are anxious about possibility of being targeted by the enemy. Based on Article 9 of its constitution, Japan had been maintaining exclusively defense-oriented policy, not possessing a capability of striking enemy’s bases. It was controversial that former Shinzo Abe administration included possession of standoff firearms to counter enemy ships or landing troops in the National Defense Program Guidelines in 2018. Former prime minister Fumio Kishida decided to enhance capability of standoff missile in National Defense Strategy in 2022. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi followed those decisions of her ...

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) decided to deregulate a rule for working reactors in nuclear power plants to take anti-terrorism measures. While the owners of nuclear power plants have been demanded to build anti-terrorism system in certain period of time, the NRA   extended  the deadline. The NRA changed its rule with consideration of the government of Japan that promotes resumption of nuclear reactors.   Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act  mandates power companies to build a facility to deal with serious accident, caused by natural disaster or terrorist attack, in the site of nuclear power plant. “When a power company sets up a nuclear reactor for power generation, it needs to obtain permission of NRA with description on necessary facility to deal with an accident of significant damage in reactor core,” Article 43-3-5 of the act says. This regulation was introduced after the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. That anti-terrorist fa...

Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) is in trouble in its effort to extend its wing from the Lower House to the Upper House in the Diet. While CRA members in the Lower House are working together in this young party, the members of Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito are still separated in the Upper House, hesitating to join the CRA. Having been fragmented into three parties, they cannot exercise their power against the leading parties led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.   Countering Takaichi’s abrupt decision for a snap election of the Lower House, the CRA was established by Lower House members of the CDPJ and Komeito which had cancelled 26-year-old coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last fall. Although the CRA was expected to integrate supporters of the CDPJ and Komeito, the result was a serious defeat for the new party. Supporters of the CDPJ and Komeito had been political enemy each other for decades and could not work together in local level. ...

Sharing growing concern on unreliability of the United States on international security and China on international economy, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed with French President Emanuel Macron on bilateral cooperation based on “exceptional partnership.” They shared common views on the war in Iran and security in Indo-Pacific region, as they work together for developments in economic security or technological progress, in their meeting in Tokyo on April 1 st , At the outset of the summit meeting, Takaichi  stressed  importance of bilateral relations between Japan and France. “Amid the increasingly severe international security environment, the security of Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is closely interconnected and cooperation among like-minded countries has become even more important,” Takaichi said to Macron in the meeting. Macron hoped Takaichi to work closely within the framework in the G7, which France presides this year.   That indicated the standpoints of t...

As a month have passed since the United States and Israel started attacking Iran, Japan eventually appears to be suffering from energy shortage. Although government of Japan has been making effort to stabilize gasoline price or secure alternative route to obtain energy resources, they are not working very well. Japan reveals its inherent vulnerability to securing its own energy.   Japan is supposed to have one of the biggest  oil reserves  in the world, amounting to 470 million barrels, which corresponds to its domestic oil consumption for 254 days. It  depends  over 90 percent of its crude oil to be supplied from the Middle East, which needs to pass the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is effectively blocked by Iran since the war started. Not only oil but liquified natural gas (LNG) to Japan cannot go through the strait.   Sanae Takaichi government began releasing national oil reserve on March 23 rd . To keep gasoline price at 170 yen per litter, the governmen...

Ten years have passed since post-war Japan made a biggest change in its security policy. A series of laws for peace and security was   enforced  on March 29, 2016, under the leadership of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. The legislature changed interpretation of the Constitution of Japan, enabling Japan to exercise its collective defense right, which had been strictly restrained. Abe insisted that the legislature was necessary for security of Japan. Here is a question: Do the Japanese really feel safe now?   Article 9 of the constitution renounces war and prohibits the government to possess force, reserving its right to defend itself in the case of directly being attacked. The most controversial point has been about the case in which foreign force with close relationship with Japan is attacked. Past governments have determined that Japan cannot help that foreign force, because it must be an exercise of collective self-defense which the constitution rules out.   Faci...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi keeps high approval rate even after her failure of passing FY2026 budget bill by the end of March. Her popularity is based on her performance that she was fighting against opposition powers or her diplomatic style in dealing with powerful leaders in the world. It is likely that she introduces method of former prime minister Jun-ichiro Koizumi whose government was dubbed as “theatrical politics.”   The  poll  of Nikkei Shimbun in late March showed 72 percent of approval for Takaichi Cabinet, 3 points of increase from February, with 23 percent of disapproval. 65 percent of responders positively evaluated her meeting with President of the United States Donald Trump at White House in mid-March. Also, 65 percent thought that her measures on soaring price of oil, caused by U.S. military attack on Iran, was appropriate.   In another  poll  conducted by  Mainichi Shimbun , the approval rate was 58 percent, declined from 61 percent...

Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court accepted six lawsuits on same sex marriage and   handed them over  to Grand Bench which makes important constitutional decisions. High Courts that made decisions on those cases have mostly been supportive for marriages of couples who share the same sex. If the Supreme Court sentences approval for same sex marriage, the government of Japan will need to guarantee them a right for married couples.   Five high courts in Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka have made decisions on those lawsuits a couple of years ago. Tokyo High Court made different decisions in two of those six cases. Totally, five decisions recognized that the laws which do not approve same sex marriage would violate provisions of the Constitution of Japan. Only Tokyo High Court decided that current laws are constitutional in the second lawsuit in Tokyo.   Article 13 of the Constitution guarantees the people “right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness,” wh...

Sanae Takaichi Cabinet submitted an   interim budget bill   for eleven days at the beginning of FY2026 to the Diet on March 27 th . The interim budget will be necessary to start some projects included in FY2026 budget bill which has not passed the Upper House. Although Takaichi hoped that the annual budget bill would pass the House by the end of March, it was impossible for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), not having s majority in the Upper House, to implement it.   Annual budget bill for FY2026 was submitted to the Diet on February 20 th  and passed the Lower House on March 13 th with approval of the LDP and its coalition partner, Japan Innovation Party, which had supermajority in the House. However, the discussion in the Upper House did not go smoothly. Opposition parties which occupy majority in the Upper House demanded enough discussion over substances of the budget bill.   Not having experienced in Diet affairs, such as negotiations with opposition parti...

The National Council on Social Security started substantial discussion on consumption tax cut and introduction of refundable tax credit for low-income families. In the   hearing  from organizations of business managers and labor union, they are more supportive for refundable tax credit than temporary tax cut for foods. The council built up its chape by participation of major opposition parties. Consumption tax cut became a major issue in the campaign of Lower House election in February. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi argued that her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) would introduce refundable tax credit after two-year moratorium of consumption tax on foods. Although the LDP had been skeptical about refundable tax credit, Takaichi insisted on it as the people demanded measures to mitigate damages from current price inflation.   In the meeting on March 25 th , policy leaders of parties heard from representatives of business leaders and workers. Japan Business Federation (Keidan...

Committee on Budget in the Upper House of the Diet on March 25 th   had  an intensive discussion on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to the United States and meeting with President Donald Trump. Takaichi explained why she praised Trump as a peacemaker, but avoided legal evaluation on U.S. attack on Iran. She did not say that Japan would or would not send troops to the Strait of Hormuz.   “Donald is the only person who can bring peace and prosperity across the world,” Takaichi said in the meeting with Trump at the White House on March 19 th . In the discussion of the committee, Takaichi explained that she had thought that it would be Trump who could lead the war in Middle East to a peace or improve international economy. She later corrected her description of “war in Middle East” to “battle in Middle East.” She revealed that she decided to use that expression while she sleeplessly deliberated on the plane from Tokyo to Washington.   From the beginning of U.S. att...