J Update

The company of railway service in Hokkaido island, JR Hokkaido,   proposed   separation of its management of its eight lines on April 15 th . According to its idea, JR Hokkaido will focus on operation of train service in those lines. Maintenance of railway will be made by newly established company, including local governments. Accumulated deficit made JR Hokkaido unable to continue comprehensive management of railway business.   Except some private railway companies in urban area, the railway service in Japan had been maintained by the government of Japan since it started railway business in 1880s. As families with automobile increased in the era of rapid economic growth in 1960s, passengers of train services significantly decreased and government-owned Japan National Railway (JNR)yielded a great amount of deficit. Former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone privatized JNR and separated it into six regional companies and one freight company in 1987. JR Hokkaido is one of thos...

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa,   announced  to Chief of Ogasawara Village, Masaaki Shibuya, that he would make a literature survey for building a final disposal facility of nuclear waste in Minamitorishima Island which belongs to the village. Although the island is located far from mainland of Japan, it is still unclear whether the facility will actually be built in the island.   Japan has no final disposal facility for nuclear waste produced from nuclear power plants. Having decided to bury the waste underground, the government of Japan has been looking for municipalities to accept building final disposal facility. Before building the facility, it  is required  for the government to have “literature survey,” “preliminary investigation” and “detailed investigation” to determine the place.   Three municipalities have so far stepped forward to accept literature survey in which the government would make researches on academic document...

Having three months passed from its establishment, Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) is still struggling for unification of its two blocs. Although the party tried to multiply its power of two parties in the Lower House election in February, CRA faced fundamental criticism on its maneuver. Members of CRA are still separated over key issues including constitutional amendment or consumption tax. The party has not been built up as alternative of leading coalition.   The CRA was established by Lower House members of Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito on January 16 th , 2026, a week before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the Lower House. Having suffered from serious defeat in the consequential election in February, members with CDPJ and Komeito in Upper House decided to reconsider joining the CRA, receiving concerns from local members of their party.   The CRA is going to issue an official review on their strategy for February election by early May. In...

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)  restarted  commercial operation of reactor #6 of Kahiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant on April 16 th . It became the first example of a reactor owned by TEPCO to resume its commercial operation since 2012 when the company stopped all the reactors for taking safety measures required after Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant had a severe accident in 2011. While TEPCO is expected to stably provide electricity for coming summer, the company that caused Fukushima accident has not restored public confidence on its operation.   The reactor #6 has 1.356 million kilowatt of power output. It can provide yearly 10 billion kilowatt that covers 4 to 5 percent of all demand of electricity to its customers in 　 metropolitan area of Tokyo. As Japan is suffering from high cost of oil caused by military attack of the United States on Iran, it is expected that TEPCO will compensate for shortage of oil import for the summer, the season which need grea...

Sanae Takaichi Cabinet   made  a decision on April 21 to deregulate export of weapons to foreign countries. As a pacifist nation, Japan has strictly been refraining from giving military equipment to foreign government. Takaichi administration drastically changed that policy under the name of business. China expressed its concern, labeling Japan’s approach to war as “new type of militarism.”   Former prime minister Eisaku Sato introduced in 1967  Three Principles on Arms Exports  which prohibited export of weapons. Shinzo Abe replaced the principle with  Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology  in 2014, which allowed arms export in five categories: rescue, transportation, vigilance, surveillance and minesweeping. Takaichi abolished those limitations in five categories.   Under the new rule, Japan can export any non-weapon products such as bullet-proof vests or helmets. It can also export weapons to a country which has an ag...

Six months have passed since the Diet elected Sanae Takaichi for the prime minister on October 21st, 2025. Although she started her administration as minority government in both chambers, she gained a momentum after she achieved a sweeping victory in Lower House election in February 2026. However, Takaichi’s style of politics taking distance from her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leaves a concern that she can be facing difficulty once her popularity began to decline. Takaichi won LDP presidential election raising conservative agenda for her administration. Immediately after her winning, LDP’s coalition partner Komeito left the coalition, protesting her right-wing stance in policies. The departure was partly caused by Takaichi’s indifference to the partnership, shown in her approach to Democratic Party for the People for forming a leading coalition before consulting with Komeito. Takaichi had no choice except having partnership with Japan Innovation Party, making her administration fur...

The House of Representatives   began  discussion on the bill for establishing National Intelligence Council (NIC). Talking points are four: whether international environment requires higher intelligence to maintain national security, intervention in privacy of the people, including foreign agents in the objects of research and how to check the activities of the council. Although Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi insists that no new power will be vested on the council, concerns on expanded governmental power spread. The bill is officially explained that it will enhance function of intelligence community, concerning growing demands for intelligence in complicated international relations. It envisions that upgrading current Cabinet Intelligence Council by vice-ministers into National Intelligence Council by ministers, and Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office by bureaucrats into National Intelligence Bureau with more staffs.   In the opening discussion at plenary sittings of ...

What was wrong for a member of Japan Self-defense Force (JSDF) to sing the national anthem, Kimigayo, in national convention of the Liberal Democratic Party? Official answer to this question by Sanae Takaichi administration was “It was not illegal.” Nevertheless, criticisms are rising not only from opposition parties, but from leading coalition. Minister of Defense, Shinjiro Koizumi, questioned communication system in his ministry, ignoring his SNS posting with the singer.   As well as they have brass bands, each self-defense force has professional-level singers among the members to perform in ceremonies. In the LDP national convention on April 12 th , a sergeant with Ground Self-defense Force in uniform  sang Kimigayo at the beginning of convention. Koizumi  posted  his photo with the sergeant on X, attaching a comment that he was proud of music band of JSDF.   Article 61 of  Self-defense Forces Act  prohibits a member of the JSDF to be involved in an...

Discussion on constitutional amendment is accelerated in both chambers of the Diet. The conservative powers in the Lower House proposed establishing a committee to make a draft of the amendment. Some opposition parties are reluctant to proceed, being skeptical about argument raised by conservative parties. Although the Lower House, in which Liberal Democratic Party has a super majority, is willing to change the constitution, the Upper House is making a slow progress. An apparent gap is seen between the chambers.   The Commission on Constitution in the Lower House held its first meeting on April 9 th , since the LDP achieved a sweeping victory in the Lower House election in February. The LDP  proposed  to set up a committee to make a draft of amendment. The party argues that the Constitution needs a provision to extend the term of Lower House members in case a contingency, including major natural disaster or terrorist attack, make the House unable to assemble.   LDP’s...

Both chambers of the Diet held a meeting on stable succession of the imperial throne with participation with all the parties in both Houses on April 16 th . The Speaker of House of Representative, Eisuke Mori, announced his hope to wrap up the discussion and legislate revised Imperial House Law by the end of current session of the Diet, which is scheduled to be closed on July 15 th . However, opinions of parties are so different that they are not reaching a consensus immediately.   It was the first meeting with all parties since they had last one in April 2025 when former ministers, Taro Aso with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Yoshihiko Noda with Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ) of Japan, fundamentally opposed in details of measures for securing members of the imperial family. The structure of both chambers has changed after elections in 2025 and 2026.   With decrease of male members of imperial family who can succeed the imperial throne, it is an urgent issue for Ja...

The family of late defendant in the case of Ohkawara Kakohki sued 37 judges in the courts on April 6 th , arguing that they had failed in bailing the defendant with serious cancer. It is unusual for court judges to be indicted with charge of wrong decision on issuing warrant for arrest or on bail. The plaintiff hopes to set a momentum to remove “hostage justice” from judicial system in Japan.   In this case, police  arrested  managers of the manufacturing company in March 2020 with suspicion of exporting restricted machine to China. The defendants argued that the machine would not be used for producing military weapons. Although public prosecutors indicted the managers in March 2020, they cancelled their indictment in July 2021 without presenting any reason. It is supposed that the prosecutors realized that the export had not been illegal.   One of the defendants, Kazuo Aishima, was found as suffering from stomach cancer during detention. Although he and his lawyer d...

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held its annual national convention in Tokyo on April 13 th . Backed by a sweeping victory in the Lower House election in February, LDP president and incumbent prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, expressed her ambition for amendment of the Constitution of Japan. The party approved a new vision to become a “national party” that would obtain wide support from the public. The LDP looks like confident in its popularity, which is substantially based on volatile support for Takaichi. In her  speech  to the convention, Takaichi stressed that her party achieved a super majority with 316 seats out of 465 in the Lower House election. She interpreted it as a strong push from voters to promote some important policy changes. According to Takaichi, the changes included method of economic and fiscal policies, revising Imperial House Law, and constitutional amendment.   On constitutional amendment, Takaichi argued that they needed to have a discussion to de...

Ten years have passed, since the first major earthquake hit Kumamoto area on April 12 th , 2016. The consecutive earthquakes afterward harmed health of evacuees, who managed to survive the quakes, and caused large number of deaths. It is a lesson of Kumamoto Earthquake for the government of Japan to improve the readiness of disaster and prevent unnecessary deaths of the people.   A strong earthquake with magnitude 6.5 hit Kumamoto city and surrounding area ten years ago. It was followed by another bigger earthquake with magnitude 7.3 two days later, which was recognized as the main quake. The series of Kumamoto Earthquake counted over 4,000 quakes for three years from the first quake, causing great anxiety for the people living in the middle of Kyushu Island.   According to  a meteorological report , 275 people were dead with Kumamoto Earthquake and 2,739 were injured. Over 200 thousand houses were damaged. 477 thousand houses  lost  their electricity two days a...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tends to see security policy in the context of business. Takaichi administration promotes arms export to contribute to economic growth of Japan. She expects to mitigate regulation in Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, which   implementation guideline  limits arms export in five categories: rescue, transportation, vigilance, surveillance and minesweeping. The government hopes to be unleashed from oversight of the Diet in arms export. On April 6 th , Takaichi government presented the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) a draft of easing regulation of arms export. The draft abolishes those five categories and enable the government to export “arms” and “non-arms”. “Arms” can be exported to countries that have agreement on transferring defense equipment, and “non-arms” do not have any limitation to go. National Security Council is planning to revise this guideline in late April with approval of the leading parties.   A co...

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...