J Update

Sanae Takaichi Cabinet approved   6 th  Basic Plan for Gender Equality   on March 13 th . The plan for the first time includes government’s consideration of “single description” of maiden name on official documents for convenience of married person in business or other opportunities. As rightwing lawmakers have been opposing dual surname system, Takaichi made one step forward to a flexible use of maiden name.   With a momentum of International Women’s Year of 1975, Japan has promoted measures for gender equality by setting up a section for the issue in the government. It legislated a basic act for gender equality in 2000. To implement principles provided in the law, including respect for human rights of men and women or improvement of institution in the society, the Japanese government has issued policy packages for gender equality. It released the 6 th  plan in March 2026.   Along with measures for enhancing treatment for woman, who are in less preferable ...

The FY2026 budget bill passed the Lower House and was sent to the Upper House on March 13. To prove her decision for February snap election of the Lower House to be good, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushed the leading parties to accelerate the discussion on the budget bill as fast as possible. Backed by supermajority of her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the bill passed the Lower House within an extremely short period. It is still unclear, however, whether the bill will pass the Upper House by the end of March, as the prime minister hopes. Takaichi Cabinet submitted FY2026 budget bill to the Lower House on February 20 this year. The House’s Committee on Budget started discussion for it on February 27. Questions by senior members were made on February 27, March 2 and 3. For this scheduling, there was a consensus between leading and opposition parties.   However, rest of the schedule was mostly made by unilateral decision of chairman of the committee, Tetsushi Sakamoto, who was fr...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi   announced   on March 11 th  that the government of Japan would release its oil reserve with concern that current effective blockade of Strait of Hormuz by Iran would continue certain long period. International Energy Agency (IEA) simultaneously agreed on coordinated release of their oil reserve to maintain oil price of the world. However, the effect of their policy seems to be limited so far.   “Our import of oil will significantly decline after late March,” said Takaichi to the press in prime minister’s official residence. She told that the release would start on March 16 th  and she hoped retail price of regular gasoline to stay at the level of 170 yen per litter as average of all over Japan.   Takaichi insisted that her decision was independent from the decision of international organizations. It would mark Japan’s first independent release of oil reserve. However, ministers of Group of Seven had previously agreed on takin...

The severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) in March 2011 marked a major change in energy policy of Japan. It encouraged introduction of renewable energy with concern about dependence on nuclear power. However, development of renewable energy is slowing down these years with emergence of negative aspects in and out of Japan. It is necessary for the government of Japan to accelerate diversification of energy.   After the accident in FDNPS, all the reactors of nuclear power plants in Japan once stopped. Fourteen reactors resumed their operation as of 2025, but the ratio of nuclear power generation against all the sources of electricity in Japan  reduced from 25.1 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2023. People in Japan got skeptical about nuclear power generation as a safe source for electricity they need.   Instead, renewable energy increased its share in power generation in post-Fukushima era. Its share swell from 9.4 percent in 2010 to 22.9 perc...

Fifteen years have passed since East Japan Great Earthquake hit northeastern Japan and great tsunami wave washed coastal area of the region facing the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011. Over 26 thousand people are still in their evacuation, losing their home with radioactive contamination by severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused by tsunami. Although Japan has learned lessons from the disaster, it is still not ready for next great earthquake.   The earthquake  took  19,782 lives, most of whom were taken away by tsunami. 2,550 people are still missing. 122,053 houses fell down. The evacuees, which counted 470 thousand in the peak time, were reduced to 26 thousand, but they still cannot get back their home, because the government of Japan designates 309 square kilometers of land in Fukushima prefecture as unsuitable for living.   While coastal area of Miyagi and Iwate has mostly recovered from devastation of tsunami, Fukushima prefecture is still...

Since January 2022, Tokyo District Court has accumulated trials on a lawsuit by seven patients of thyroid cancer, who allegedly suffered from radiation emitted from crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) in March 2011. It is estimated that the ratio of discovered cancers among young people in Fukushima area was extremely high. The plaintiffs argue that the reasoning of the government of Japan and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which attributed that high rate to unusual number of inspections, is inappropriate.   The accident in FDNPS is  estimated  as having emitted 500 PBq (petabecquerel) of noble gases, 500 PBq of iodine 131, 10 PBq of cesium 134 and 10PBq of cesium137 to the air, when its three reactors caused hydrogen explosions after they were hit by great tsunami of East Japan Great Earthquake on March 11 th , 2011. Iodine 131, which has a half-life of 8 days, does not ordinarily exist in the air and is known as being  accumulated  ...

Former Mayor of Kanazawa city, Ishikawa, Yukiyoshi Yamano,   defeated   incumbent governor of Ishikawa, Hiroshi Hase, with a small margin in the gubernatorial election of Ishikawa voted on March 8 th . Receiving criticisms on his initial response to a major earthquake occurred in Noto Peninsula, located at the northern Ishikawa, on the new year’s day in 2024, Hase lost his seat after his first four-year term as the governor. Although Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a visit to Ishikawa to support Hase’s campaign, her high popularity did not lead to his victory.   Yamano won the election with 245 thousand of votes against Hase with 239 thousand. Although Hase led Yamano in rural areas in Ishikawa prefecture, Yamano accumulated votes in the city of Kanazawa, where he was the mayor for twelve years since 2010. In the previous gubernatorial election in 2022, Yamano lost against Hase with 8 thousand of margin.   In his election campaign, Yamano stressed his effort for r...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi   had   a summit meeting with the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, in Tokyo on March 6 th . Carney is known as a proponent of cooperation among “middle power” in the world. Takaichi and Carney agreed on enhancing bilateral coordination in economic security, when superpowers are growingly taking unilateral measures regardless the fact that their behavior is putting negative impact on international politics and economy. Carney visited Tokyo as the final destination in his 10-day trip to Asia, following his stay in India and Australia. It was the first time for Canadian prime minister to visit Japan in these ten years. Takaichi and Carney met in their second opportunity for them as prime ministers, following the one in South Korea in November, 2025.   Carney is known as  prompting  “middle powers” in the world to work together to counter the rise of hard power and the great power rivalry, in order to build a more cooperative, res...

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)   requested  the Chief of Ogasawara village in Tokyo prefecture, Masaaki Shibuya, to accept “literature survey” for building final disposal site of nuclear waste in Minamitorishima Island, the southern-most place in territory of Japan. Shibuya answered that he would consider it. Ogasawara village became the fourth municipality in Japan to be the candidate of building final disposal site for nuclear waste produced in nuclear power plants.   Japan has 19,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel, but it does not have a final disposal site. Although Final Disposal Act of 2000 requires the government to have geological disposal for spent nuclear waste, it has even not determined where the final disposal site should be built, because no local community agreed on building it. While it has not determined the final disposal, Japanese government is promoting reprocessing nuclear waste by transforming it into vitrified waste.   To decide the...

The Liberal Democratic Party started its internal discussion on revision of “ three defense documents ” which comprehensively determines Japan’s defense policy. The LDP is going to make a proposal to the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the government will revise the documents before the end of 2026. It is expected that Japan is going to enhance its defense capability based on those new documents.   Three documents are National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Defense Buildup Program (DBP).  First NSS  was formulated by Shinzo Abe administration in 2013 and it was revised by prime minister Fumio Kishida in 2022. NDS was known as National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG), which had firstly been issued by Takeo Miki administration in 1976, until it was renamed as NDS in 2022. DBP was formally known as Medium Term Defense Program, the mid- and long-term defense plan which was based on NDPG.   Former premier Kishida made fu...

Tokyo High Court issued an order of dissolution to Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (former Unification Church, FFWPU) on March 4 th . As Religious Corporation Act gives high court a power to execute its dissolution order, an agent of the court started process of settlement on the religious organization. The court found that activity of FFWPU to collect donation from its believers had been constructing tort stipulated in the Civil Code of Japan.   The court realized that the leaders of FFWPU approved illegal seduction of its members to followers for collecting donation to the organization. It recognized 506 sufferers who were surely damaged by those activities, based on court decisions or reconciliations, for 40 years since 1973. The damage is estimated to amounted to 7.4 billion yen. Although FFWPU argued that it had taken preventive measures in 2009, the court found that the damages continued afterward.   Article 81 of Religious Corporation Act  provide...

The Committee on Budget in the House of Representatives finished three-day basic questionings to the prime minister on March 3 rd . While the debate has always been a highlight of ordinary session of the Diet every year, it seemed this time to be overwhelmed by supermajority power of Sanae Takaichi administration. Weak standpoint of the opposition parties can downgrade the status of the Diet which is designated as “the highest organ of State power” in the constitution.   It was obvious that the top opposition party, Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA),  took  softer position against the government than it had been before February Lower House election. The leader of CRA, Jun-ya Ogawa, asked more about saving enough time for discussion on FY2026 budget bill than Takaichi’s reported scandal about distributing gift to her colleagues.   Ogawa attributed delay of discussion on the budget bill to Takaichi’s decision to have a snap election in February. Takaichi plainly asked coo...

The second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court on February 24 th   dismissed  a special appeal made by public prosecutors on the case of Hinocho, in which the defendant, who had been sentenced life in prison, died in his penal servitude. It is likely that a retrial will be made from the first court. It makes the first example in post-war Japan for a crime with death penalty or life in prison to be subjected to a retrial.   In the case of Hinocho in December1984, an old woman who ran a liquor shop was missed in Hino town, Shiga. Her body was found in the town in January 1985 and her safe was found on the hill in April 1985. Police arrested Hiromu Sakahara, who had been a regular customer of her shop, based on his confession. Although Sakahara argued that he was forced to confess his crime, the court finally found him guilty with penalty of life in prison in September, 2000.   Sakahara requested a retrial to Otsu District Court in November 2001, but the court dismissed it...

The United States launched a war on Iran, naming the operation “Epic Fury,” that invited retaliation of Iran to neighbor countries including Israel. As a close ally of the U.S., Japan responded to the war with support for Trump administration. However, there are a lot of concern in Japan about economic impact of the war. Some gaps between politics and the people are seen in recognition of new conflict in the Middle East.   The news of attack of Iran by U.S. Forces with Israel was brought to Japan in the afternoon of Saturday February 28 th . Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi got back from her trip to Ishikawa prefecture to support a candidate for gubernatorial election and convened a ministers meeting of National Security Council (NSC) in her official residence in Tokyo. “I ordered related ministries to collect information and best effort to secure Japanese people in the region,”  said  Takaichi to the reporters late at the night.   Ministry for Foreign Affairs  rai...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi   revealed  her plan to submit bills for consumption tax cut in the extraordinary session of the Diet this fall. She argues that her government is going to reduce consumption tax rate on foods to zero for two years to support households that are suffering from price inflation. However, the opposition parties are still skeptical on her willingness to introduce consumption tax reduction.   Having finished leaders’ questions in Plenary Sittings, Diet discussion on FY2026 budget bill entered debate at Committee on Budget in the House of Representatives on February 27th. Committee members asked questions in an improvisational manner to find out how the prime minister would promote her reform which was represented by the slogan of “responsible and proactive public finances.”   The leader of Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), Jun-ya Ogawa, asked Takaichi how she would proceed discussion in “national council” on social security, which was establish...

China announced   export ban   on dual-use items against Japanese private companies on February 26th. The companies that were applied export control amounted to twenty. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)   argued  that Japan was accelerating its effort of remilitarization, citing its expansion of defense capability or nuclear ambitions. The government of Japan firmly opposed China’s unilateral measures for economic pressure.   Twenty entities were listed as the companies or institutes to which exporting dual-use items are restricted. Companies that export goods or technologies that have both civilian and military applications from China to listed entities will need to submit a risk assessment report and a written commitment that the items will not be used to enhance Japan’s military strength.   The listed entities include five companies in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group including Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, two in Kawasaki Heavy Industries Group, six in ...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi   held   the first meeting of National Council on Social Security at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence on February 26 th . Although Takaichi has been expecting widely multi-partisan discussion, only three parties participated in the meeting. Most opposition parties refrained from joining it or were excluded. It is doubtful that the council is worth called “national council.” In her  policy speech  to the extraordinary session of the Diet last October, Takaichi proposed establishment of a national council for comprehensive reform of social security in the situation that her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) did not have a majority in both chambers. When she decided a snap election in January, she  added  consideration of consumption tax cut, which would be related to social security reform, in her policies for the election.   After the Lower House election on February 8 th , in which the LDP achieved a sweeping victory, ...