J Update

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, ...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi distributed gifts to the lawmakers in the Lower House who won their seats in February 8 general election. While the law for regulation of political funds prohibit any individual to donate to politician, Takaichi justified her gift as not illegal because it was not made by her but by an organization represented by her. It showed her indifference to be modest in management of political funds   In the discussion of the Diet, Takaichi  explained  that her office gave the lawmakers of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Lower House catalog of gifts, by which the recipient can purchase any item in the catalog. Upper limit of the purchase was 34 thousand yen. the catalog was distributed to 315 Lower House lawmakers, all the LDP lawmakers except Takaichi herself. Total cost for all the catalogue would amount beyond 10 million yen.   ”No one can make a donation for political activities of a candidate for public offices,” says Article 21-2 of...

The Diet session   entered  the three-day debate in Plenary Sittings of both Houses. In the answers to the questions from opposition leaders, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi insisted that she hoped FY2026 budget bill to pass the Diet before the end of March. The opposition parties required thorough discussion over the budget regardless the limit. It is possible that super majority in the Lower House affect discussion over the budget.   It is usual that the prime minister makes a policy speech at the beginning of annual ordinary session convoked in January and the leaders of parties ask questions to the premier. It is followed by questionary session. In the three-day session, the questions are made in the Lower House in the afternoon of the first and the second day, and in the Upper House in the morning of the second day and whole day of the third.   On the first day, February 24 th , Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Co-leader of Japan Innovat...

President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi  appointed  Yasutoshi Nishimura to the Chairman of LDP Election Strategy Committee. As she declared in the election campaign, Takaichi hopes the lawmakers involved in the scandal to work as much as they can. It is likely that the prime minister regarded her public approval as so invincible that the scandal would no longer have negative impact on her administration.   Nishimura received 1 million yen from former Abe faction as the kickback for ticket sales in fundraising parties. Although 1 million yen was not very large amount of fund, compared to other faction members, he was punished with one-year suspension of LDP membership, because he was responsible for continuing the kickback system as secretary general of Abe faction in 2022.   Nishimura did not have party endorsement as the candidate of the Lower House election in October 2024, in which he maintained his seat with a small mar...

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)   gave  a greenlight for commercialization of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell which received Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012. It marked an important development in generative medicine in Japan, which the government of Japan promote as a country with advanced medical technology, even though it is a provisional license.   Professor of Kyoto University, Shin-ya Yamanaka, was successful in producing a cell that had ability of differentiation into many cells and copying itself in 2006. It was expected to be used for medical treatment for serious disease of heart or Parkinson’s disease. Nobel committee  approved  the significance of Yamanaka’s achievement in identification of iPS cells as contribution to medical treatment of intractable diseases or development of new medicine for remedy.   A subcommittee of MHLW decided to approve two kinds of pharmaceuticals that used iPS cells, encouraging medi...

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)   approved   a draft of its proposal to the government for deregulation on exporting defense equipment on February 20 th .  The ruling party approved exporting not only defense equipment but “weapons” to foreign countries, including one directly involved in a war. Although Japan has been taking distance from international military conflict with requirement of its constitution that prohibit war, Sanae Takaichi administration is unleashing the country from pacifist principle.   Japan upheld  three principles on exporting “weapons”  in 1967, which prohibited export of weapons to a country in communist bloc, to one banned by resolution of the United Nations, and to one in international conflict. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe renewed the principles into  three principles for transfer of “defense equipment ” in 2014, which laid out conditions on export of defense equipment. They were exporting not to a country involved i...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave   a policy speech   to the Diet on February 20 th . Although this policy speech has been made every January at the beginning of ordinary session, it delayed this year due to Takaichi’s dissolution of the Lower House and general election. The policy speech included no new policy, despite her sweeping victory in the election, indicating that she had no specific agenda to implement backed by overwhelming public approval.   As she did in  the policy speech last October , Takaichi stressed her economic slogan called “responsible and proactive public finances.” It is still unclear what this mantra means.   Takaichi insisted that she would promote domestic investment which had been falling short of. She insisted that she would promote “strategic investment,” which literal translation would be “crisis-management investment,” including economic security, food security, energy security, health-medical security or cyber security. Those po...

Government of Japan and the United States   announced  their projects of investment which Japan promised last summer when they reached a deal on tariff rate. They included manufacturing artificial diamonds in Georgia, building a port for exporting crude oil in Texas and gas power generation in Ohio. The volume of investment for those projects amounts to $36 billion. The leaders of both governments welcomed the deal as a symbol of economic cooperation between two countries.   Last July, both governments reached a deal on tariffs imposed by Donald Trump administration on products from Japan. The U.S. accepted reduction of rate of tariffs on Japanese products from 25 percent to 15. Tariff on Japanese cars were halved to 12.5 percent. In return, Japan offered $550 billion of investment to the U.S. by the end of Trump’s term as the president.   Artificial diamond is necessary for production of semiconductors. Although Japan and the U.S. has been dependent on Chinese artif...

The 221 st   session of the Diet was convoked on February 18 th . This is a special session, set up after general election of the House of Representatives on February 8 th . After Sanae Takaichi Cabinet resigned en masse at the beginning of the session, both chambers of the Diet reelected Takaichi. The second Takaichi Cabinet embarked on. Although Takaichi reappointed all the ministers in her cabinet, members of the Lower House have been drastically replaced by the snap election arranged by Takaichi. The 220 th  ordinary session was convoked on January 23 rd . Takaichi, then, dissolved the Lower House on the first day, asking “choose me or someone else” for prime minister on the day. The Upper House simultaneously finished the session. The 220 th  session lasted just one day. Article 54 of  the Constitution of Japan  demands the Lower House to have a general election within 30 days from the dissolution and to have a special session within 40 days from the electi...

A special session of the Diet will be convoked on February 18 th . Sweeping victory of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Lower House election in earlier this month will drastically change the structure of the Diet, giving two-thirds majority to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The opposition parties are responsible for checking Takaichi administration from excessive use of power to implement her agenda.   After the election in October 2024, in which the LDP lost significant number of seats in the House, some important committee seats were occupied by opposition parties. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) chaired 10 out of 27 committees, including the Committee on Budget and Commission on the Constitution. Handling of committees by opposition chairperson irritated Takaichi, partly causing her decision to have a snap election to change the situation in the Diet.   Through discussion by their representatives, the parties agreed on which party would lead eac...

Japan Agency for Maritime Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)   announced  that it had succeeded in extracting mud which possibly included rare earths from the seabed around Minamitorishima Island. The agency is going to examine the mud. The government of Japan hopes to pave the way to supply rare earths that are indispensable for advanced technologies without depending on import from foreign countries including China.   The government started a project called  Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP)  in 2014, topped by the prime minister. It gives prime minister advices on comprehensive policy-making on science and technology. The project deals with various scientific projects, including power generation through combustion of ammonia to reduce emission of greenhouse gasses or autonomous driving of cars.   Research on rare earths around Minamitorishima started as a part of SIP to develop technology for maritime research. A research group of Universi...

In the first poll by news organizations after the Lower House election, in which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi achieved a sweeping victory, Takaichi Cabinet maintained high popularity which had been shown in the election. Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also gained certain approval from the public, while small opposition parties are fragmented with low popularity. It is focused how Takaichi will reflect this advantage to her handlings of her agenda. In the  poll  of  Asahi Shimbun , approval for Takaichi Cabinet was 63 percent against 24 percent of disapproval. While approval decreased by 4 percentage points from January, just before beginning of campaign for the Lower House election, disapproval slightly increased by 1 percentage point.   Other polls showed mostly the same trend. Approval for Takaichi Cabinet was 65 percent with 7 points of increase in the  poll  of NHK. Disapproval reduced by 6 points to 20 percent.  Nikkei Shimbun  released ...

An advisory board for Miniser of Health, Labour and Welfare, Central Social Insurance Medical Council, submitted   a report  to the minister that recommended raising reward for medical services, considering price inflation and trend of wage hike in private sectors. The recommendation reflected concern on medical system in Japan, which is suffering from deficit of each medical institution and shortage of manpower. It will impose greater payment on patients. Every medical institute receives medical service fee from public organizations of medical insurance and directly from patients who owe 10 to 30 percent of the fee. Sanae Takaichi administration  decided  last December to raise the rewards from medical insurance by 3.09 percent, which was the highest rate in these three decades. Considering the positive attitude of the government, the council, which submits its report every two years, recommended hike of the rewards.   Medical fee  for the second and furth...

To reconstruct the party suffered from significant defeat in the Lower House election, the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA)  had an election   to elect its new leader on February 13 th . Former secretary general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), Jun-ya Ogawa, won against Takeshi Shina, former Parliamentary Vice-minister for Internal Affairs and Communications. Ogawa is going to deal with an important issue for the ailing party, which is to integrate former members of the CDPJ and Komeito.   Immediately after the Lower House election on February 8 th , in which it reduced its seats from 167 to 49, co-leaders of CRA, Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuya Saito, announced their resignation. The CRA has a rule that new leader will be elected by voting in a Joint Plenary Meeting of lawmakers in both chambers of Diet, when the leader’s seat becomes empty. As members of Upper House with the CDPJ and Komeito have not joined the CRA, the leader’s election was voted by 49 ...