J Update

Embracing serious concern on abnormal economic relationship between Japan and China, some lawmakers in the Diet are making attempts for a breakthrough with their own diplomacy. Some lawmakers made their visit to China and had a meeting with Chinese officials in August. Anyway, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made no meaningful effort to improve bilateral relations between Japan and China, which was exacerbated by her own comment in the Diet last November.   After Takaichi said in the Diet that use of force around Taiwan would consist of survival threatening situation in which Japan would be able to use force, China recommended its citizens not to visit Japan. Chinese visitors to Japan  declined  by 60 percent in August 2026, compared to the same month in the previous year. China also effectively resumed banning sea products from Japan and embargoed rare earths after Takaichi’s comment.   While Takaichi insisted that she would never say that again and that Japan wou...

The government of Japan   revealed  that the United States Force in Japan (USFJ) had admitted in December 2023 that poisonous Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) detected in Okinawa was originated in U.S. Force’s bases in Okinawa. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) did not disclose this admission of the USFJ at the time. It is likely that the government of Japan has been dismissing the argument of Okinawan government that the detected PFAS was caused by foam concentrate used for drills of extinction.   PFAS is a general term of over ten thousand chemical substances, some of which are harmful for human health or inhabitancy of animals and plants. PFAS includes perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) which are designated as persistent organic pollutants in  Stockholm Convention in 2004 . The member countries of the convention are obliged to take measures to restrict production or import of those materials.   The prefectural governmen...

The Bank of Japan   decided   to raise its policy rate from 1.0 percent to 1.25 in the Monetary Policy Meeting held on September 17 th   and 18 th . The BOJ Governor, Kazuo Ueda, announced that the bank recognized change of policy phase from targeting price inflation toward 2 percent to stabilizing it at 2 percent, considering a risk of upward pressure. However, he did not make future moves clear, causing some disappointments of the markets.   Since it started raising its policy interest rate in March 2024, the BOJ kept on adding by 0.25 percent approximately every half year. This time, however, the bank decided policy interest hike after three months from previous one. It can be regarded as an acceleration of interest hike. The rate reached the highest level since 1995. The decision was made with majority approval of seven members out of the nine.   The bank stresses importance of stabilizing price inflation at the level of 2 percent. The BOJ’s “ outlook ” on e...

A new opposition party, named the Democratic Reform Association (DRA), was established on September 17 th  by lawmakers who left the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), which was separated between former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and former Komeito. While the DRA is expected to integrate lawmakers of former CDPJ, it is unclear whether they can completely include them.   After the CRA, with 49 Lower House members, decided to dissolve itself, 28 ex-Komeito members left the party and returned to Komeito which had been remaining in the Upper House. Then 20 ex-CDPJ members left the party and only one ex-CDPJ member stayed in the CRA to keep the status of a party. The CRA remains as a party with one lawmaker to receive political fund from the government.   The DRA was registered as a party with five members: Jun-ya Ogawa, Takeshi Shina, Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Akira Nagatsuma and Takayuki Ochiai. The leader of DRA is Ogawa and the secretary general is Shina. Those...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reshuffled her  cabinet  on September 17 th . Takaichi reappointed most important ministers to maintain the posture of her administration, which promotes large fiscal spendings and security policy heavily relying on the United States. What she most cared was how she can make her reelection sure in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) next year.   A cabinet reshuffle is always made simultaneously with renewing board members of the LDP. The LDP introduced new rule in 2022 that the term of its board members is one year and any board member cannot stay in the same position beyond three years, to avoid concentration of political power. Former LDP secretary general Toshihiro Nikai continued his position for five years, inviting criticisms on his long assignment.   Main purpose of reshuffling cabinet for previous prime ministers has been to regain public support for ailing administration, replacing ministers who are i...

The President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Prime Minister, Sanae Takiachi,   reappointed   most board members of her party on September 16 th . As she keeps relatively high approval rate so far, Takaichi focused on maintaining her power in the party, refraining from rather making a big change of her team. Another point was early removal of possible troubles for her reelection as the president net year. The LDP has ten board members, each of whose term is a year. Takaichi reappointed eight of those ten again. Having weak basis on her own party, she relies her grip of the party on Vice-President Taro Aso, a heavyweight who presides the only faction in the party that survived slush fund scandal in 2023. Takaichi not only reappointed Aso as the Vice-President but decided to keep Secretary General Shun-ichi Suzuki, who is Aso’s brother-in-law, at the same position. Reappointment of Chairman of Policy Research Council, Takayuki Kobayashi, is also Aso’s choice. ...

The Chubu Electric Power (CEP) released   a report   on its safety data fabrication in Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant on September 11 th . The report made by a third-party committee found that there was “extremely strange way of thinking” to justify the fabrication in the CEP for making the data to meet its schedule to resume nuclear reactors in Hamaoka. It is unclear whether the CEP can regain confidence of the government or people as an owner of nuclear reactors.   After severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the government of Japan ordered all the electric power companies to stop operation of nuclear reactors and demanded safety measures against natural disaster. The CEP submitted request of resumption for reactors #4 in Hamaoka in 2014 and #3 in 2015. As the lifetime of a reactor was determined as 40 years, the reactor #3 established in 1987 was close to the end.   Hamaoka plant is said as standing at the most dangerous place in the world,...

Former deputy mayor of Naha city, Genta Koja, achieved   a landslide victory   in gubernatorial election of Okinawa voted on September 13 th . Koja won against incumbent governor, Denny Tamaki, with a wide margin. While Tamaki maintained his governorship with firm protest against building military base in Henoko, voters in Okinawa chose reconciliation with the national government. The election changed structure of politics in Okinawa.   Koja, 42, is going to assume the governor as the first person born after return of governance of Okinawa from the United States to Japan in 1972. As a young politician who experienced staff of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, Koja appealed voters to change the course of Okinawa, which had been opposing to national government, with economic agenda. With support from the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan Innovation Party and Democratic party for the People, he promised the voters doubling income of each family in Okinawa.  ...

The Emperor Emeritus, Akihito, reportedly   hopes  that his funeral will be taken place in a minimum way, considering its impact on the people. Acknowledging that the funeral of the Emperor of Showa, Hirohito, was held very long and affected ordinary life of the Japanese people, Akihito has been wishing simple funeral for the happiness of the people. Since the Emperor Emeritus constitutionally does not have power to government, the government of Japan will consider how the funeral should be held while he is living.   The funeral of Hirohito, who died in 1989, was magnificent. The morning ceremonies lasted over two months and ten thousand people visited the funeral. The government constructed a building for the funeral in Shinjuku National Garden and traffics are restricted around the garden. A huge mausoleum was built in the imperial house’s graveyard located in the suburb of Tokyo. The government spent about 10 billion yen for the funeral and the interment.   Akihit...

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released the result of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted in 2025. In the rankings of countries, Japan kept its position at the top five. However, it reduced its score of reading from the result of last survey three years before. It is supposed that long exposure to social networking services caused deterioration of students’ reading capacity.   The OECD started PISA in 2000,  assessing  “the extent to which 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills for full participation in social and economic life.” The PISA is conducted on mathematics, reading and science in every three or four years. About 760 thousand students from 91 countries and regions participated in PISA 2025. In Japan, the survey was made to 6,500 freshpersons of 183 high schools between June and August 2025.   The result of  2025 PISA  found that Japan is ranked within the top five in...

Chubu Electric Power (CEP)   considers  cancelling its request to resume reactors #3 and #4 of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant which revealed a series of false activities including fabrication of data for safety. The chairman of CEP is going to step down to take responsibility for the scandals. The CEP lost its hope to resume nuclear power generation for the time being.   After the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the government of Japan stopped all the reactors in Japan and applied a stricter regulation for safety on them to resume their operation. The CEP requested resumption of reactors #3 and #4 of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, the only nuclear power plant of the company, to prove their capability to safely operate the reactors in 2014 and 2015.   However, it was revealed that the examination was based on wrong data for safety in January. The reactors should have a strength to endure certain seismic power. The CEP manipulated that poss...

Sanae Takaichi government presented its   draft  of measures related to introduction of consumption tax cut for foods in April 2027 to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Japan Innovation Party (JIP). To prevent negative impact on some people, the government prepared special menu to support their businesses. However, it is still unclear how the government will find the fiscal resource to cover the loss of revenue. Takaichi promised to eliminate consumption tax for foods to attract low-income voters in the Lower House election in February. Following the victory in the election, Takaichi Cabinet decided in August to reduce consumption tax rate for foods from 8 percent to 1 for two years, starting April 2027, and provide the rest of 1 percent to low-income families. When the tax rate will get back to 8 percent in April 2029, the government hopes to introduce new system of benefits, which depends on income of each family.   This benefit will be calculated based on the inco...

The biggest opposition party, Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA),   decided  to separate itself into two groups, former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and former Komeito. Their attempt to form an alternative power to ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Diet resulted in a failure, facing a criticism on a maneuver for their own survival in elections. This short-lived new party miserably disappears only to have encouraged unilateral rule of the LDP led by populist leader, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In the meeting of board members on September 9th, the CRA decided that all of its affiliated lawmakers except one would leave the party before next extraordinary session which is expected to be convoked in early October. “I am responsible for failing in integrating three parties. We decided to go a new course to manage current situation,” said the leader of CRA, Jun-ya Ogawa.   They took a unique way for settlement. Former Komeito lawmakers will leave the...

The chairman of multi-party council for revision of election system of the House of Representatives (Lower House), Keisuke Suzuki,   made a proposal  for new system in proportional district in the meeting in late August. The system is called the Saint-Laguë method, which is aadvantagous for small parties to increase their seats. However, the reform does not seem to be more than a trivial change in electoral system.   The Lower House takes paralleled single-seat and proportional election system. It has 289 seats from single-seat districts all over Japan and 176 seats for party-list proportional representation. Every voter has two votes, one is for single-seat district with name of a candidate and another is for proportional district with name of a party. In the election of February 2026, the Liberal Democratic Party achieved 249 seats in single-seat districts and 67 seats in proportional district. The LDP gave some proportional seats away, because it received votes beyond ...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly   decided   to reshuffle board members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and her cabinet ministers on September 16 th . Overall speculation of news media is that Takaichi will not change most core members of her team. It can simply be a reshuffle for including Japan Innovation Party (JIP) in her cabinet to reinforce her leading coalition. It is unclear whether approval rate for her cabinet will show a boost.   It is ordinary for an LDP administration to simultaneously renew members of LDP board and cabinet, because the prime minister casts political power through both of them. In 2022, the LDP revised its  constitution  that the term of board members would be one year and they cannot stay the same position beyond three years. It was to keep the party refreshed and avoid concentration of political power. Because the term of LDP board members expire every year, the cabinet is also reshuffled at the same time.   Tak...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)   announced  that it would buy back the rice for national reserve, which had been released to stabilize rice trade in 2025. Realizing that the farmers will harvest certain amount of rice this fall, the ministry decided to increase national reserve, meanwhile expecting to stop decline of rice price. It is questioned, however, whether the policy may cause rice price hike in the time of prolonged price inflation.   In February 2025, the government decided to release national rice reserve to settle price increase of rice. As release of national reserve had been limited for recovery from unexpected natural disaster, the release in 2025 made the first example of release for stabilizing rice trade.   The MAFF released 590 thousand tons of rice out of 960 thousand tons of the national reserve. Currently the reserve was reduced to as low as 320 thousand tons. The ministry found that 24 prefectures out of 47 expected t...

The biggest opposition party in the Diet, the Central Reform Alliance (CRA), is destined to   separate  into two with former party line between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito. The movement to construct a major group as the alternative of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) came to an end in seven months. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seems to be obtaining further arbitrary power in politics with fragmentation of opposition powers.   In the trilateral meeting of leaders with CRA, CDPJ and Komeito on August 31 st , they reconfirmed that CDPJ will not join the CRA. Although Komeito had been willing to join the CRA, even if the CDPJ would be delayed in the merger, it changed its stance when it realized the reluctance of the CDPJ. Komeito dismissed a proposal from the CDPJ to form a parliamentary group in the Upper House.   When the CRA is divided into two parties, governmental subsidy for the party would evenly be divided. But if they t...

The average of minimum wage in Japan in 2026 was   settled  at 1,177 yen per hour, increasing by 56 yen from the previous year. While it marked the second largest hike, following 66 yen of the plus in 2025, the result in negotiation in 2026 showed a possibility that the trend of large increase has peaked out. It partly reflects political stance of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who stands closer to the mangers than workers.   Minimum wage is set for each company to guarantee its workers minimum hourly payment. This benchmark works to raise workers’ wages in every workplace, because every company hopes to obtain better workforce than others by raising payment for their work. If minimum wage of a company increases, other companies also need to distinguish themselves with higher wage than the lowest payment which is catching up with them.   The minimum wage is decided in every prefecture. Each prefecture is categorized in one of three groups from A to C. Six urban prefe...