J Update

Construction of Japan’s rapid train system using magnetic levitation (maglev) received a green light with basic approval from a local government. Shizuoka prefecture, which is one of the seven prefectures the train will run through, has   approved  a plan of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) to conserve environment in late March. It is expected that the construction of the system will start in Shizuoka section within fiscal year 2026, hoping to finish it in FY2036.   The government of Japan decided a plan in 2011 to build a maglev train system that would connect two biggest cities, Tokyo and Osaka. In 2014, it embarked on construction of the eastern half of the system between Tokyo and Nagoya. Although it was expected to finish in 2027, the ex-governor of Shizuoka, Heita Kawakatsu, firmly opposed the construction in the Shizuoka section, because of negative impact on environment.   The people in Shizuoka rely their drinking water on Oi River, which flows fro...

Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) revive. While five major factions out of six had dissolved after the kickback scandal of political funds were revealed and the party received criticisms from voters in 2023 and 2024, they started having meetings without any declaration of reunion of the factions. Newcomers in February Lower House election formed a group supporting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. As the president of the LDP, Takaichi has taken no action for restricting those activities. It was revealed a number of LDP lawmakers had received political fund from factions as a reward of selling ticket of fundraising parties in 2023. They did not report that income to the government. The LDP found that 85 lawmakers had received the kickback fund and punished 39 members of former Abe faction, led by late Shinzo Abe, in April 2024. All the factions except one led by former prime minister Taro Aso was dissolved to restore transparency of the politics in the leading party.   In ...

The government of Japan accelerate building shelters to protect its citizens against military attack by foreign countries. It revised its guideline for securing shelters against armed attacks in late March. However, the people are skeptical about efficiency of the shelters in a contingency. The government, anyway, does not have a viable plan to effectively deter any armed attack by a foreign country.   The government of Japan enforced in 2005  a law  for protecting Japanese citizens in a case of armed attack by a foreign country. Consecutive appearance of unidentified boats in the sea area around Japan, launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or activities of international terrorist organizations encouraged the government to take measures against them. The law mandates the government to formulate basic plan for protecting the people from armed attack.   The  National Security Strategy  of 2022 requires ...

As a routine diplomacy for the prime minister of Japan in the Golden Week, when the Diet enters short recess, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Hanoi, Vietnam, to have a summit meeting with Vietnamese President, To Lam, on May 2 nd . Vietnam maintains economic relationship with China, while it keeps security cooperation with the Unites States or Japan. Takaichi insisted that she would promote a concept of Free and Open Indo-Pacific which her political mentor, former prime minister Shinzo Abe, had once upheld as Japan’s diplomatic concept toward Asia.   In the  meeting  with Lam, Takaichi focused on economic security, which she had been grappling with for years. In 2023, Japan and Vietnam upgraded their diplomatic relations to “comprehensive strategic partnership,” commemorating 50 th anniversary since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1973. The partnership means the highest level of diplomatic relations for Vietnam. Both leaders shared their intention to m...

May 3 rd   marked the 79 th  Constitution Day, since the Constitution of Japan was enforced on this day in 1947. Current polls shows that majority of the people in Japan approve constitutional amendment, while most people are negative against immediate change of provision of the constitution. In the world with consecutive military conflicts, on which Japanese people have a concern to be entangled with, some people reaffirm the value of pacifism written in the constitution. On necessity of constitutional amendment, the majority realizes that the constitution should be changed. In the  poll  of  Kyodo News Agency , 69 percent of the respondents saw necessity of the amendment, while 31 percent did not.  Yomiuri Shimbun   reported  57 percent of approval on the same question with 40 percent of denial.  Asahi Shimbun   recognized  the same trend with 49 percent and 44 percent.   However, the answers on when the amendment would be ma...

Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Bank of Japan (BOJ)   intervened   in foreign exchange to stop depreciation of Japanese yen on April 30 th . It is estimated that the BOJ injected 5 trillion yen into the market and yen immediately appreciated by 5 yen against U.S. dollar. Although the intervention worked for deterring further depreciation, the effect of “decisive measure” is not expected to be lasting long, reflecting weakness of Japanese yen. After the BOJ and U.S. Federal Reserve Bureau refrained from changing its monetary policy in current meetings late April, Japanese yen has been depreciated to the level of mid-160 yen against one USD in April 30 th . The MOF was preparing for the intervention of purchasing Japanese yen and sell USD to protect Japanese currency from speculative trades.   Minister of Finance, Satsuki Katayama, announced that she was ready for intervention. “We are reaching the time for taking a decisive measure,” said Katayama to the press just before 5 ...

Seventy years have passed since the first patient of Minamata Disease, one of the most serious social nuisances in post-war Japan, was discovered in Minamata city, Kumamoto. Not only the company that caused the disease but the government of Japan has been accused of failing in salvaging the sufferers. The patients still demand support from the government.   A health care center in Minamata  received  a report that a patient with unknown brain symptom was hospitalized on May 1 st , 1956. The disease was later identified as neurological paralysis caused by methylmercury. This chemical material was supposed to be brought by fish in the sea, which was polluted by waste water emitted from a company that produced fertilizer, Chisso. The patients ate those fish.   In 1968, Minamata Disease was designated as a public pollution disease which was caused by pollutive material produced by industrial activities. The government had to support the sufferers as a legal obligation. A...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi promised the voters in the Lower House election in February that she would eliminate consumption tax on foods. As she still hopes to start that reduction of consumption tax by the end of March 2027, the members of national conference on social security are pessimistic for the implementation. There came up   an option  to reduce the tax rate not from current 8 percent to 0, but to 1 percent.   “It has been my long-cherished wish,” said Takaichi on elimination of consumption tax cut in her press conference on January 19 th , when she announced dissolution of the Lower House and ensuing election in February. At the time she ran for presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in last October, Takaichi was negative on the issue, because of complication in system reform and low efficiency for low-income families. Takaichi’s attitude has occasionally been changed several times.   After a sweeping victory in the Lower House elect...

The 11 th   Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) started at headquarters of the United Nations on April 27 th . The conference is held in the time when international security faces a major uncertainty with military attacks on sovereign states by countries which have nuclear weapons. Japan is tested whether it can play a proper role as the only country in the world which had suffered from nuclear bombs.   NPT Review Conference had been held in every five years until 2015 and 2020 conference was delayed to 2022 due to COVID-19. Article 6 of  the treaty  mandates the parties to pursue negotiations “in good faith on effective measures” relating to nuclear disarmament. Nevertheless, nuclear disarmament has not been accelerated and the review conference failed in having a common document as the outcome in latest two meetings.   In his  opening remarks  of the 11 th  review conference, U.N. Secretary General, ...

The Council on Election System in the House of Representatives held a meeting with participation of representatives of each party on April 16 th . It was the first meeting since the general election in February, in which the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) achieved a sweeping victory. Pushed by its coalition partner Japan Innovation Party (JIP), the LDP proposed adding reduction of seats in the House to the council’s agenda. The opposition parties are not willing to discuss it, because they do not know why they needed to discuss it right now.   The council is one of the regular discussion bodies in the House, established every time when the members are refreshed in an election. In the  outlines  for the discussion when the council was established on April 9 th , the council determined that the parties would discuss how to draw the line of electoral districts to assure parity in value of one vote.   Chairman of the council from LDP, Keisuke Suzuki, proposed in the Apri...

Governor of Okinawa, Denny Tamaki,   announced   his candidacy for gubernatorial election on April 25 th . The election is scheduled on September 13 th . To the election, Genta Koja, vice-mayor of Naha city supported by Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will also run. It is expected that the race will be the contest over promotion of building new military base in Henoko, the issue which divided the people in Okinawa in two for decades. Tamaki has won two consecutive elections in 2018 and 2022 as the candidate of All Okinawa group, which is formed by protesters against building the base in Henoko as the alternative facility to Futenma Air Base of U.S. Force in Okinawa. For his third term as the governor, Tamaki is going to run with support of All Okinawa, which includes opposition parties such as Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Japan Communist Party.   As the governor of Okinawa, Tamaki has been opposing building the base in Henoko by mobilizing his power to app...

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 ...