J Update

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, ...

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...