A Japanese national has ​been detained in Iran and must be swiftly released, the Japanese government said on Wednesday.

The person was detained ‌on January ‌20, ​Deputy ‌Chief ⁠Cabinet Secretary ​OZAKI Masanao ⁠told reporters. He gave no further details.

Radio Free Europe earlier reported that Shinnosuke Kawashima, the Tehran ⁠bureau chief of ‌Japan’s ‌public broadcaster, NHK, had ​been ‌arrested by Iran ‌and transferred to a Tehran prison.

NHK declined to confirm that an employee ‌of theirs had been detained.

“As NHK, we always ⁠act ⁠with the safety of our staff as the top priority. There is nothing we can answer at this stage,” a spokesperson said.
 
 

Japan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its defence minister said, as regional tensions simmer.

It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to Yonaguni island since it was announced in 2022.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunify" with it. Yonaguni is visible from Taiwan's shores on a clear day, located just 110km (68 miles) away.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have run high since November when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appeared to suggest that Japan would activate its self-defence force in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

The worry has long been that any attack on Taiwan, which counts the US as an ally, could result in a direct military conflict between Washington and Beijing, then widen to include other US allies in the region such as Japan.

Takaichi's remarks to parliament plunged ties with China to their lowest level in years and Beijing has been piling on the pressure in a wide range of ways - sending warships, throttling rare earth exports, curbing Chinese tourism, cancelling concerts and even reclaiming its pandas.

Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the timeline for the missiles on Tuesday, a day after China imposed export curbs on 20 Japanese companies and entities, citing national security concerns.

Koizumi said the Yonaguni unit will be equipped with medium-range surface-to-air missiles able to intercept incoming aircraft and missiles.

With a range of about 50km and 360-degree capability, the Japanese-made missile system can track up to 100 targets simultaneously and engage up to 12 at once.

China has yet to react to Koizumi's announcement. But when Koizumi visited Yonaguni in November, Beijing said Japan was moving to "create regional tension and provoke military confrontation".

Within days, China flew drones near the island to express its anger, prompting Japan to scramble aircraft jets in response.

The latest developments come after Takaichi secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections earlier this month. That victory gave Takaichi political space to double down on boosting Japan's defence capabilities.

This makes the announcement on Yonaguni island more than just a military adjustment - it looks like the opening chapter for a more assertive Tokyo.

And as Takaichi bolsters the country's military and defence budget, such assertiveness seems unlikely to end here.

The Yonaguni announcement also shows where Japan sees its front line - and how far it is prepared to go to defend it.

Over the past decade, Japan has transformed sleepy Yonaguni into a military outpost, which currently handles coastal surveillance and is staffed by some 160 members of Japan's self-defence force.

An electronic warfare unit capable of disrupting enemy communications and radar will be set up there in fiscal year 2026, which runs from April to March next year.

The timing for the deployment of the missile unit "may change depending on the progress of future facility improvements, but the current plan is for fiscal year 2030", Koizumi said.
 
 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Japan next month as part of a three-nation Indo-Pacific tour, the Prime Minister’s Office said Monday.
Amid ongoing trade friction stemming from the tariff policy of U.S.

President Donald Trump’s administration, Canada appears eager to promote trade diversification and attract fresh investment through the prime minister’s 10-day trip to the three countries, also including India and Australia.

According to the Japanese government, Carney will visit Japan over March 6 and 7 on the final leg of the tour, which begins on Thursday, and hold a bilateral summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The two leaders will also hold a working dinner.

The Carney-Takaichi meeting is designed to “strengthen mutual investment and partnerships in advanced manufacturing, critical minerals and food security,” the Canadian prime minister’s office said. They are also expected to discuss ways to enhance security cooperation, including to support a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference that Canada is “an important strategic partner for the realization of the free and open Indo-Pacific.”

“At a time when the international order has been shaken, Japan will work with countries that share fundamental values, including Canada, with the Japan-U.S. alliance at the center (of the efforts),” he added.
 
 

The Japanese government has put on hold a decision on whether to join the Board of Peace, which is led by U.S. President Donald Trump to achieve peace in Gaza, because of concerns among countries that he aims to replace the United Nations with it.

Japanese officials are now looking at other countries' responses while taking Tokyo's relations with Washington into consideration before making a decision.

"We are scrutinizing details in close communication with the United States and other countries concerned," Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a press conference last week when asked whether Japan would join the board.

The board is an international organization approved by the U.N. Security Council in November. Its founding members include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Invitations to join the board have been sent to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other leaders. More than 25 countries have expressed their intention to participate, according to U.S. media.
 
 

The producer behind popular group XG was arrested along with three others in Aichi Prefecture on Monday on suspicion of possessing cocaine, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Junho Sakai, who works under the name of Simon, was arrested along with a 39-year-old U.S. music producer and two other men on suspicious of violating the Narcotic Control Law by possessing a bag of the drug at a hotel room, according to the MPD.

Sakai, a 39-year-old resident of Meguro Ward, Tokyo, and the three others were staying at the hotel when the MPD searched their room late Sunday.

The police discovered four bags of cocaine and a bag of dried cannabis.

According to the website of entertainment agency XGALX, Sakai started his career as a producer in 2013 under the name Jakops. XG, which consists of seven members, made its debut in 2022 and became the first group of Japanese performers to make it into Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart.
 

 

Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in is a relaxation space in downtown Tokyo’s Takadanobaba neighborhood. It’s a unique place, not just because it offers a spot for patrons to meditate or zone out for a while, but because they do so while lying down in coffins (kanoke in Japanese).

As shown in the photo above, Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in has an array of Japanese-style coffins, and the staff invites guests to “gaze at life through being conscious of death” through their 30-minute coffin sessions.

However, if the idea of lying in a box ordinarily meant for the dead is a little too morbid for you, Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in is now offering the opportunity to lie down in cute coffins.

These cute caskets are the creations of Tokyograve, a coffin maker proving that, yes, Japanese designers really can make anything cute. With their festive colors and accouterments, Tokyograve hopes to make the concept of inevitable death less grim and unsettling, and since that goal aligns very neatly with Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in’s, the two have decided to team up. 

 

Once a month, five Tokyograve coffins will be available for use for Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in sessions, either for use by solo customers or for groups of friends who want to occupy up to all five simultaneously.

Satisfied customers of such “coffin experience” events say they have come out of their sessions feeling unexpectedly positive and energetic, as ruminating on their eventual demise prompts big-picture realizations about the importance of treating others with kindness and being more cognizant of the positive aspects of their lives and capabilities.

Note, however, that Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in still cautions that participants should be in good physical and mental health, however, and those suffering from depression or claustrophobia are recommended to abstain from coffin meditation sessions.

 

Tokyograve coffins will be available at Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in on the first Saturday of every month, with sessions starting at 11 a.m. and 2 and 5 p.m. Reservations can be made online here.

Location information

Meiso Kukan Kanoke-in / 瞑想空間 かんおけin
Address: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 1-29-7. Sky Palace Building 801
東京都新宿区高田馬場　1-29-7 スカイパレスビル 801
Website
 
 

Users of the Line messaging app topped 100 million at the end of last year in Japan, the operator said, with the service now offering a variety of communication platforms for individuals nearly 15 years after its launch in the wake of the 2011 mega earthquake.

The smartphone app was released in June 2011 by a predecessor of operator LY Corp., shortly after the magnitude-9.0 quake that devastated northeastern Japan three months earlier.

The disaster had prevented phone calls from getting through, and the demand for simple online communication was projected to grow.

The service originally only offered text messages, but that changed dramatically in October 2011 with the introduction of digital stickers featuring illustrations or images that users could use to express emotions.

The feature helps users to convey their emotions, Corporate Officer Daisuke Asai told Kyodo News in late January, adding that the app likely spread due to the faster pace of exchanges compared to emails.

The service also has 1.3 million official accounts run by companies and local governments and the operator is working to connect individuals with businesses via the app, such as enabling users to make restaurant reservations.

The population of Japan is some 120 million.

"There is still room for growth in business use," Asai said. "We'd like to make daily life more convenient, including shopping and communicating with local governments."

Meanwhile, the operator faces the challenges of protecting user privacy and preventing the app from being used for crimes such as fraud.

"We are collaborating with police and have established a system to immediately issue alerts (within the app) whenever new fraud schemes are identified," Asai said, adding the company is also prioritizing investment in data protection.
 
 

Japan earned a record number of Winter Olympics medals, at 24, at the 17-day Milan-Cortina Games that came to an end Sunday.

The Asian country clinched five golds, seven silvers and 12 bronzes, with the overall total exceeding its previous record of 18, logged at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Japan came fifth in the overall medal rankings. The country's five gold medals tie its highest tally to date set at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

 

A total of 121 Japanese athletes competed in the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Around 50 athletes and coaches from Japan attended the closing ceremony held in Verona, northern Italy, on Sunday, with figure skating silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto and speed skater Wataru Morishige serving as flag bearers.

The next Winter Olympics in 2030 will be held in the French Alps region, using the same decentralized hosting method as this year's event.
 


 

All 20 people, including two children, have been rescued from an elevator at Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo's Sumida Ward after being trapped there for more than 5 hours. No injuries have been reported.

Tokyo police and others say two elevators connecting to the observation deck stopped suddenly shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

One of them was empty, but the other carrying 20 people came to a halt about 30 meters above ground.

Police officers and others contacted the people inside by phone to look for ways to rescue them.

Rescuers from the fire department helped the people move to an adjacent elevator lowered to the same height and whose emergency door on its side was open.

All were freed at about 2 a.m. on Monday.

Police say no one was injured or complained of feeling unwell.
About 1,200 people were temporarily stranded on the observation deck. But they all came down by 11 p.m. using a different elevator.

A Tokyo Skytree spokesperson says the elevator in question has a capacity of 40 people, and it stopped while descending from the observation deck.
Police and others are looking into the cause of the trouble.
 
 

The Japanese and U.S. governments held working-level talks this week on China's alleged secret nuclear test and North Korea's nuclear and missile development, it was learned Saturday.

The meeting, which has been regularly held since 2010 to discuss extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, took place in Washington on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of State.

During the latest meeting, foreign affairs and defense officials from both governments also discussed the expiration of the New START nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia.

The U.S. side underscored the need for a multilateral arms control framework, and the Japanese side noted that a new framework should include both China and Russia.
 
 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday expressed hopes of deepening her relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and strengthen cooperation between the two countries in rare earths development and other areas of economic security when she visits Washington next month.

Takaichi, at a news conference late Wednesday, expressed hopes to strengthen cooperation with the U.S., especially in economic security, as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have risen over the last few months.

Takaichi, elected as Japan’s first female leader in October, was reappointed by Parliament as prime minister earlier in the day and formed her second Cabinet, following a landslide election win last week.

Her goals include an increase in military power, more government spending and ultra-conservative social policies.

Takaichi aims to use the mandate she got in the election to boost her ruling Liberal Democratic Party as it looks to capitalize on a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan’s two parliamentary chambers.


The power of a supermajority

Having two-thirds control of the 465-seat lower house allows Takaichi’s party to dominate top posts in house committees and push through bills rejected by the upper house, the chamber where the LDP-led ruling coalition lacks a majority.

Takaichi wants to bolster Japan’s military capability and arms sales, tighten immigration policies, push male-only imperial succession rules and preserve a criticized tradition that pressures women into abandoning their surnames.

Her ambition to revise the U.S.-drafted postwar pacifist Constitution might have to wait, for now, as she is facing pressure to deal with rising prices, a declining population and worries about military security.


Addressing rising prices

Her first urgent task is to address rising prices and sluggish wages and pass a budget bill to fund those measures, delayed by the election.

Takaichi proposes a two-year sales tax cut on food products to ease household living costs. She told

Experts caution that her liberal fiscal policy could drive up prices and delay progress on trimming Japan’s huge national debt.


Courting Trump

Takaichi is maneuvering for a crucial summit next month with Trump, who will visit Beijing in April.

The U.S. president endorsed Takaichi ahead of the Japanese election, and hours before Takaichi’s reappointment as prime minister, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Japan will provide capital for three projects under a $550 billion investment package that Japan pledged in October.

Japan is committed to the $36 billion first batch of projects — a natural gas plant in Ohio, a U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil export facility and a synthetic diamond manufacturing site.

Takaichi said she hoped to “closely cooperate” with Trump in the first investment inititives at the talks scheduled for March 19.

Japan is also under pressure to increase annual defense spending.
”Japan will keep spending more and more for the U.S. ... The question is whether the public wants her to speak out against Trump or be obedient to ensure Japanese security,” said Masato Kamikubo, a Ritsumeikan University professor of policy science.

“For China, it’s simple. Japanese people want her to be tough.”


A hawk on China

Takaichi in November suggested possible Japanese action if China makes a military move against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. That has led to Beijing’s diplomatic and economic reprisals.

Many Japanese, frustrated by China’s growing assertiveness, welcomed her comments on Taiwan.

Emboldened by the big election win, Takaichi could take a more hawkish stance with China, experts say.

Takaichi, soon after the election, said she is working to gain support for a visit to Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Visits to the shrine are seen by Japan’s neighbors as evidence of a lack of remorse for Japan’s wartime past.


A stronger military that spends more and sells more

Takaichi has pledged to revise security and defense policies by December to bolster Japan’s military capabilities, lifting a ban on lethal weapons exports and moving further away from postwar pacifist principles.

Japan is also considering the development of a nuclear-powered submarine to increase offensive capabilities.

Takaichi wants to improve intelligence-gathering and establish a national agency to work more closely with ally Washington and defense partners like Australia and Britain.

She supports a controversial anti-espionage law that largely targets Chinese spies. Some experts say it could undermine Japanese civil rights.


Stricter on immigration and foreigners

Takaichi has proposed tougher policies on immigration and foreigners, something that resonates with a growing frustration in Japan.

Her government in January approved tougher rules on permanent residency and naturalization as well as measures to prevent unpaid tax and social insurance.


Promoting traditional family values

Takaichi supports the imperial family’s male-only succession and opposes same-sex marriage.

She is also against a revision to the 19th-century civil law that would allow separate surnames for married couples so that women don’t get pressured into abandoning theirs.

In a step that rights activists call an attempt to block a dual-surname system, Takaichi is calling for a law to allow the greater use of maiden names as aliases instead.
 
 

The government will send Parliamentary Vice Minister for the Cabinet Office Naoki Furukawa to this year's annual ceremony for the Takeshima Islands, minister for territorial issues Jiro Akama has said.

Furukawa will attend the Takeshima Day ceremony in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, planned for Sunday. The Sea of Japan islands are now under the effective control of South Korea, which calls them Dokdo.

In last year's leadership race of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, who was later elected prime minister, argued that the central government should have a Cabinet minister attend the ceremony.

She apparently changed her position in light of improving ties between Japan and South Korea, especially as China ramps up pressure on Tokyo.

The decision to send Furukawa was "the result of consideration within the government based on various circumstances," Akama told a news conference.
 
 

Japanese superstar Kaori Sakamoto said her feeling was one of "frustration" after missing out on Olympic gold in her final figure skating competition on Thursday.
 
"I was aiming for the gold medal. The frustration of not being able to win it is really hitting me right now," said Sakamoto, 25, who took silver behind American Alysa Liu.
 
"I thought I might be able to finish with a smile, but instead I'm ending it with this sense of frustration. Still, I think feeling this way will be important for the rest of my life."
 
Sakamoto had been looking for a fairytale Olympic swansong and had been well-positioned just 1.48 points behind 17-year-old teammate Ami Nakai after Tuesday's short program, with Liu in third position.
 
But skating to a version of "Non, je ne regrette rien" Sakamoto lost points for not doing her planned triple combination jump.
 
It cost her dearly as she finished just 1.89 points behind Liu, who surged to gold with her Donna Summer's disco version of "MacArthur Park".
 
"The points I lost on those mistakes were exactly the margin that cost me the gold medal. That’s the most frustrating part -- I know I left something out there," Sakamoto said.
 
Competing in her third Olympics after finishing sixth in 2018 Pyeongchang and third in 2022 Beijing, she finishes her career with four Olympic medals -- three of them silver including two in the team event.
 
Sakamoto said her coach had told her that she could "nurture a future gold medalist. So maybe you’ll see me as a coach at the Olympics."
 
Nakai grabbed bronze as 20-year-old Japanese teammate Mone Chiba finished fourth, both competing in their first Olympics.
 
"Ami and Mone, who shared this experience with me, both skated with such strength that you wouldn't think it was their first Olympic Games," said Sakamoto, who had dominated the sport since 2022.
 
She won three world titles before Liu took gold ahead of her at last year's world championships.
 
"Next season even stronger skaters will emerge, but I believe Japan will continue to be strong," said Sakamoto. "At the next Olympic Games, I’m sure there will again be many Japanese skaters standing on the podium."
 
Nakai belied her years as the youngest competitor in Milan.
 
"I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be," she said after including a difficult triple Axel jump in her "What a Wonderful World" program.
 
"Watching everyone else fight so hard made me think, 'I’ll give it everything too'," said Nakai. "Just skating on this dream stage was already incredible, but to win a medal feels like a dream come true."
 
She paid tribute to Sakamoto who is affectionately called "big sister" by her teammates.
 
"I’ve seen how hard Kaori has worked, so seeing her today honestly made me emotional too," said the teenager. "She’s achieved so much and won so many medals - she’s truly an amazing skater. Sharing the podium with her at the Olympic Games is something I’ll always treasure."
 
She added: "I didn't expect to be at the Olympics and now I am wearing a bronze medal at my first Games. I think I can participate in two more Olympics, just like Kaori has done."
 
Chiba rued finishing fourth, 1.28 behind Nakai.
 
"The result was not what I had hoped for. I feel half frustrated and half satisfied that I gave it everything. It’s a very complicated feeling.”
© 2026 AFP
 

Japanese company Luminaris announces the opening of their virtual cram school where all instructors are real-life VTubers.

Japanese company Luminaris, which operates a cram school in Tokyo, recently announced the opening of Virtual Cram School Wish High, their brand-new online school in which all of the teachers are VTubers.

As reported by ITMedia News, the company already has experience with “VTuber-based” educational services, offering courses for middle schoolers and businesses.

According to Luminaris, Wish High will be the first ever cram school for high schoolers in Japan where all classes are taught by VTubers.

Set to officially launch on March 1st, the service targets high schoolers who live in rural areas that don’t have access to cram schools or don’t attend school (non-attendance is legal in Japan).

All of the instructors are VTubers covering high-school level subjects such as math, English, physics, chemistry, classic literature, world history, Japanese history, and geography.

What’s interesting about them though, is that they are not just “educators with animated avatars,” but actual VTubers who work as individual content creators and have their own personal channels where they do livestreams and playthroughs.

https://youtu.be/OIxhMIU1L5o

Of course, despite the service being marketed for “highschoolers,” the video courses are available to anyone who is willing to learn or brush up their high school knowledge, regardless of age or educational level.

On top of the paid monthly lessons, which go for around 9,900 yen, or about $65 USD, Wish High has also set up a YouTube channel where students can get to know their teachers “outside of class.”

To commemorate the school’s grand opening and introduce the new cast of instructors, Wish High will also be holding two special livestreams this month, where we’ll get to see the teachers interact as a full-blown VTuber group while also hearing about their planned curriculums.

Virtual Cram School Wish High is set to open on March 1st in Japan only.
 
 

Japan Coast Guard personnel have put on a training session for officials from a group of Southeast Asian countries. The aim was to enhance their capabilities in tracking and monitoring suspicious vessels.

The session in the Java Sea involved a Coast Guard aircraft that was dispatched to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The 10 officials who attended included representatives from the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency as well as organizations in the Philippines and Malaysia.

The Coast Guard members demonstrated how to use a radar to gauge the size and location of a ship. They also explained how to operate a camera that can automatically track objects.

Indonesia faces the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane. Takahashi Toru, deputy director general of the Japan Coast Guard, expressed hope that by cooperating with Southeast Asian nations, Japan can contribute to "protecting rule of law at sea, and ensure a free and open Indo Pacific."

Japan has a long history of supporting Indonesia's maritime capabilities. But Jakarta is now deepening its maritime ties with China, which is increasingly active in the South China Sea.
 

Mainland Chinese visitors to Japan tumbled 60.7 percent in January year-on-year, figures showed Feb 18, in the continued fallout from the countries' diplomatic spat.

"Last year, the lunar new year began in late January, but this year it fell in mid-February," the Japan National Tourism Organization said as it published the data.

"Additionally, the Chinese government issued a warning advising against travel to Japan. Factors such as reduced flight frequencies also contributed to the number of foreign visitors to Japan falling below the level of the same month last year," a statement said.

Previously Chinese visitors were the biggest contingent, contributing to a tourism boom in the land of cherry blossom and Mount Fuji that was fueled by a weak yen making shopping cheap.

But in January this year, South Korea was the biggest source with 1.2 million visitors, up 21.6 percent, compared with 385,300 from mainland China, down from 980,520 in January 2025.

Visitors from Hong Kong also tumbled 17.9 percent.

Overall the number of visitors to Japan fell 4.9 percent to 3.597 million in January compared to the same period last year.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.

China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, was furious.

Beijing summoned Tokyo's ambassador and on November 14 warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan, citing "significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens".

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan already tumbled 45 percent in December to 330,000.

In December, J-15 jets from China's Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.

China also tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses, fuelling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals.

Japan's last two pandas were even returned to China last month.
Takaichi, 64, was seen as a China hawk before becoming Japan's first woman prime minister in October.

She won a landslide victory in snap elections on Feb 8, putting her in a strong position for the next four years to stamp her mark on Japanese domestic and foreign policy.

Takaichi said after her election win that Tokyo would bolster its defences and "steadfastly protect" its territory.

She also said she was "open to various dialogues with China".
But China's foreign ministry said "genuine dialogue should be built on respect for one another".

"Proclaiming dialogue with one's mouth while engaging in confrontation — no one will accept this kind of dialogue," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Feb. 17.

Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi told the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14 that forces in Japan were seeking to "revive militarism".
 
 

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the country will host a ministerial meeting on the utilization of artificial intelligence in March.

She made the announcement in a video message sent to the ongoing AI Impact Summit in India.

The ministerial conference, to be held in Tokyo, will be attended by member economies of the Friends Group, which supports the Hiroshima AI Process, a framework among the Group of Seven advanced countries for discussions on AI-related international rules.

The Hiroshima AI Process was launched in May 2023 following the G-7 summit held in the western Japan city of Hiroshima that month. The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union.

In the video message, Takaichi highlighted the importance of international cooperation in building "a safe, secure and trustworthy AI ecosystem."
 
 

Japan's House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, on Wednesday named Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi as prime minister.

The decision was made through a vote at a plenary meeting during a special Diet session that was convened for a 150-day run on the same day, following the Feb. 8 Lower House election.

 

Elsewhere during the day's meeting, former Justice Minister Eisuke Mori of the LDP was chosen as Lower House speaker and Keiichi Ishii of the major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance as vice speaker.

The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, will also hold a similar vote later in the day to elect the prime minister.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, Takaichi's cabinet resigned en masse after the prime minister's ruling LDP secured over two-thirds of the 465 seats in the all-important Lower House. In October last year, Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister.
 

 

Japan is considering a ban on the use of power banks on flights following incidents in which batteries have emitted smoke or caught fire in aircraft.

An NHK report Wednesday said the transportation ministry has notified domestic airlines that the rule will go into effect in April.

The prohibition covers the use of portable batteries to charge electronic devices as well as charging portable batteries using in-flight power outlets.

Each passenger will still be allowed to carry up to two power banks with them onto a flight, according to the report.

A Civil Aviation Bureau official told The Japan Times that the measure is still being discussed and that a policy will likely be announced around late March.

Less than a year ago, the ministry announced new regulations requiring passengers on flights to keep external batteries within sight.

It has already prohibited passengers from storing power banks in checked baggage. All batteries rated at 160 watt-hours or higher are already prohibited from checked and carry-on baggage.

Incidents involving portable batteries have occurred worldwide.
Last October, an Air China flight from Hangzhou to Incheon was forced to make an emergency landing in Shanghai after a fire broke out in an overhead bin. The airline said the fire was caused by a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage.

Also in the same month, a portable battery emitted smoke onboard an ANA flight from Naha to Tokyo. The fire was extinguished and the flight continued to its destination.
 
 

Visitors to Japan fell 4.9 per cent in January from the previous year to mark the first decline in four years, government data showed on Wednesday (Feb 18), as Chinese tourists stayed away amid simmering tensions between the two Asian nations.

Inbound visitors totalled 3,597,500, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said, falling for the first time since January 2022.

The drop was driven largely by a 61 per cent fall in arrivals from China to 385,300. 

Beijing has been urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan since November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary comments that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.

The shift in the Lunar New Year holiday season, which fell in mid-February this year rather than late January in 2025, also weighed on arrivals.

South Korea remained the top source of visitors, jumping 22 per cent to 1.176 million - a record for a single month and the first time any country or region surpassed the 1.1 million mark.

Arrivals from Taiwan rose 17 per cent to 694,500, while visitors from the United States grew 14 per cent to 207,800. Hong Kong registrations fell 18 per cent to 200,000.

Japan's inbound tourism had been climbing steadily since pandemic-era restrictions were lifted, with monthly volumes frequently exceeding pre-COVID levels. 
 
 

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not send any Cabinet minister to an annual ceremony for the Takeshima islets, now under effective control of South Korea, in Shimane Prefecture, sources have said.

As usual, the Cabinet Office's parliamentary vice minister will attend the Takeshima Day ceremony to highlight the Japanese claim on the group of islets in the Sea of Japan, called Dokdo by South Korea, government sources said Monday.

The prefectural government and other local bodies are scheduled to organize this year's ceremony in Matsue on Sunday.

During last year's race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency, Takaichi argued that the central government should have a Cabinet minister take part in the ceremony regardless of a possible backlash from Seoul.

Now that she has become prime minister, however, Takaichi is trying to further improve ties with the neighboring East Asian country.

She agreed with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to forge future-oriented bilateral relations in their first-ever summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju last October and had a drumming session with Lee after their second summit in Nara, Takaichi's hometown, in January.

In view of China, Russia and North Korea strengthening cooperation and the United States demanding its allies boost defense spending, Tokyo and Seoul also find it important to enhance their security partnership.

As part of such effort, the Air Self-Defense Force — in an unprecedented move — supplied fuel to South Korean Air Force aircraft last month.
 
 

Cases of infectious gastroenteritis caused by the norovirus and other viruses have increased in Japan for the fifth consecutive week.

The disease, also called stomach flu, causes fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
People can be infected by eating food contaminated with a pathogen, or while disposing of a patient's bodily waste.

The Japan Institute for Health Security analyzed reports from about 2,000 pediatric medical institutions nationwide.

The number of patients per clinic was 9.48 in the week through February 8, up slightly from the previous week. The number of cases remains high for this season.

By prefecture, Gunma had 17.4 patients per clinic, Oita 16.58, Tokyo 14.34, Shimane 13.82 and Ishikawa 13.14.

Japan's health ministry says wiping floors and other places with sodium hypochlorite, and placing clothes for over one minute in hot water at 85 degrees Celsius or hotter, are effective in preventing the spread of infections.

The ministry and local governments are urging thorough handwashing and disinfection.
 
 

Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara secured gold in figure skating pairs at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Monday, the first Olympic medal of any color in the event for Japan.

With this, Japan's medal tally at the ongoing Games reached 18, equaling its all-time Winter Olympics record marked in the previous 2022 event held in Beijing.

 

The figure skating pairs medal, the country's fourth gold at the ongoing sporting festival, matched its highest-ever gold medal haul in a Winter Olympics held outside Japan. The country has bagged five silver and nine bronze medals at Milan-Cortina.

After getting off to a shaky start in fifth place in the short program, 6.90 points behind the leading German pair, on Sunday, Miura, 24, and Kihara, 33, hammered out a free skate world record score of 158.13 on Monday, earning a total score of 231.24 to clinch the top spot on the podium.

 

This was Japan's fourth Olympic figure skating gold, after Shizuka Arakawa for the women's event at the 2006 Turin Games in Italy and Yuzuru Hanyu for the men's event in the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia and the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
 
 

 

The Japanese government is working to update its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday.

The vision "needs to be evolved in the most appropriate way to adapt to changing times" 10 years after it was put forward by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kihara said at a press conference.

"The international situation surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly challenging," Kihara said, apparently referring to China's increasing influence and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Kihara said that the government will add responses to new challenges such as economic security and technology competition to the vision while retaining its core principles of upholding freedom and the rule of law.
 
 

Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi won her second bronze medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday when she finished third in the women's 500 meters.

Dutchwoman Femke Kok took gold in an Olympic record 36.49 seconds, with her compatriot and 1,000 gold medalist Jutta Leerdam crossing 0.66 behind for silver.

Takagi, who won bronze in the 1,000, clocked 37.27 at Milano Speed Skating Stadium to reach the podium in the 500 for the second straight Olympics, having taken silver in 2022 in Beijing.

"Although my ranking dropped one place from the last Olympics in Beijing, I didn't think things would go so smoothly this time, so I'm honestly happy that I was able to win a medal," said Takagi, who now has two gold, four silver and three bronze medals in her Olympic career.

 

Takagi's first 100 meters were the fourth-fastest in the 29-woman field, a fact she was particularly pleased about.

"I went out with the intention of hitting 10.3 seconds at the start. The skater in my pair was also very fast, so for a moment I felt as if I might be behind, but I was able to go through 100 meters -- I think it may have been a personal best -- in 10 seconds, so that was one positive," she said.

"That said, if I reflect on it, I didn't quite maintain my speed in the later phase, so that's something I need to correct going forward."

Of the other Japanese, Rio Yamada finished ninth and Yukino Yoshida 13th.
 
 

There has been a noted increase in specialty shops and recipe searches online.

The popularity of “high-hydration bread,” made from dough with a high water content and characterized by its soft, elastic texture, is on the rise.

An increasing number of shops are offering it, with some bakeries specializing in this type. Home bakers are also increasingly interested in it, as evidenced by a rise in recipe searches online.

High-hydration bread is also called high water content bread.
According to Hiroyuki Miyazaki, a baking instructor at Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, the water content in bread dough varies by type, but most contain around 65% of the flour weight. Dough with a hydration rate of 80% or more is classified as high-hydration bread.

High-hydration breads, such as the Lodeve that originated in southern France, Germany’s bread Seelen and Italy’s Ciabatta, are traditionally known among bakers, but rarely found in shops.

About 10 years ago, however, there was a notable increase in the number of shops selling high-hydration bread and in the quantities of the breads themselves, indicating a rise in customer interest.

Miyazaki characterizes high-hydration bread as “being moist, having a uniquely chewy texture and becoming less dry over time.” On the other hand, the dough can be difficult to handle, due to the sticky texture caused by high water content.

At bread and Western confectionery shop Point Pour Point in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, where among 40 to 50 bread varieties are sold, all except croissants are high-hydration bread.

One popular item, the oatmeal bread (¥350 plus tax), has a hydration rate reaching 135%. Its golden-brown crust offers a soft bite, while the inside is moist, tender and subtly sweet. Oatmeal is added to the dough after being cooked with water five times its weight.

Shop representative Kentaro Takeuchi learned bread-making over a period of five years at a shop in the city and another in Fukuoka, both famous for high-hydration bread.

In July 2022, he began producing and selling high-hydration bread at his family-run Western confectionery shop. His customer base is broad, including foreigners and elderly people.

“The textures of our bread are often praised as being ‘easy to chew’ and ‘going down smoothly’,’’ Takeuchi said.

 

Crispy surface when baked

Many high-hydration bread products are sold without publicity or mention.
Cascade, a bakery company based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, which operates 16 shops mainly in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area, launched its high-hydration white bread Meihou (¥330 per loaf, plus tax) about 20 years ago.

The company currently offers six products, including the Nama France varieties (walnut bread for ¥190, cheese bread for ¥200, plus tax). These products have a hydration rate of 100% or higher.

According to Kazuya Okada, deputy factory manager at the company’s Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi factory, the Meihou was developed to create a soft, chewy texture closer to Japan’s rice-based food culture. Its crisp texture when toasted was well-received, making it the most popular regular item among the company products.


Dough for professional use

High-hydration dough for professional use is also available.
In February 2020, Nagoya-based Pasco Shikishima Corp. launched Kokusan Komugi no Lodeve (Lodeve made from wheat grown in Japan), a frozen dough sold to supermarkets and bakeries.

There are currently five varieties, including one that is chocolate flavored. Its positive reception comes mainly from being frozen after shaping, ensuring efficient baking in shops and consistent quality.

 

Home bakers’ interest

Home bakers are also becoming interested in high-hydration bread.
As of Dec. 22, there were 122 “high-hydration” recipes posted on the Cookpad recipe search site.

According to the site’s operating company, searches for “high-hydration” began increasing around 2022, with the search frequency in 2025 being about 2.26 times higher than 2024.

Takako Kotake, head of the company’s public relations department, said: “In 2022, public interest in fresh textures such as ‘moist’ and ‘chewy’ surged.

In 2025, a similar texture trend resurfaced with products like ‘mochimochi [chewy] doughnuts.’ The rise in searches for high-hydration bread corresponds with this increased demand for the textures. I see high-hydration bread’s popularity as part of the trend.”
 
 

Fake social media accounts impersonating Kyoto University Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, who is also a Nobel laureate, have been spotted on social media, according to the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, the institute where he serves as honorary director.

Yamanaka is a leading researcher on human iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012.

According to the institute, it has discovered fake accounts claiming to be Yamanaka on Facebook and other platforms.

Since December, numerous photos have been posted on the Facebook account, including one that appears to be of Yamanaka finishing a marathon.

The institute issued a warning that “there is a risk that visitors may be directed to inappropriate sites.”

It is unknown who created the fake account and for what purpose they posted such things. The institute said that it has not received any reports of damage caused by the posts at this time.

On Thursday evening, the institute posted on its X account, “Prof. Yamanaka has not opened any social media accounts, including Facebook, X, Instagram or TikTok.”
 
 

 

A 17-year-old boy was killed in a stabbing in Osaka’s popular Dotonbori entertainment district around midnight Sunday, the Osaka Prefectural Police said, adding that they were investigating the case as a homicide.

Two other 17-year-old boys were also taken to a hospital after being stabbed. One remains in critical condition and unconscious, while the other was also seriously injured.

About 10 hours after a suspect fled the scene, police arrested 21-year-old Ryoga Iwasaki over the stabbings.

“I had no intent to kill. I was just going to intimidate them with a knife, but a man came at me and I stabbed him in the chest,” the suspect told police. When Iwasaki was apprehended, he was in possession of the knife used in the attack.

Ryunosuke Kamada, an office worker from Nara Prefecture, was taken to a hospital but died after being stabbed multiple times in his chest and other parts of his body.

Kamada, the other two victims and Iwasaki apparently knew each other and frequented the area known as Gurishita located near the famous Glico sign in Dotonbori.

The four had reportedly been involved in a dispute just before the incident.
Authorities received an emergency call from a passerby early Sunday reporting that people had been stabbed at the first-floor entrance of a building in the Dotonbori district.

The area briefly became chaotic as police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene of the incident.

A 75-year-old security guard who was inside the building at the time reported hearing a thud followed by screaming. When the guard looked at the entrance of the building, he saw a young man clutching his abdomen and chasing someone.

The security guard followed and found a man collapsed and unconscious by a nearby bridge. Bloodstains marked the path from the building to where he had collapsed.

Iwasaki was arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly fatally stabbing Kamada.
 
 

The Japanese government on Wednesday officially turned over five coastal radar systems to the Philippines as part of efforts to bolster Manila’s maritime domain awareness amid China’s continuing aggressive actions in the region.

The radars were part of Japan’s official security assistance for fiscal year 2023, the year the grant aid framework for like-minded countries was established.

“The South China Sea is a vital sea lane for many countries through which a large portion of our trade and energy supplies pass. Safety, openness, and stability of these waters are therefore of direct importance to our own security and prosperity,” Japanese ambassador Kazuya Endo said in his speech during the handover ceremony.

“Enhancing the Philippines’ maritime domain capability is not only an investment in the Philippines’ security, but also a meaningful contribution to regional and global stability,” he added, without mentioning China, which claims these waters almost entirely.

Beijing’s coast guard and military vessels have repeatedly engaged in aggressive encounters with Philippine ships near disputed shoals and atolls within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

The Philippine Navy will be the end user of the coastal radars, amounting to JPY 600 million (P228 million). The package includes radar units, surveillance and monitoring equipment, communications systems, and other support components.

“Once operational by the Philippine Navy, they are expected to significantly enhance the country’s maritime domain awareness by improving the ability to monitor activities in the surrounding waters,” Endo said.

The Philippines is the only country that has been a recipient of the OSA for three consecutive years. For the second fiscal year, the Philippines is expected to receive JPY 900 million worth of rigid-hulled inflatable boats.

For the current fiscal year, Japan will fund the construction of facilities for these boats, the first infrastructure project under the OSA.

Philippines’ Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., in his remarks, thanked the Japanese government for its contributions and expressed confidence that the relationship between the two countries will continue to deepen.

“Japan’s approach to its bilateral relations with the Philippines has been rooted in fundamental sincerity and values. Unlike the transactional approach to diplomatic relationships by other countries full of guile and full of insincerity in this regard, which is why approaches by countries who approach the Philippines with guile and insincerity have been soundly rejected by the Filipino people, unlike a partner country like Japan and other countries, which is welcomed with warm embrace by the Filipino people,” said Teodoro, a known China critic, without naming the country directly.

Last month, the Philippines and Japan signed a new deal called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, which will permit the tax-free provision of supplies and services between the two nations when they undertake joint military exercises.

This was in support of the Reciprocal Access Agreement that the two countries signed in 2024.
 
 

Japanese ski jumper Ren Nikaido won the silver medal in the men's individual large hill event at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Saturday.

 

Nikaido earned his third medal at these Winter Games, after taking two bronze medals in the normal hill and mixed team events.

 

He tied with Kazuyoshi Funaki, who won three medals at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, as the Japanese ski jumper with the most medals in a single Games.
 
 

The Embassy of Japan in Russia has opened new visa application centers to meet growing demand among Russians wishing to visit Japan.

A ceremony took place in Moscow on Thursday to mark the launch of new centers in the capital and St. Petersburg.

Minister of the Embassy Yamaguchi Daiji said the increase of Russian visitors to Japan -- despite the complicated relations between the two countries -- will help lay the groundwork for future bilateral ties.

The Japan National Tourism Organization reports that an estimated 194,900 travelers from Russia visited Japan in 2025, a record high and a 96.3 percent increase from the previous year.

One factor behind the surge is the difficulty Russians face in traveling to Europe, as many countries there have tightened visa issuance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Large numbers of people line up outside the Japanese Embassy in Moscow each day to apply for visas.
 
 

The application of satellite technology is an efficient way to assess rice planting areas, cut costs, and gather useful data.

Lao and Japanese agricultural experts have discussed the use of satellites in rice farming and the evaluation of rice harvests in Laos using space-based technologies.

The application of satellite technology is an efficient way to assess rice planting areas, cut costs, and gather useful data.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries partnered with Laos’ Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to organise a workshop on the topic.

The workshop took place in Vientiane on Tuesday and was attended by agriculture officials from across the country.

Director General of the Lao ministry’s Planning and Cooperation Department, Dr Boundeth Soutthavilay, thanked the Japanese government agencies and experts for their generous support inorganising the workshop and sharing valuable information.

“The next step will be for the Department to report to higher ministry authorities to ask for guidance in rolling out this system,” Dr Boundeth said.

He was hopeful that the technology could be used to provide accurate and timely information for use in agriculture and forestry development plans, especially in the gathering of agricultural statistics.

This could be of immense benefit for Laos and other ASEAN member countries, he added.

In 2023, the Japanese government advised Laos to use the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) to assess the area of land under cultivation.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have provided technical assistance and funding for many agricultural statistics projects together with food security information systems in ASEAN member countries.

In 2023, they organised a meeting on the assessment of rice cultivation areas in the provinces of Vientiane and Champasak using satellite imagery.
Thanks to the application of modern science, the system is fast and reliable and can predict rice planting areas in a timely manner.

A meeting was later held to assess the rice planting area in 2023 using satellite imagery and the INAHOR programme, involving key technical staff throughout Laos.

Tuesday’s workshop was based on an assessment of the rice planting area in 2025 using satellite images.

The gathering enabled participants to share comments face-to-face, in the expectation that satellite imagery could be used to effectively evaluate various aspects of rice cultivation and be incorporated in planning polices in the future.
 
 

The Diet, Japan's parliament, will kick off a special session on Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told party representatives on Friday.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to be re-elected on the first day of the session following her ruling Liberal Democratic Party's landslide victory in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives, the Diet's lower chamber.

 

On Feb. 20, Takaichi and her foreign, finance and economic policy ministers are set to deliver policy speeches. Question-and-answer sessions by party leaders are likely to start as early as Feb. 24.

The initial focus of the 150-day special session will be on the government's budget for fiscal 2026, which begins in April.
 

 

Japan said it seized a Chinese fishing vessel and arrested its captain for allegedly fleeing inspection in the nation's exclusive economic zone, adding to tensions between the countries.

"The vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled," Japan's Fisheries Agency said.

Japan said the boat was seized in waters off southwest Nagasaki prefecture. There were 10 more people on board besides the captain.

While ‌Japan has seized fishing vessels from South Korea and Taiwan in recent years, the incident is the first involving a vessel from China since 2022. 


China and Japan Locked in a Dispute Over Taiwan

The incident is one that comes against the backdrop of an ongoing diplomatic feud between China and Japan.

The spat began last year in November, after Japan's new conservative leader Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack against Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Takaichi's comments were much stronger than her predecessors', and China took issue with that. Since then, China has: 

• summoned the Japanese ambassador
• warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan
• conducted joint air drills with Russia
• tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses
• fueled worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals
• suspended imports of Japanese seafood
• accepted the return of Japan's last two pandas

Tensions deepened in December, after Tokyo accused Chinese military planes of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa Islands. 

There are also longstanding territorial disputes between the two countries, including China's military presence in the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are called Diaoyu in Chinese.
 
 

Japan's main opposition party the Centrist Reform Alliance on Thursday officially began a brief two-horse race to select its new leader, as the recently established party seeks to rebuild after a crushing defeat in the recent general election.

The new party head is set to be chosen Friday in the race being contested by Junya Ogawa, 54, a former secretary general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and Takeshi Shina, 59, the CDPJ's former acting policy chief.

The CRA was established in January and united House of Representatives members of the CDPJ and the Komeito party to achieve a centrist realignment amid what they view as a rightward shift under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Instead, it faced defeat, with its 167 seats before official campaigning falling to 49 in Sunday's election.

Speaking at an event to launch the leadership campaign, Shina said the party "must move forward raising a centrist banner for the sake of democracy and the next generation."

The CRA's loss has made it the smallest main opposition party in postwar Japanese history.

Ogawa referred to cost-of-living pressures on inflation-hit households, saying the party must "rebuild livelihoods" and that it has to "do something about the pervasive uncertainty toward the future spreading in society."

The race will be won by the candidate with the most votes from the party's lower house lawmakers, with no run-off round. The new leader's term will run until the end of March 2027.

The race did not require lawmakers to receive the backing of their colleagues to become a candidate. No lawmakers from the Komeito side came forward to run.

With the founding parties' lawmakers in the House of Councillors yet to merge with their lower house colleagues into the CRA in the wake of the election defeat, both men indicated to reporters that they do not plan to rush a merger.

Shina said there is "no reason to be hasty" on the issue, while Ogawa said the party "must proceed deliberately, clarify its direction and then decide."

The CRA's election strategy has caused internal tensions after Komeito was given priority in the proportional representation list, leading to all 28 of its candidates being elected.

Conversely, the CDPJ side fought in single-member districts and faced a wipeout, with only seven of its candidates including Shina and Ogawa winning in constituency races. Just 21 of the party's lower house lawmakers now originate from the CDPJ.

The party leadership contest comes after CRA co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito, respective former heads of the CDPJ and Komeito, said Monday they would step down to take responsibility for the election loss.

Komeito, a self-styled pacifist party, ended its 26-year coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in October, shortly after Takaichi became its leader.
 
 

The transport ministry plans to provide subsidies for measures designed to ease airport congestion caused by an increase in inbound tourists as part of efforts to address overtourism and create a more comfortable travel environment.

Specifically, the ministry is considering subsidizing costs for expanding passenger walkways at airports and increasing baggage conveyor belts in a bid to reduce long waiting times and queues.

The ministry has earmarked ¥2.88 billion ($18.9 million) for the program in the government's fiscal 2026 budget proposal.

Domestic airlines, airport terminal operators and local governments that manage airports would be eligible for the subsidies, which are expected to cover half of the costs, in principle, for strengthening terminal building functions to alleviate congestion.

The subsidies are also expected to be utilized for improving and expanding airport bus terminals and installing digital signage to guide passengers to their destinations so that they can smoothly transfer to public transportation.

The program will also cover airport ground operations, such as aircraft guidance and baggage handling. It will help promote operational efficiency by supporting the introduction of advanced equipment and help improve the working environment by installing air-conditioning systems in baggage-sorting areas.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high of about 42.68 million in 2025, surpassing 40 million for the first time. At some airports, congestion has worsened, with long lines forming at security checkpoints.
 
 

A Japanese Justice Ministry panel on Thursday compiled an outline of a review of the country’s retrial system that would continue to allow public prosecutors to file appeals against courts’ decisions to start retrials.

The Legislative Council also outlined an automobile driving punishment law revision that would set numerical standards for the crime of dangerous driving resulting in death and injury, as well as a Civil Code revision related to the statutory adult guardianship and testament systems.

The panel handed the outlines to Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi the same day. The government plans to submit related bills to a special parliamentary session to be convened Wednesday.

Prosecutors will continue to be able to challenge retrial decisions under the outline on a proposed amendment to the criminal procedure law, despite the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and others calling for banning such appeals that could delay relief for falsely convicted people.

The outline also calls for establishing a new provision on evidence disclosures under the law, with a penalty proposed against those who used disclosed evidence for purposes other than their original intent.

It also includes a provision allowing courts to swiftly dismiss requests for retrials.
 
 

Strained Sino-Japanese relations over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in November on a Taiwan contingency seem to have had little effect on young Chinese lovers of Japanese animation and video games, with long queues formed at character goods shops in China.

The country's market for Japanese-originated anime and game culture, known as "erciyuan" in Chinese, meaning two-dimensional, almost doubled in five years to 597.7 billion yuan (about $86 billion) in 2024, according to iiMedia Research. The figure is expected to grow further to 834.4 billion yuan in 2029.

 

"Devoted fan activities are a source of spiritual fulfillment," a 21-year-old female college student dressed as the main character of the Japanese anime "Black Butler" said in late December at a Shanghai shopping mall that houses stores selling a variety of Japanese anime items.

"The deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations doesn't have any impact because we can watch our favorites on video streaming sites," she added.

Relations between Japan and China are at their lowest in years after Takaichi's remarks that an attack on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, potentially prompting its Self-Defense Forces to act in support of the United States, infuriating Beijing.

 

China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory and sees the Taiwan issue as a purely "internal affair," has come up with a series of anti-Japanese economic measures, including a limited number for the entertainment industry.

However, an industry source implied such measures will have little effect as so many local Chinese companies are involved in the sale of Japanese intellectual property-related products, such as anime and games.

Completely excluding the business could "deal a major blow to those Chinese firms," the source said, "(But) it's unrealistic (for them) to do that."

 

While characters from Japanese anime such as "Haikyu!!" and "Jujutsu Kaisen" enjoy enduring popularity in the Chinese market, China is developing its own domestic character business with the aim of becoming a cultural powerhouse.

In recent years, animation and games originating from China, such as the anime "Fei Ren Zai," which was aired in Japan, and romance simulation games for women, have been on the rise, fueling competition between Japanese and Chinese businesses in the market.
 
 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly considering retaining all of her ministers in the new cabinet to be announced next week.

After winning a landslide victory in the election for the House of Representatives on Sunday, Takaichi is expected to be reappointed as prime minister in parliament on February 18 when parliament convenes for a proposed special session of 150 days.

Reported by ANTARA from Kyodo, Tuesday, February 10, Japan's ruling and opposition parties agreed to the government's proposal to hold the session, which is expected to last until at least July 17.

This happened after the lower house was dissolved on the first day of the regular parliamentary session at the end of January to hold a by-election.

The schedule proposed by the government includes a parliamentary vote to choose a prime minister that Takaichi will almost certainly win after the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners won a landslide victory to control more than two-thirds of the 465 seats in the assembly.

With Takaichi's new cabinet appointed just months ago in October and his party winning a historic victory, a cabinet reshuffle is unlikely, the sources said.

The LDP's proposal to deliver policy speeches to Parliament by the prime minister and senior ministers, which will take place on February 20, was also approved by the Centrist Reform Alliance in a meeting of their heads of parliamentary affairs.
 
 

Japan won the bronze medal in the ski jumping mixed team event at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday, earning its first Olympic medal in the event.

The Japanese team, consisting of Nozomi Maruyama, Ryoyu Kobayashi, Sara Takanashi and Ren Nikaido, brought the Asian country its eighth medal at the ongoing Olympics.

Japan marked a total score of 1,034.0, while Slovenia won its second successive gold, with a score of 1,069.2. Norway placed second.

The mixed team event was held for the first time at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and Japan finished fourth at the time, missing the podium.

 

 
 

Almost three weeks of heavy snowfall has killed 46 people and injured 558 others in Japan, fresh data from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency showed Tuesday.

Continued snowfall since late January has buried northern communities and caused traffic chaos, particularly along the coast facing the Sea of Japan.

Many fatal accidents happened when mounds of snow fell on residents from roofs or people tumbled while trying to clear it, according to police and local officials.

In the northern regional hub of Aomori, residents are having to deal with 1.3 meters (more than 4 feet) of snow on the ground, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
 

Japan won the silver medal in the figure skating team event at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Sunday, as it did at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The Japanese team earned a total score of 68, just behind the U.S. team's 69. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara recorded the highest score in pair skating, and Kaori Sakamoto did so in women's singles free skating.

In snowboarding, Tsubaki Miki placed sixth in women's parallel giant slalom. Tomoka Takeuchi, 42, was eliminated in the preliminary round.

 

Takeuchi competed in her seventh straight Olympic games, setting a new record for Japanese women.

In the women's big air event, four Japanese athletes advanced to Monday's finals, with Kokomo Murase ranking second in the preliminary round.

 

 
 

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s striking victory in Sunday’s election has catapulted Japan’s political landscape to a time many had already begun to forget — a time when her Liberal Democratic Party held largely unfettered control over the levers of power.

Following a short hiatus after the party was all but declared dead — with many proclaiming the start of a new era ー the LDP rose from the ashes to win back the domineering position it had long held.

But Sunday’s triumph is less a master stroke of the LDP than a success of its indisputable architect: Takaichi herself.

Since the start of the campaign, Takaichi took center stage in the election like few of her predecessors had dared.

Defying convention and general wisdom in calling a snap election, the prime minister gambled on the public’s appetite for a strong and energetic leader — one who speaks in clear, direct terms and projects a vision for the country.

Even her critics had little space to complain, despite faulting her for acting unilaterally and relying on a small circle of handpicked advisers.
 
 

Japan will switch the world's largest nuclear power plant back on next week, after a glitch with an alarm forced the suspension of its first restart since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The announcement came after TEPCO restarted the reactor on January 21 but shut it off the following day after an alarm from the monitoring system sounded.

Due to an error in its configuration, the alarm had picked up slight changes to the electrical current in one cable even though these were still within a range considered safe, Takeyuki Inagaki, the head of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), said.

The firm has now changed the alarm's settings as the reactor is safe to operate, Inagaki said.

The commercial operation will commence on or after March 18 after another comprehensive inspection, he said.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world's biggest nuclear power plant by potential capacity, although just one reactor of seven will restart.

The facility had been offline since Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown in 2011.

Resource-poor Japan now wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the first TEPCO-run unit to restart since 2011. The company also operates the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, now being decommissioned.

Public opinion in the area around the plant is deeply divided: Around 60 percent of residents oppose the restart, while 37 percent support it, according to a survey conducted by Niigata prefecture in September.

In January, seven groups opposing the restart submitted a petition signed by nearly 40,000 people to TEPCO and Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, saying that the plant sits on an active seismic fault zone and noted it was struck by a strong quake in 2007.
 
 

Japan's nationalist ruling party is set to regain a majority in lower house elections, media projections showed on Sunday, in what would be a huge victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to have won about 300 seats in the lower house of parliament, far exceeding the 233 seats required for a majority, national broadcaster NHK reported, basing projections on exit polls.

Together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), the LDP was projected to win 310 seats, NHK said, giving them a two-thirds majority.

Takaichi dissolved parliament in January ahead of the snap elections, a gamble that she hoped would provide her and her struggling party with a stronger mandate.

While Takaichi is hugely popular, particularly with younger voters, her conservative LDP, which has ruled the country for most of the past seven decades, has been hit by scandals and faced a new opposition alliance that has emerged as a potential challenger.


What do the projections mean?

The projections affirm what opinion polls foresaw ahead of Sunday's national elections, that the LDP alone would comfortably win the 233 seats required for a majority in the 465-member lower house of parliament.

Sunday night's projections showed the LDP and its coalition partner, the populist JIP, would most likely surpass the 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority.

his would allow the coalition to override the upper chamber, which is controlled by the opposition.

That would be the strongest result for the LDP since Takaichi's mentor Shinzo Abe's victory in 2017. Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was assassinated in 2022.

Such a victory would mean a significant shift to the right in Japanese politics. The LDP, which has held a narrow majority since a poor showing in elections in 2024, has struggled to push through legislation.

Takaichi had said she would step down if the LDP failed to secure a majority.

NHK's projections showed that a newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance and the far-right Sanseito party were unable to pose a serious threat to the incumbent prime minister.

The alliance looked to have lost more than two-thirds of its 167 seats, while the far-right party was projected to have increased its seats from two to between five and 14, broadcaster NHK said.


Who is Sanae Takaichi?

Takaichi became Japan's first woman prime minister in October.
She has touted UK former-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — dubbed the "Iron Lady" — as an inspiration, and her pledge to "work, work, work, work and work" has resonated with voters.

An ultraconservative and China hawk, she wants to boost Japan's defense spending and capabilities amid growing tensions with Beijing and pressure from US President Donald Trump, with whom she enjoys good ties.

She has also been pressing for tougher immigration policies and to revitalize Japan's economy.

The election was held against the backdrop of record snowfall in many areas of the country in recent weeks, which could delay vote counting or hinder access to polling stations in some areas, even in Tokyo.

The snow has blocked roads and has been linked to dozens of deaths.
 
 

Heavy snowfall hit a wide swath of Japan on Sunday, particularly in the west and along the Sea of Japan coast, while central Tokyo was lightly blanketed.

The snowfall disrupted traffic in areas adjacent to Kyoto, as well as in southwestern Fukui Prefecture and eastern Tottori Prefecture, with some cities in the two prefectures recording more than 30 centimeters of snow over a six-hour period in the morning.

Among areas seeing unusually heavy snow, Nantan in Kyoto Prefecture recorded 35 cm over a six-hour period, while Tottori recorded 37 cm and Shobara in Hiroshima Prefecture logged the same amount in six hours.

In the central area of Tokyo, 5 cm of snow was observed as of 11 a.m., with the weather agency issuing heavy snow warnings in some parts of the capital.

A strong winter weather pattern that brought the heavy snow is expected to ease in western Japan on Monday, but the Japan Meteorological Agency says snowfall is expected to continue in regions along the Sea of Japan coast.

In the 24 hours through 6 p.m. Monday, the Hokuriku region in central Japan could see up to 60 cm of snow, and the Kanto-Koshin region may get up to 50 cm, while 40 cm is expected in the Hokkaido and Tohoku regions. The western region of Chugoku is also expected to see 40 cm.

The western regions of Chugoku and Shikoku may see up to 25 cm and 15 cm, respectively.

Due to the snow, the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen bullet train lines operated at reduced speed from the start of Sunday's service between Shinagawa in Tokyo and Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture and between Hiroshima and Asa in Yamaguchi Prefecture, respectively, according to railway operators.

Over 50,000 people were affected by train suspensions and delays in the Tokyo metropolitan area, according to JR East.
 
 

The Nagasaki Lantern Festival during which the streets of the port city in southwestern Japan are illuminated with approximately 15,000 colorful lanterns got underway on Friday.

Starting this year, the festival began on the first Friday of February instead of coinciding with the start of the Chinese New Year.

A lighting ceremony was held at the main venue, Minato Park.

Around 6:00 p.m., following a countdown, the lanterns and sculptures were all lit simultaneously.

Approximately 15,000 lanterns and objects are on display throughout central Nagasaki.

Among them is a newly designed 11-meter-tall sculpture titled "Ryoma Seishin" representing a youthful and vibrant spirit soaring through the sky like a dragon and galloping across the earth like a horse.

This year's festival runs for 18 days until February 23.

The Emperor Parade, inspired by an imperial visit during China's Qing Dynasty, will take place on February 14 and 21 while the Maso procession, honoring the goddess of sailors and sea voyages, is planned for February 8 and 15.

The organizing committee expects more than one million visitors will attend the festival.
 
 

 

Japan will keep requesting Russia to allow the restart of a program for former residents of Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands to visit their ancestors' graves on the islands, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Saturday.

"Resuming the visits is a humanitarian issue and one of the top priorities in the Japan-Russia relationship," Takaichi said in an annual national rally held by the government and related organizations to demand the return of the Japanese-claimed islands, called the Northern Territories.

"We will patiently urge the Russian side to resume them," she also said, referring to the aging of former residents of the islands, seized from Japan by Soviet troops around the end of World War II.

The visit program was halted for reasons including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is totally unclear when the program will restart.

"It is really vexing and regrettable that a peace treaty between Japan and Russia has not been concluded and that the Northern Territories issue has not been resolved although 80 years have passed since the war ended," Takaichi stressed.
 
 

 

Two leaders of a fledgling Japanese political party unveil a red logo reminiscent of Chinese Communist Party imagery.

A candidate campaigns in freezing weather wearing a tank top. Grannies vent in public about what they see as political nonsense. Or do they?

Whatever the outcome of Sunday’s Lower House election, the race will be remembered not least for having witnessed the full-blown debut of "AI slop" in Japanese politics.

As more voters in Japan turn to social media for political updates and policy debates, the internet is increasingly looking like a dumping site for fake and dubious news and content.

Behind the deluge of such content is the ease with which generative AI can create authentic-looking videos and the opportunities for anyone to make quick money, experts say.

Major social media platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok, offer financial rewards to channels with high numbers of views.

“The mechanism through which fake news and content of uncertain authenticity spreads hasn’t changed much since the previous election,” said Shinichi Yamaguchi, a professor at the International University of Japan in Niigata Prefecture.

“But what is decisively different in this election is how generative AI technology has advanced.”
 
 

A cherry blossom festival boasting a highly Instagrammable view of Japan's Mount Fuji has been cancelled after residents complained of overtourism fuelled by the weak yen.

The city of Fujiyoshida, in central Japan's Yamanashi region, said on Tuesday (Feb 3) that the weeks-long event attracting around 200,000 people will be called off this year because "the quiet lives of local residents are threatened".

About 42.7 million tourists flocked to Japan in 2025, an all-time high, topping 2024's record of nearly 37 million as the weak yen boosted the appeal of the "bucket list" destination.

But complaints of overcrowding have grown in hotspots like Kyoto, where disrespectful tourists have been accused of harassing kimono-clad geisha performers in their frenzy for photos.

In Fujiyoshida, the influx of foreign tourists has seen traffic chronically jammed and cigarette butts tossed, with trespassing and even defecation in private gardens reported by its citizens, the city said.

"Behind (Mount Fuji's) beautiful landscape is the reality that the quiet lives of citizens are threatened. We have a strong sense of crisis," Shigeru Horiuchi, Fujiyoshida mayor, said in a statement.

"To protect the dignity and living environment of our citizens, we have decided to bring the curtain down on the 10-year-old festival."

The city, however, admits that even if the festival itself is cancelled, its venue - a park overlooking Mount Fuji, cherry blossom trees and a five-story pagoda - may still see a spike in visitors as spring nears.
Mount Fuji is a perennial tourist attraction.

To manage the influx of visitors, nearby towns have in the past erected a view-blocking barrier to dissuade photo-hungry tourists, introduced an entry fee for hikers and capped their daily numbers.