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.
 
 

Admission fees to Ginkakuji temple, a World Heritage Site, will increase from April for the first time in 32 years, the temple announced last month.

Money generated through the hike will be used to maintain the temple’s cultural properties and gardens, at a time when prices and labor costs are soaring.

From April, the general admission fee will double from ¥500 to ¥1,000, and the fee for elementary and junior high school students will climb from ¥300 to ¥500. Admission for people with a disability will remain ¥100, and those below elementary school age will still be able to enter for free.

Officially called Jishoji, Ginkakuji is located in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto. Its most iconic building is Kannonden hall, which is also known as “Ginkaku” (silver pavilion).

The temple’s Togudo hall is said to be the nation’s oldest existing example of Shoinzukuri architecture.

Both structures have been designated as national treasures, and the gardens are a national special place of scenic beauty and a special historic site.

“The temple was founded more than 500 years ago,” a Ginkakuji official said. “We hope that people will understand that [the price increase] will ensure it can be preserved and passed down for future generations.”
 

 

Tokyo police have arrested two Vietnamese men on suspicion of illegally purchasing popular Pokemon cards by creating fake accounts on a sales website. Police suspect the two resold the cards for profit.

The police say one of the suspects, 39-year-old Do Van Cuong, runs a communications service firm in Tokyo.

They say the two men accessed the official sales website for Pokemon goods from June to September 2025 and created 30 fictitious accounts using fraudulently obtained SIM cards.

The website held lotteries that allowed the winners to buy one box of Pokemon cards each.

Police say the two are suspected of illegally buying 4,500 cards in 30 boxes using the fake accounts.

In October 2025, Do Van Cuong was arrested and indicted on fraud charges for giving false information when he bought SIM cards from a communications business company.

Police say the suspects may have used some of the SIM cards obtained at that time to create the fake accounts.

Police searched related facilities and seized more than 15,000 Pokemon cards. They say the two are suspected of making at least 4 million yen, or about 25,500 dollars, by reselling some of the cards.

They have not revealed whether the two suspects have admitted to the allegations.
 
 

Japan Airlines has said that its passenger revenue on China routes in December was about 20% lower than its projections, following Beijing’s notices advising Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan.

The weakness continued into January and beyond, the company said.
Still, passenger revenue on routes to and from China accounts for about only 8% of the JAL group’s total international flight revenue.

The China route revenue loss “could be covered this fiscal year, as (revenue on) other routes remains very strong,” Executive Vice President Yuji Saito told a news conference Tuesday.

According to JAL, revenue from China routes in December plunged by ¥1 billion ($6.4 million) at JAL and by about ¥300 million at affiliate Spring Japan, a low-cost carrier based in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, from originally planned levels.

Last month, the Chinese government released a notice advising its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday period in February after issuing advisories against trips to Japan late last year.
 
 

The Indonesian National Futsal Team has made history by advancing to the semifinals of the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup for the first time.

This achievement was secured after the Garuda squad defeated their Southeast Asian rival, Vietnam, with a score of 3-2 in a quarterfinal match held at Indonesia Arena, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 3 February 2026.

The historic victory was confirmed through goals scored by Brian Ick in the 5th minute, Ardiansyah Nur in the 11th minute, and Reza Gunawan in the 26th minute.

Meanwhile, Vietnam put up a fierce fight with a brace scored by Nguyen Da Hai in the 25th and 36th minutes. This result makes Indonesia the only Southeast Asian representative remaining in the top four, alongside Japan, Iran, and Iraq.

Indonesian National Futsal Team coach, Hector Souto, admitted that he was pleased with his team's achievement in breaking the national record.

However, the Spanish coach offered a critical note regarding the team's performance, which he considered to be in need of significant improvement to reach higher standards.

“We break the record. The result is really good. But I repeat again, I'm really unsatisfied. We must play much better. This country must play a different style of futsal,” Hector stated during a press conference.

The team's main focus has now shifted to the crucial semifinal match against Japan, which is scheduled to take place on February 5. Given the very short break, Hector has instructed the players to prioritize physical recovery.

“So, I hope it was just today, because the semifinal is waiting in Japan. I know Japan well. And I think we have a chance to defeat them. Not many, but we have some chances. And of course, I will push my players to recover well,” Hector said.

This recovery process includes the strict monitoring of nutritional intake and rest duration, with the coach requiring players to sleep for more than eight hours.

Although Japan is favoured in terms of individual and collective quality, Hector, who is very familiar with their playing style, remains optimistic that there is still a chance to win through in-depth technical preparation.
 

Indonesia is accelerating the development of a national hydrogen ecosystem as part of its clean energy transition, supporting decarbonization, energy security, and long-term industrial growth under President Prabowo Subianto’s Astacita program.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said on Tuesday the initiative aligns with the National Hydrogen Strategy and the National Hydrogen and Ammonia Roadmap, which guide hydrogen and ammonia development in Indonesia.

Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Eniya Listiani Dewi said hydrogen development is important for industry, transportation, power generation, and export-oriented sectors, while strengthening national energy security.

"This year, which is my key performance indicator, green hydrogen must be available in the market at nearly 200 tons per year.

We must achieve it, and we want to create more," Eniya said at the 4th Indonesia-Japan Hydrogen Ammonia Development Acceleration Forum in Jakarta.

She said implementation would be carried out in phases to ensure regulatory readiness, infrastructure development, market demand growth, and domestic capability building, while maintaining policy flexibility and regular evaluation.

The plan consists of an initiation phase from 2025 to 2034, followed by a development and integration phase from 2035 to 2045, and an acceleration and sustainability phase from 2045 to 2060.

Indonesia is strengthening cooperation with Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), combining Japanese technology, project experience, and financing with Indonesia’s renewable energy potential and long-term demand prospects.

The Indonesia-Japan hydrogen partnership roadmap is expected to encourage industrial collaboration, supported by public financing and early-stage risk mitigation to accelerate the development of financially viable hydrogen infrastructure.

JICA Senior Representative Akira Sato said government policies under President Prabowo emphasize energy and food self-sufficiency, investment growth, macroeconomic stability, and inclusive economic development.

Sato said JICA remains committed to supporting Indonesia’s energy transition, noting the bilateral hydrogen-ammonia roadmap complements Indonesia’s national policy and outlines practical frameworks for cooperation between the two countries.
 
 

Japan's ruling camp is touting national strength heading into Sunday's general election, while opposition parties are focusing on people's daily lives.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who leads the Liberal Democratic Party, is seeking a public mandate with a promise to make Japan "strong and prosperous," stressing the need for higher fiscal spending and investment to rev up the world's fourth-largest economy.

Takaichi, a security hawk, is also aiming to bolster the country's defense capabilities amid heightened tensions with China and North Korea.

The Japan Innovation Party, which styles itself as an "accelerator" in the ruling coalition led by the LDP, has adopted the slogan "We, Ishin, will get it moving" for the House of Representatives election. The party is also known as Nippon Ishin.

The JIP, which has a stronghold in Osaka, joined forces with the LDP in October after the Komeito party, which put the brakes on security and other divisive policies, left the ruling coalition.

The newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance, a merger of Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is seeking to draw a contrast with the ruling camp by vowing to put "ordinary citizens first and their livelihoods at the center."

The opposition Democratic Party for the People is sticking to the core message that boosted its popularity in the House of Councillors election in July, vowing, "We will increase take-home pay even more."

With Japanese households grappling with inflation, measures to address rising prices topped the list of priorities for voters in a Kyodo News poll over the weekend.

The survey pointed to growing support for the LDP ahead of the lower house election in which 465 seats will be up for grabs, with over 42 percent of respondents saying they want the ruling camp to secure more seats.

During the 12-day campaign, the Japanese Communist Party is placing
priority on protecting people's livelihoods, peace and human rights, while Reiwa Shinsengumi's slogan is "Protecting Japan starts with protecting yourself."

With its slogan "I am Japan," the Sanseito party is emphasizing the importance of each individual in building the nation, following the ultraconservative populists' success with "Japanese First" in the upper house election last year.

Among smaller parties, some are focusing on the country's defense, revitalization and independence, while others are raising concern about the country's ballooning defense spending or calling for more investment in growth areas.
 
 

A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.

Unusually heavy snow in Japan has been blamed for the death of 30 people in the past two weeks, officials said on Tuesday (Feb 3), including a 91-year-old woman found under a 3m pile outside her home.

The central government has deployed troops to help residents in Aomori, the heaviest-hit region where as much as 4.5m of snow remains on the ground in remote areas.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a special Cabinet-level meeting on Tuesday morning to instruct ministers to do all they can to prevent deaths and accidents.

A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.
 
Since Jan 20 through Tuesday, 30 people have died as a result of the heavy snow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Among them was Kina Jin, 91, whose body was found under a pile of snow at her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, a local police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The police believe that snow from her rooftop fell on her. The cause of her death was suffocation, the official said. An aluminium shovel was found next to her body.

"As it gets warmer, the accumulated snow melts and falls. It depends on the volume (of snow) and the temperature. Under the rooftop is a dangerous place," the official told AFP.

Aomori governor Soichiro Miyashita said on Monday that he had asked Japan's military to offer disaster relief.

He also said that he had asked troops to help the region's elderly who live alone and need help clearing snow.

Walls of snow as high as 1.8m are on the ground of the regional capital of Aomori city, the governor said, adding that local workers clearing snow from roads and houses were overwhelmed.

"The danger of life-threatening incidents, such as fatal accidents due to falling snow from the roofs or collapsing buildings, is imminent," he said in the press conference.
 

 

This comes after a case where a then 12-year-old Thai girl was forced to provide sexual services at a massage parlour with private rooms in Tokyo.

The National Police Agency will dispatch a senior official to the Thai police to discuss countermeasures against human trafficking, following a case where a then 12-year-old Thai girl was forced to provide sexual services at a massage parlor with private rooms in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned from the agency.

The agency determined that strengthening cooperation with foreign authorities is necessary to prevent international human trafficking targeting the sexual exploitation of children.

The senior official will meet with the deputy chief of the Thai police and outline the current investigation status. The agency will also request support in uncovering the background of the operation as well as strengthened crackdowns on brokers targeting Japan.

The girl arrived in Japan with her mother last June on a 15-day short-term stay visa. She was left at the parlor and forced to perform sexual services for approximately 70 customers over about 40 days. After seeking help from the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, last September, she was placed under protection.

Thai police transferred the mother, who had been detained in Taiwan, back to Thailand and arrested her on suspicion of human trafficking and other charges. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a Thai woman in Tokyo on suspicion of violating Japan’s Child Welfare Law for hiring the girl through her mother.

Human trafficking involves forcing labor or sexual exploitation through violence, threats, or other coercive means. For victims under 18, the means used are irrelevant.

International criticism of Japan’s response is severe, with the U.S. State Department’s report calling measures against child sexual exploitation insufficient. In January this year, the Japanese government instructed all ministries and agencies to revise their action plans against human trafficking.

The National Police Agency is expected to formally classify this case, which exploited the girl’s vulnerable position, as human trafficking, and plans to advance countermeasures including victim protection.

Meanwhile, the short-term stay visa exemption status for entry from certain countries and regions is being abused for crimes including special fraud and prostitution.

The agency views this as a breeding ground for crimes by “anonymous and fluid criminal groups,” known as “tokuryu” in Japanese, within Japan and overseas, and is working with foreign authorities to fully uncover the situation.
 

 

Experts are warning that the alteration of such broadcasts could affect the judgment of voters and distort the election.

A doctored version of a “campaign broadcast” by the Centrist Reform Alliance for the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election has gone viral on the X social media network.

Altered via artificial intelligence to show the party’s co-chairmen Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito dancing together, the video has been viewed more than 1.6 million times. Experts are warning that the alteration of such broadcasts could affect the judgment of voters and distort the election.

Candidates for national and gubernatorial elections, political parties and political organizations use campaign broadcasts, which are disseminated on TV and radio, to present their platforms.

The Public Offices Election Law stipulates that they must be broadcast unedited, but there is no provision prohibiting voters from altering the content and posting it on social media.

In the original campaign broadcast, Noda and Saito advocate their policies and call in unison for voters to vote for their party. They then bow to a sign language interpreter. The altered footage has the two men push over the podium, stand up and dance with a fan in their hands.

The altered video was posted on Friday morning by a personal account purportedly located in Japan and had been viewed more than 1.6 million times by around noon Saturday. A number of viewers posted critical comments, saying it would cast a shadow over the fairness of the election.

The account deleted the video in question around Saturday noon and posted a comment saying that the footage had been altered through AI. The account owner apologized, saying the video was extremely inconsiderate and inappropriate, and that they had simply intended to be funny.

The Yomiuri Shimbun requested an interview with the account owner but had not received a response as of 7 p.m. Saturday.

A spokesperson for the Centrist Reform Alliance told The Yomiuri Shimbun, “We are extremely disappointed, as it runs counter to the purpose of campaign broadcasts to covey the views of a political party.”

In a separate case related to the ongoing election, footage of a candidate from another opposition party waving their hands on the street before the official kickoff of campaigning was altered via generative AI to show them in a tank top.

“If fake videos of campaign broadcasts are created, viewers could easily believe that the content is real. If political claims, policies and facts are altered, this could affect voters’ judgment and distort the election,” said Harumichi Yuasa, a professor of information law at Meiji University and an expert on election systems.

“Under the current law, it’s illegal to tear down an election poster but the law does not address the internet being flooded with misinformation and disinformation from AI. The law needs to be reviewed in line with reality,” Yuasa said.
 

 

Japan has successfully retrieved rare earth-rich sediment from the deep seabed, marking a step toward a potential domestic supply of rare earths, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said Monday, Jiji Press reported. 

In a test project that began on Jan. 12, the deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu, operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, or JAMSTEC, collected the sediment from the seabed, about 6,000 meters deep, off Minamitorishima, a remote Tokyo island in the Pacific.

The sediment will be analyzed to determine what rare earths it contains and how much of each.

The success (in retrieving sediment containing rare earths) is significant from the standpoint of economic security and comprehensive marine development, Ozaki said at a press conference.

While China currently accounts for most of global rare earth production, Ozaki said, "We'll promote efforts to diversify (rare earth) sources by developing mines and investing in and providing aid to refinery projects while cooperating with like-minded countries."

Previously, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan and the U.S. focus on nuclear energy cooperation. 
 
 

The Japanese tourism ministry plans to strengthen financial support for town development efforts by municipalities that utilize historical tourism resources in fiscal 2026, which starts in April.

The ministry intends to provide subsidies to a wide range of municipal governments working on projects including renovating old buildings and preserving traditional events.

The aim of the move is to create more attractive sightseeing areas nationwide in order to diversify inbound tourist destinations and curb overtourism in major cities.

Currently, municipalities can receive subsidies if their plans for maintaining and improving historic landscapes involve national treasures or special historic sites designated by the central government and are approved by the ministry.

Plans by 100 municipalities, including Kanazawa, which is known for its former castle site, and Takayama, which is popular for its old township., had been approved as of the end of last month.
 

 

Visitors to a gorge in Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, are enjoying a spectacular view of massive ice pillars along a mountainside.

Residents in Ogano Town pour mountain runoff water at Onouchi Gorge every winter to create large icicles.

A recent cold snap has helped the icicles grow into what looks like a giant wall of ice measuring 250 meters long and 50 meters high.

On Saturday, holidaymakers were seen taking pictures of the ice pillars from a nearby suspension bridge.

A man in his 30s from Kumagaya City in the same prefecture said he visits the site every year, and that this winter's icicles look better than usual. He said the view made him forget about fatigue from work and get refreshed.

A woman in her 50s from Tokyo's Nishitokyo City said she had visited the gorge for the first time. She said she was impressed by the beauty of the icicles despite the freezing temperatures.

The wintry display is expected to remain visible until late February.
 
 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her visiting British counterpart, Keir Starmer, agreed Saturday to strategically promote their countries' cooperation in the field of cyberdefense.

They also confirmed that Japan and Britain will hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting of their foreign and defense ministers within this year in order to enhance bilateral security collaboration.

Takaichi and Starmer agreed to further deepen Japan-Britain relations. This is Starmer's first visit to Japan since he took office in July 2024.

The two leaders shared the view that cooperation among like-minded countries, including Japan and Britain, is urgently needed for strengthening supply chains for critical minerals. They also decided to establish a forum for discussions on cooperation in the space field.

At the start of the bilateral summit, held at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Takaichi said that Japan and Britain have steadily and concretely advanced their cooperation.

Starmer stressed that the partnership between the two nations is very profound and based on trust and common interests.
 
 

Japan's Feb. 8 general election has put rice policy back in the spotlight after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reversed a push toward expanded production and exports, returning to a demand-based output strategy as prices remain high, putting a strain on consumers.

Retail rice prices are hovering above 4,000 yen ($26) per 5 kilograms on average nationwide. In recent years, the surge has been so sharp that it has been dubbed the "Reiwa rice crisis," referring to Japan's current imperial era.

The administration of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba -- Takaichi's predecessor -- sought to counter rising prices by releasing government-stockpiled rice. Prices temporarily fell to the mid-3,000 yen range per 5 kg, but the decline was short-lived.

Ishiba had proposed an end to de facto production controls designed to support farmers by limiting rice output and shifting policy toward higher volumes and greater exports, but the Takaichi administration scrapped the plan.

A senior executive at a major rice wholesaler voiced frustration with Takaichi's government, saying it focuses too much on keeping prices high. Even accounting for rising production costs, rice prices remain at what he called "abnormally high" levels.

However, some officials at the farm ministry, along with agricultural groups, have pushed back, arguing it would be irresponsible to raise output without securing buyers, even though increased rice production could help lower prices.

Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party has pledged to pursue output and sales aligned with demand. To prevent a repeat of rice price spikes, the LDP said it would closely monitor distribution and seek market conditions acceptable to producers and consumers.

The Japan Innovation Party, which has been in a coalition with the LDP since Takaichi took office in October, has advocated expanding production, consumption and exports, while promoting the consolidation of farmland.

The main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, formed in January ahead of the House of Representatives election, said it would fundamentally review rice policy, shifting away from simple production cuts or output expansion to ensure a stable supply.

The center-left party, which has challenged Takaichi's conservative stance on domestic policies, said it would provide direct payments to support farmers in the event of an oversupply that could lead to steep price drops.

The Democratic Party for the People unveiled a plan to provide payments based on rice farmland acreage to promote business stability in the farming sector. The party has also promised to implement effective measures to increase disposable income.

Other minor left-leaning parties have urged the government to stabilize supply, demand and prices, calling for guaranteed pricing of agricultural products and income compensation for farmers.

A small conservative party said it aims to make Japan 100 percent self-sufficient in food and increase rice production.
 

 

The number of foreign workers in Japan reached a new high of over 2.57 million as of the end of last October, government data showed Friday, shattering the record for the 13th consecutive year, as the nation deals with a labor crunch.

The total of 2,571,037 marks an 11.7 percent rise from the previous year, with Vietnamese workers accounting for the largest proportion.

The data comes as campaigning for the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election draws attention to how to better integrate foreign residents, such as toughening rules for accepting them and promoting social cohesion.

The number of workplaces employing foreign nationals also hit a record high at 371,215, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier, with small businesses with fewer than 30 employees accounting for 63.1 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

By industry, manufacturing led other sectors with 635,075 foreign employees, accounting for 24.7 percent of them, followed by the services sector excluding food and drink services at 391,946.

The medical and welfare sector, including long-term care, saw the biggest growth of 25.6 percent from the previous year.

Holders of the Specified Skilled Worker visa, which allows people from overseas to work in labor-strapped industries, rose 38.3 percent to 286,225.

By nationality, Vietnamese workers made up the largest group at 605,906, or 23.6 percent of the total, followed by Chinese at 431,949, or 16.8 percent, and Filipinos at 260,869, or 10.1 percent.
 

 

Two sides also reiterate commitment to trilateral cooperation with US, without directly addressing North Korean threats

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed their shared commitment to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and trilateral cooperation with the U.S. on Friday, meeting against the backdrop of North Korea’s nuclear advancements.

South Korean defense minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi held talks in the Japanese city of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, marking Ahn’s first visit to Japan since taking office last year.

The joint statement further noted that the two ministers agreed on the importance of steadily advancing bilateral defense exchanges and decided to regularize mutual visits and hold annual defense ministerial talks. 

They also pledged to strengthen communication between their defense authorities as “regional security challenges” intensify, though the statement did not explicitly mention North Korea or its advancing nuclear and missile programs.

 

However, a supplementary press release from the ROK defense ministry said the two ministers agreed to continue bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the U.S. to combat North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat.

The language “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” rather than of the DPRK in particular, aligns with Pyongyang’s past preference in negotiations with Seoul and Washington.

It appears to reflect South Korea’s efforts to revive diplomacy with the North, which has denounced all inter-Korean ties and now maintains it will never give up its nuclear weapons.

The meeting’s results followed a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier this month, where they similarly reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearization.

While that summit focused largely on economic issues, both leaders underscored coordination on North Korea and regional security.

On Friday, photos released by the South Korean defense ministry showed that Ahn also visited the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, meeting with Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Patrick Hannifin. 

Ahn emphasized the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance and combined operational readiness, urging close cooperation between the South Korean navy and the U.S. 7th Fleet, according to his ministry.

Hannifin reportedly reaffirmed the alliance and pledged continued efforts to strengthen combined capabilities. 
 
 

The number of foreigners entering Japan rose 15.4 pct from the previous year to 42.43 million in 2025, marking a record high for the second straight year, preliminary government data showed Friday.

The annual tally exceeded 40 million for the first time since records began in 1950. The Immigration Services Agency attributed the result to the yen's weakening and an increase in the number of regular international passenger flights.

Meanwhile, the monthly number of Chinese entrants slumped 46.6 pct from a year earlier in December, after the Chinese government advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan in November, following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on a possible Taiwan contingency.

In 2025, a total of 9.23 million South Koreans entered Japan, up from 8.63 million the previous year, making up the largest group by country or region of origin, followed by 7.22 million entrants from mainland China, up from 5.49 million, and 6.39 million from Taiwan, up from 5.69 million.

By status of residence, 38.46 million foreign entrants, or 98.1 pct of the total, were for short-term stay, including tourists, up from 33.36 million, and 180,000 were for studying, up from 170,000. Both figures hit record highs.
 
 

Rollout begins at Narita in February, followed by Kansai
Emirates will extend its Chauffeur-Drive service to two additional airports in Japan, expanding on its existing offering at Haneda Airport (HND) to provide more passengers with seamless premium ground transfers.
 
The Dubai-based airline will introduce the service to Narita International Airport (NRT) from February 2026, covering 23 neighbourhoods across Tokyo, as well as areas in Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa.

Kansai International Airport (KIX) will follow on 1 March 2026, serving Osaka City, alongside parts of Nara, Kyoto and Hyogo. 
 
First Class and Business Class passengers travelling on eligible Emirates flights can redeem the complimentary door-to-door transfer to and from the airport, available for journeys up to 100km. Additional distances will be charged at JPY500 (AED12) per kilometre. 

With this expansion, Narita and Kansai join more than 70 destinations worldwide offering Emirates’ chauffeur service. The airline remains one of the few international carriers providing luxury ground transportation in Japan, complementing its dedicated lounge at Tokyo Narita’s Terminal 2. 
 
Emirates continues to enhance its premium offering across the network, most recently rolling out Premium Economy on 10 new routes, including Tokyo Narita-Dubai flights introduced in early 2024. 
 
The carrier recently earned two accolades — Best Long-Haul Airline and Best Premium Airline Service — at the 2026 Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards, building on a total of 25 awards secured in 2025. 
 

 

Akira Iriye, a Harvard University professor emeritus and a leading scholar on the history of international relations, died on Jan. 27. He was 91.

After earning his doctorate from Harvard in 1961, Iriye began a distinguished academic career in the United States, holding professorships at the University of Chicago and Harvard, among other institutions.

He became a towering figure in his field, serving as president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations in 1978. In 1988, he became the first Japanese person elected president of the American Historical Association.

He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Iriye authored numerous influential books and papers in both English and Japanese, including: “Across the Pacific: An Inner History of American-East Asian Relations”; “Power and Culture: The Japanese American War, 1941–1945”; “After Imperialism: The search for a New Order in the Far East, 1921-1931”; and “Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World.”

His life’s work offered a unique perspective on international history by focusing on the influence of imagery, culture and ideas.

With a core belief that “cultural exchange is the foundation of peace,” he consistently advocated a view of history from a transnational perspective rather than a nation-centric one.


SHAPED BY WAR

Born in Tokyo in 1934, Iriye was a 10-year-old self-described “militarist boy” when Japan surrendered in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945.

His diary entry from Aug. 28 that year read: “Today is the day the Allied forces move in, and American planes are flying by, roaring at a terribly low altitude. It is frustrating, but there is nothing to be done. The only thing to do is study.”

His father, Keishiro Irie, a journalist and international law scholar, taught him that “we lost the war because we didn’t know the world.”

Deeply valuing the opportunity to learn, Iriye traveled to the United States in 1953 on a Grew Foundation scholarship to study at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

He recalled meeting “a wonderful history teacher and friends who could be called lifelong companions” there.

This positive exposure to American society during his youth profoundly shaped his research.

In his book “Rekishi wo Manabu Toiukoto” (What it Means to Learn History), he wrote that his election as head of the American Historical Association “showed the openness and generosity of the academic community in the United States.”

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in February 2025, Iriye repeatedly said, “Our generation was truly lucky.”

However, he expressed concern that the United States under the second Trump administration had “become self-centered.”

Iriye stressed that “intellectual and human exchange will become increasingly important” for the world’s future.
 
 

A record 24.4 percent of candidates for Japan's House of Representatives election on Feb. 8 are women, up 1.0 percentage point from the previous lower house election in 2024.

A total of 313 women are running in the election, compared to 314 in 2024. However, the proportion still falls short of the goal of having nearly equal numbers of male and female candidates, as mandated by the country's law promoting gender equality in politics.

Of the parties, Sanseito has the highest percentage of female candidates, with 43.2 percent of its 190 candidates being women. The Japanese Communist Party fielded 67 female candidates, accounting for 38.1 percent of its total candidates.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party put forward 43 women, or 12.8 percent of 337 candidates. The number is down from 55, or 16.1 percent, in the 2024 election when the party's slush-fund scandal prompted it to recruit more women and younger candidates.

Among the LDP's coalition partners, the Japan Innovation Party has 14.6 percent women among its 89 candidates, while the newly formed main opposition, the Centrist Reform Alliance, has 19.9 percent women among its 47 candidates.
 
 

 

Tokyo police have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly registering a fake address to rent an internet server, with the suspect also believed to be involved in a blog suggesting child prostitution in Laos, it was learned Thursday.

Arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department was Hiroshi Kida, a part-time worker in the city of Kawachinagano in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan.

Kida is suspected of providing a fake address and phone number when renting the server on Oct. 2, 2022.

He denied the allegations, saying that he just told his address to a man who got along at a bar in Laos.

According to the police, the blog in question contained texts and photos that suggest child prostitution in the Southeast Asian country.
 

 

Japan and Mercosur countries have held the first meeting to discuss their strategic partnership, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

At the meeting, which took place in Asuncion, Paraguay’s capital, on Tuesday, senior officials from Japan and the South American common market members, including Argentina and Brazil, exchanged opinions on trade and investment issues with a view to enhancing bilateral economic ties.

In light of expectations Mercosur expressed at the meeting for launching negotiations on an economic partnership agreement with Japan, both sides agreed to accelerate their strategic partnership framework talks, the ministry said.

The ministry’s Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau Director-General Motoyuki Ishize represented Japan.
 

 

Indonesia and Japan have agreed to boost cultural cooperation as a long-term investment to deepen bilateral relations.

The commitment was highlighted during an official meeting between Indonesia’s Minister of Culture Fadli Zon and representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, Tuesday, 27 January 2026.

During the meeting, Fadli Zon  underscored that cultural collaboration goes beyond symbolic diplomacy and plays a strategic role in building long-term mutual understanding.

He outlined four priority areas of cooperation, including museum partnerships, revitalization of historical sites, repatriation of cultural artifacts, and a new, more comprehensive cultural memorandum of understanding.

“Cultural cooperation between Indonesia and Japan not only strengthens state-to-state relations, but also builds deeper mutual understanding and lasting friendship between the people of both nations,” Fadli Zon said.

One key topic discussed was the preservation of historical sites linked to Japan’s presence in Indonesia, including Japanese caves located in several regions.

In Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, such sites have evolved into cultural centers and historical tourism destinations, while similar sites in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, remain underdeveloped and require restoration.

“We see strong potential for cooperation in rehabilitating these sites, including the development of museums or open-air museums,” the minister said.

Fadli noted that proper revitalization, supported by Japan, would not only safeguard shared history, but also enhance educational value and cultural tourism. He said this approach aligns with Indonesia’s broader strategy of positioning culture as an asset for sustainable development.

The two sides also discussed expanding museum-to-museum collaboration, professional exchanges, and digitalization initiatives. Indonesia further encouraged discussions on a possible joint nomination for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, reflecting shared cultural elements between the two countries.

Repatriation of historical manuscripts and collections was another focus of the talks. Indonesia has been actively pursuing both physical and digital repatriation, following recent successes in the return of thousands of historical artifacts from abroad.

Meanwhile, Japanese Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, Mitsuru Myochin, welcomed the proposed cooperation and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to cultural exchange.

“Japan, including through the Japan Foundation, is very open and enthusiastic about promoting sustainable cultural exchanges that strengthen mutual understanding,” he said.

Both sides expressed optimism that enhanced cultural cooperation would serve as a long-term investment, reinforcing cultural diplomacy, people-to-people ties, and concrete collaboration between Indonesia and Japan in the years ahead.