JAPAN: Ishiba Wins Leadership Race, Becomes PM

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 Shigeru Ishiba’s determination to lead Japan has never been in question, and now the veteran MP is poised to achieve that goal at the fifth time of asking after winning the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) on Friday.



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#JAPAN: New US Military Command Center Announced

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The U.S. will establish a new military command in Japan to bolster security ties as Washington moves to strengthen its Asia allies in the face of China’s military buildup, top American and Japanese officials said Sunday.

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#JAPAN: Aggressive China Prompts Huge Military Buildup

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Japan has begun a once-unthinkable $320bn military build-up that will arm it with missiles capable of striking China after a newly nationalistic China aggressively expanded its military.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government worries that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors, and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.

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#JAPAN: Supreme Court Rules In Transgender Bathroom Case

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Japan's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that restrictions imposed by a government ministry on a transgender female employee's use of restrooms at her workplace are illegal, in a landmark decision that could promote the rights of LGBTQ+ people in a country without legal protections for them.

It was the court's first ruling on the working environment for LGBTQ+ individuals.

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#JAPAN: A Fourth Court Says Gays Should Have Marriage Rights

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TOKYO -- Japan's government is under renewed pressure to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples after a fourth court ruled that its failure to do so was at odds with the country's constitution.

The ruling by Fukuoka District Court in southern Japan late last week delivered a boost to the LGBTQ community in the only G7 member state yet to legally recognize same-sex unions. In a case brought by three same-sex couples against the state, the judge found the current lack of marriage equality presents Japan with an "unconstitutional situation."

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#JAPAN: Prime Minister Survives Oppo. Confidence Vote

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Japan's lower house of parliament voted down a no-confidence motion submitted against the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday.

It was submitted by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) a day after the prime minister said he was unequivocally not planning to imminently dissolve the lower house of parliament and call a snap election.

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#JAPAN: Woman Of Uyghur Ethnicity Wins Seat In Parliament

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A Japanese woman of Uyghur ethnicity and who was educated in the United States has been elected a member of the Japanese parliament — the first person of Uyghur heritage to run as a major party candidate in an election there.

Arfiya Eri, a 34-year-old member of the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, was elected on Sunday to the lower house of the Japanese Diet to represent Chiba prefecture’s 5th district. She captured the seat previously held by Kentaro Sonoura, a former LDP lawmaker who resigned last December over a political funds scandal.

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BREAKING: #JAPAN: Prime Minister Visits Ukraine

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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida haa to made a surprise visit to Kyiv for a face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced that Kishida would meet with Zelenskyy on today in the Ukrainian capital and then visit neighboring Poland tomorrow for talks with President Andrej Duda.

Kishida is scheduled to return to Japan on Thursday.

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#JAPAN: Absent YouTuber Expelled From Parliament

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A YouTuber-turned-lawmaker was expelled from the Upper House on Wednesday for not attending any parliamentary sessions since being elected last year, making him the first member of parliament to be removed in more than seven decades.

The expulsion of Yoshikazu Higashitani, who goes by the name GaaSyy, is the most serious reprimand of four levels under the national Diet law. He lost his status as a lawmaker while abroad.

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#JAPAN: Nation Planning To Assist Ukraine

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Japan is engaged deeply on issues in Ukraine and is expected to roll out plans at the "appropriate time" to support Kyiv against Russia's invasion, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Tuesday. 

"Prime Minister Kishida has a game plan and is already engaged deeply on issues in Ukraine," Campbell told a Center for Strategic and International Studies event.

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#JAPAN: Citing Threats, Gov't Set To Expand Military

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The Japanese government has unveiled plans to drastically expand its defense capabilities. 

In what would be the biggest military build-up since World War II, Tokyo aims to double its defense spending over the next five years and install missiles capable of striking an enemy launch site. 

It's a controversial move, marking another major step away from the country's pacifist constitution that severely limits the use of military force. 

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#JAPAN: PM Condemns North Korean Missile raw Test

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Japan warned it's citizens to take cover after North Korea fires missile over country. People in Tokyo watched the path of the missile on news reports displayed on the streets.

Japan reacted with anger after North Korea test-launched a ballistic missile high over the north of the country Tuesday morning, prompting the suspension of trains and warnings for citizens take cover.

The missile, which appeared to be an intermediate-range weapon, was beyond the earth’s atmosphere when it passed above Japan and caused no damage or disturbance to anyone on the ground. It was the first time in five years that a North Korean test has been carried out on such a course and it provoked an immediate and furious reaction throughout the region.

Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said:“This is an outrage, following the recent repeated launches of ballistic missiles and we strongly condemn it”

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#JAPAN: Tribute To Abe May Be Postponed Due to Opposition

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Japan's ruling party is considering putting off a memorial speech in parliament for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe until this fall, after its plan for his close aide to deliver it in August met resistance from within the party and from opposition parties, lawmakers said Thursday.

Akira Amari, who was an economy minister in the Abe administration and was personally close to him, was floated as a candidate to speak in parliament during an extraordinary session starting next week.

The Liberal Democratic Party is now being forced to review the plan, which opposition lawmakers said would break with the long-standing practice of a leader from a different party giving such a speech in order to express condolences beyond the differences of political views.

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#JAPAN,: Former PM Shinzo Abe Assassinated

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Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated at a campaign stop yesterday by a lone gunman. He was 67 years old. 

Abe, who stepped down in 2020, was shot moments into a speech in Western Japan. He was immediately airlifted to a hospital, but was later pronounced dead. 

Police arrested suspected gunman, a 41-year-old former member of the Japanese Naval Defense Force, who used a homemade shotgun to shoot Abe twice, was easily apprehending him at the scene.

World leaders reacted with shock at the news.

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#JAPAN: Gov't Urges Businesses Not To Discriminate Against Unvaccinated

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Japan is bucking the trend of vilifying vaccine refusers and instead urging its citizens not to intimidate anyone into getting the jab.

The move flies in the face of efforts by the Biden administration, the Trudeau government, and Australia’s regime to vilify and criminalize vaccine-hesitant individuals. Japanese government officials have advised citizens to “not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.”

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#JAPAN: PM Dissolves Parliament For Oct 31 Snap Election

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved parliament Thursday for a general election on Oct. 31, as the lower house comes to the end of its four-year term. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, are seeking to maintain their dominance in the Diet despite political headwinds.

Kishida, elected as LDP leader last month, has said that the goal of the coalition is to retain a simple majority. While it may lose seats, the party hopes a fresh face will lift the party's public support even as the economy remains sluggish amid the COVID pandemic.

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#JAPAN: Kishida Elected Prime Minister By Lower House Of Parliament

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Fumio Kishida, widely known as a low-key consensus builder, had been voted in as Japan's new prime minister by Japan's lawmakers.

The soft-spoken scion of a Hiroshima political family, Kishida beat popular vaccine chief Taro Kono to win leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week.

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#CHINA: Leader Xi Threatens Japan With Nuclear Bombs Over Taiwan "Interference"

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In a video broadcast on a Communist Party of China-approved channel, the government threatened to deploy "continuous nuclear bombs" against Japan over its intervention in Taiwan, Fox News reported.

The five-minute video has received over two million views on China's YouTube-like platforms.

It was eventually removed, but copies of the film were uploaded to YouTube and Twitter by some individuals. 

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#JAPAN: Gov't Recommends 4-Day Work Week

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The Japanese government has just unveiled its annual economic policy guidelines, which include new recommendations that companies permit their staff to opt to work four days a week instead of the typical five.

Japan's famously hard-working salarymen — and, increasingly, salarywomen — are to be encouraged to reduce the amount of time they spend in the office environment as part of the government's initiative to improve the nation's work-life balance.  

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#JAPAN: District Court Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

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A district court in Japan has in a landmark decision ruled that the country's failure to recognise same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Japan's constitution defines marriage as one

between "both sexes".

But a Sapporo court ruled that this denied the couples constitutionally-guaranteed equality, in what is seen as a symbolic victory for LGBTQ activists.

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