The transport ministry will likely delay starting work to extend the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line to link Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture, sources said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/09/japan/hokuriku-shinkansen-extension-delay/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #mlit #hokurikushinkansen #bullettrains #rail #fukui #osaka #kyoto #ldp #nipponishinnokai #environment
The government, in its sixth basic program for promoting gender equality, will stipulate that it will consider legislation to legalize the use of pre-marriage family names. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/society/japan-surname-gender-equality-program/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #familyregistry #familylaw #marriage #names #nipponishinnokai #ldp #women039sissues #diet
After a bumpy negotiation process, the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, submitted a bill that would cut at least 45 Lower House seats by the end of next year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/05/japan/politics/seat-reduction-bill-submitted/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #katsunobukato #hirofumiyoshimura #ldp #nipponishinnokai #diet #lowerhouse
Japan is considering launching a new investment program for children under the country's new Nippon Individual Savings Account tax-exemption framework with the aim to expand eligibility to those under 18. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/02/nisa-program-children/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #nisa #taxes #children #investments #ldp #nipponishinnokai
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura agreed to submit a bill during the current parliamentary session that will reduce the number of Lower House seats by 10%. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/01/japan/politics/seats-reduction-ldp-jip-agreement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #lowerhouse #diet #hirofumiyoshimura #komeito #koichihagiuda
The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition has regained its majority in the Lower House, with three lawmakers agreeing to support the passage of key budget bills. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/28/japan/politics/ldp-majority/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #sanaetakaichi #diet
The Japanese government is considering raising the fee for permanent residency to as high as ¥300,000 and that for changing or extending one’s residential status to ¥100,000. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/28/japan/politics/foreigners-policy-fee/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #expats #immigration #ldp #sanaetakaichi #nipponishinnokai
Japan is moving closer than ever to legalizing the primary use of birth names after marriage, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s bill on the matter likely to be submitted to parliament soon. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/26/japan/politics/surname-takaichi-bill/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #familyregistry #familylaw #marriage #names #nipponishinnokai #komeito #ldp #women039sissues #diet
The Lower House on Tuesday passed legislation to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge of ¥25.1 per liter, effective Dec. 31. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/25/japan/politics/gasoline-bill-lower-house/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #gas #ldp #cdp #taxes #energy #nipponishinnokai #komeito #jcp #localgovernment
Japan will likely lean on the U.S. and its allies if China escalates economic pressure, as Tokyo seeks to navigate the fallout from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks linking Taiwan’s security to its own. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/22/japan/politics/japan-us-lean-china-standoff/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #nipponishinnokai #us #china #taiwan
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, have agreed to submit a bill that creates a framework for reducing Lower House seats during the ongoing session of parliament. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/21/japan/politics/ldp-ishin-seat-reduction-bill/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #lowerhouse #diet #sanaetakaichi #katsunobukato #hirofumiyoshimura
Japan should leverage its alliance with the U.S. to counter China’s threats rather than seeking quick compromises alone that will lead to long-term losses, an outspoken Japanese lawmaker says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/21/japan/politics/japan-counter-china-us-help/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #china #heiseki #nipponishinnokai #taiwa #sanaetakaichi #chipmakers #rareearths
Many opposition party lawmakers at a meeting held on Tuesday voiced reluctance over a proposal to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/18/japan/politics/opposition-caution-seat-cut/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cdp #nipponishinnokai #komeito
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are set to step up talks on constitutional revision following the first meeting of their working-level forum on the matter. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/14/japan/politics/ldp-jip-constitutional-revision/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #constitution #diet
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's summit diplomacy with the United States, China and South Korea has won her high marks from respondents of an opinion poll by Jiji Press. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/13/japan/politics/jiji-poll-takaichi-diplomacy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #surveys #donaldtrump #xijinping #leejaemyung #ldp #nipponishinnokai
While Japan's ruling coalition has agreed to enact legislation to create a backup capital in next year’s regular session of parliament, the concept itself faces tough questions about what it would look like in practice. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/13/japan/politics/backup-capital/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #tokyo #disasterpreparedness #cities #nipponishinnokai #osaka #ldp #hirofumiyoshimura #naomichisuzuki #seitarohattori
The LDP and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to reach an early conclusion on a proposed hike in patients’ out-of-pocket expenses for prescription medicines similar to over-the-counter drugs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/13/japan/ldp-jip-otc-drugs/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #ldp #nipponishinnokai #medicine #health #nationalhealthcare #pharmaceuticals
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has begun internal discussions on a proposal to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/12/japan/politics/ldp-seat-reduction-talk/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #diet #nipponishinnokai #cdp
Differences over the measure to reduce parliamentary seats could weaken the ruling minority coalition’s unity and test its ability to compromise. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/11/japan/politics/ldp-ishin-trouble/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #sanaetakaichi
Yuichiro Tamaki and the Democratic Party for the People now find themselves facing a drop in popularity after failing to form a coalition with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/10/japan/politics/tamaki-dpp-indecisive/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #dpp #yuichirotamaki #ldp #nipponishinnokai #cdp