News On Japan

7 Imperial family members to attend Abe's state funeral

TOKYO - Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino and five other Imperial family members will attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo next week.

Japan's Imperial Household Agency announced on Wednesday that the funeral will also be attended by Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino; Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and her eldest daughter, Princess Akiko; and Princess Takamado and her eldest daughter, Princess Tsuguko.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, as well as Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, will not attend the event but instead dispatch representatives and offer flowers.

...continue reading

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 7 continues to disrupt travel across Japan on June 27, with flights, airport access routes, conventional rail lines and expressways affected across parts of eastern and central Japan as operators warn that heavy rain and strong winds could continue to cause delays, cancellations, suspensions and road closures through the day.

According to a TBS report at 3:50 p.m. on June 27, Typhoon No. 7 is expected to move very close to Kanto from the evening to late night, bringing a second peak of heavy rain after Typhoon No. 8 caused morning flooding in Chiba and leaving areas from Tokai to the Tokyo region at risk of landslides, flooding and river overflows.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

A powerful earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of upper 6 struck off Iwate Prefecture at around 7:30 a.m. on June 25, shaking parts of Aomori Prefecture and leaving Hachinohe, which was hit by a similarly strong quake last December, facing fresh damage.

A powerful earthquake registering a maximum intensity of 6 upper on Japan’s seismic scale struck Aomori Prefecture at around 7:30 a.m. today. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the epicenter was off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, with a depth of about 50 kilometers. The earthquake’s magnitude was estimated at 6.9.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Politics NEWS

Japan’s political agenda on June 26 was dominated by national security, election regulation and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to reshape the country’s long-term economic strategy, as the Diet advanced measures that point to a broader shift in how the government is preparing for defense, technology and political campaigning.

The Takaichi government said on June 24 that public and private investment in 17 strategic fields, including AI and semiconductors, is expected to exceed 370 trillion yen by 2040, as it seeks to draw out private-sector spending and turn advanced technologies into economic growth.

A cross-party national council discussing a reduction in the consumption tax on food will present a draft proposal on June 24 calling for the rate to be lowered to 1% from April next year.

The speakers and vice speakers of both houses of the Japanese Diet approved on June 22 the government’s outline for revising the Imperial Household Law and related measures aimed at securing the number of imperial family members, following what has been described as the consensus of the legislature.

Centrist Reform Alliance leader Ogawa has secured agreement from the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito to establish a consultative body to discuss a possible merger of the three parties.

A bill to revise the national referendum law, which sets procedures for constitutional amendments, was approved by the House of Representatives plenary session and is expected to enter deliberation at the House of Councillors Commission on the Constitution on June 24.

A draft of the joint statement from the G7 summit in France has revealed that all proposals put forward by Prime Minister Takaichi on energy security and critical minerals have been incorporated into the agreement.

Powerful gathering at the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains as President Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, Sanae Takaichi, Mark Carney, Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attend a high-level working lunch.