Yoko Abe, the mother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, passed away on February 4th in Tokyo at the age of 95. Born in Tokyo in 1928, Yoko Abe grew up in a prominent political family, being the daughter of Shinsuke Kishi and the niece of Eisaku Sato, both of whom served as Prime Ministers of Japan.
In a recent social media post, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a provocative statement regarding Japan's stance on the Northern Territories dispute. Medvedev suggested that "Japanese should commit hara-kiri" in response to Prime Minister Kishida's remarks on the territorial issue.
The Chinese government is considering resuming the visa exemption for short-term stays of Japanese citizens in China, which has been suspended, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on January 29. In addition, the ministry called for Japan to take some measures for Chinese visitors to Japan.
Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has stirred controversy with his remarks in Fukuoka on Sunday, referring to Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa as an "old lady" and "not what you would call a beautiful one."
Yamanashi Prefecture is in the final stages of planning to provide financial assistance for the cost of egg freezing for healthy women who struggle to balance the timing of pregnancy with their career aspirations.
Following the scandal involving political fundraising parties by factions within the Liberal Democratic Party, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Motoyuki Shiotani, who served as the leader of the Abe faction, disclosed that he had received over 2.3 million yen in kickbacks from the faction over five years without recording it in his financial statements, for which he apologized. However, he denied any intentions of resigning as a lawmaker or leaving the party.
Following the Liberal Democratic Party's decision to prohibit factional involvement in personnel affairs, known as the dissolution of factions, there has been a surge in members leaving the Aso and Mogi factions, both of which have indicated their intention to continue.
Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture announced on Friday the establishment of a city hall in the Metaverse, allowing residents to enter an online virtual space where they can interact with staff for electronic applications such as resident registration and family registry documents.