News On Japan

Tight security in Tokyo as foreign dignitaries arrive for Abe's state funeral

TOKYO - Tokyo police have tightened security as many foreign dignitaries are arriving in Japan to attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Tuesday.

Roughly 20,000 police officers will be deployed to ramp up security for the funeral at Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo.

About 4,300 people are expected to attend the ceremony. Some 700 of them will be government officials and other dignitaries from overseas and ambassadors based in Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is scheduled to hold separate meetings with more than 30 foreign dignitaries from Monday through Wednesday. ...continue reading

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Unstable atmospheric conditions are expected to bring widespread clouds, sudden showers and thunderstorms across eastern Japan on Saturday, with residents advised to carry umbrellas even when skies appear calm.

Japan is likely to face increasingly long and dangerously hot summers as global temperatures continue to rise, with advanced climate simulations also pointing to more frequent torrential rain, rising seas and accelerating ice loss by the end of the century.

Japan's revised Imperial House Law was enacted after clearing the House of Councillors with majority support, allowing female members to retain royal status after marriage and male-line descendants of former imperial family branches to enter the Imperial Household through adoption.

A tropical depression near the Truk Islands is expected to strengthen into a typhoon within 12 hours, but forecasters say it is unlikely to have any direct impact on Japan.

A protest against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was held in Tokyo's Shibuya district on July 16 as public concern grew over a bill that would impose criminal penalties for damaging the Japanese flag.

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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi closed the Diet session on July 17 under pressure from both parliament and financial markets, as lawmakers enacted a revised Imperial House Law while the government moved to clarify that monetary policy tools remain under the sole authority of the Bank of Japan.

A bill to revise the Imperial House Law was approved by an Upper House special committee on July 16, paving the way for its expected enactment on July 17.

A protest against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was held in Tokyo's Shibuya district on July 16 as public concern grew over a bill that would impose criminal penalties for damaging the Japanese flag.

Tokyo's Koto Ward will distribute portable emergency toilets to all residents to help households prepare for disasters and prevent health problems when regular sanitation systems become unusable.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi entered the final stretch of the Diet session on July 16 facing a concentrated test of her leadership, with Imperial House legislation moving through upper house deliberations, opposition parties preparing for intensive questioning, and bond-market pressure continuing to complicate the government’s growth strategy.

Japan has become an unexpected base of operations for Russian intelligence agents since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with spies allegedly using the country to procure and smuggle high-tech equipment and other goods to Russia, The New York Times reported on July 12.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved to contain political pressure on July 14 by confirming that she will attend intensive Budget Committee deliberations later this week, as the final days of the Diet session turned into a test of her parliamentary management, economic policy credibility and conservative legislative agenda.

The Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly is facing mounting scrutiny over its use of public funds after revelations that assembly members spent about 45 million yen in one year on overseas inspection trips, including a Hawaii visit that cost nearly 12 million yen for four members.