News On Japan

Japan's LGBT community enjoys greater rights in Tokyo

Jan 20, 2023 (FRANCE 24 English) - Although #Japan is the only G7 country where same-sex marriages are illegal, there have recently been some positive changes for the #LGBT community.

Last November, Tokyo's metropolitan government introduced partnership certificates that entitle gay couples to certain public services that were once reserved for straight couples. According to some opinion polls, more than half of Japanese people agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. But the ruling conservative party remains firmly opposed.

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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has drawn criticism over a social media post describing five hours of sleep as a rare luxury, as the extended Diet session prepares to begin Upper House debate on a controversial bill to establish secondary capitals outside Tokyo.

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Breathtaking 4K footage filmed from a helicopter offers a sweeping aerial view of Mount Fuji and its majestic surrounding landscape.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

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Hokkaido saw a marked shift toward private high schools among students entering in fiscal 2026 after tuition at private institutions became effectively free from April, according to an analysis by the Hokkaido Board of Education.

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A growing number of young doctors in Japan are moving directly into cosmetic medicine after obtaining a medical license and completing their initial clinical training, raising concern that the trend may be worsening staff shortages in insurance-covered medical care.

Foreign drivers seeking to convert overseas licenses into Japanese ones are increasingly turning to driving schools after tougher rules introduced last October sharply reduced pass rates for both written and practical checks.

Foreign-born sumo wrestlers are often praised for speaking remarkably natural Japanese, a sharp contrast to many overseas athletes in other professional sports.

Police in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, presented letters of appreciation to two first-year junior high school students on July 10 after they chased a suspected shoplifter for about 250 meters and helped detain the person.