The approval means the agreement, reached by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump in late September, now moves to the Upper House.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito are aiming to ratify the trade deal before end of the current Diet session on Dec. 9.
That would allow them to accommodate Washington’s push for it to enter into force on Jan. 1.
Under the deal, Japan will gradually lower its 38.5 percent tariff on U.S. beef to 9 percent, and remove or reduce its tariffs on U.S. pork.
Other American products, including cheese, wine and wheat, will also gain greater access to the Japanese market.
The United States, for its part, will remove or reduce tariffs on some types of manufacturing equipment as well as for other industrial products, including parts for air conditioners and trains from Japan.
Japanese scientist Akira Yoshino accepted the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Tuesday at a ceremony in Sweden for his contribution to the development of lithium-ion batteries. (Japan Times) 
A former Japanese defense chief has been shot in the leg near his home in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Sankei newspaper reported on Tuesday citing police sources. (Japan Today) 
Russia may be banned from the next two Olympics but the door is open for Russian participation at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games if athletes can meet the rigid criteria laid out by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). (Japan Today) 
Police referred a 17-year-old high school student and two men to prosecutors on Tuesday over their alleged involvement in the online trading of uranium in violation of Japanese law regulating nuclear materials. (Japan Today) 
It might be the most Japanese of political scandals: a furor over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's guest list at a party to mark the annual cherry blossom season. (Japan Today) 
Afghan police said Monday they have detained a total of six men in connection with the shooting death last week of a Japanese doctor who was a well-known aid worker in the central Asian country. (Japan Today) 
In Japan these days it seems that conservatives want to change things and progressives want to cling to the status quo. An apparently minor, but highly symbolic, example is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government's proposal to change the order of Japanese names when written in the Latin or Western alphabet. (Nikkei) 
Empress Masako said Monday she is happy to have completed her duties as part of Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement rituals, and pledged to continue such work and help her husband more for the happiness of the people. (Japan Times) 
Japanese scientist Akira Yoshino delivered his Nobel lecture on Sunday in Sweden. Yoshino is one of the three winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry. (NHK) 
In a major privacy breach, 18 hard drives used by the Kanagawa Prefectural Government to store taxpayers’ data were auctioned online over the summer instead of being destroyed, prefectural officials disclosed Friday. (Japan Times)