Japan mulls deployment of missiles, may increase its missile arsenal

Japan PM dismisses aide over anti-LGBTQ+ comments
Al Jazeera - Feb 05
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has dismissed one of his secretaries for homophobic comments that the prime minister called “outrageous”.

Aide to Japan's prime minister says he 'hates' to see LGBT couples
Nikkei - Feb 04
A secretary to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Masayoshi Arai, said Friday night he does "not want to live next door" to an LGBT couple and that he would "hate to see them," but quickly retracted the discriminatory remarks after they were reported by the media.

Minister hopes Japan students to join farewell events without masks
Kyodo - Feb 03
Japanese education minister Keiko Nagaoka on Thursday expressed the hope that students will be allowed to attend their graduation ceremonies in the spring without having to wear face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kishida's son in hot seat over shopping during official trips overseas
Japan Times - Jan 31
Shotaro Kishida, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s eldest son and his executive secretary, is in the hot seat over media reports that he went shopping and sightseeing in Europe, Canada and the U.S. using official vehicles when he accompanied the prime minister to those places in January.

'I didn't want to choose the option of fighting': Japan ex-soldier sues government over sex assault
news24.com - Jan 31
A Japanese former soldier who was sexually assaulted by her colleagues said on Monday she is suing the government and the perpetrators over the "superficial" apologies and mistreatment she received.

Japan's demographic time bomb: Labour shortage opens doors to foreign workers
FRANCE 24 English - Jan 29
Japan faces an existential threat with its birth rate at an all time low, yet the island nation has still to fully embrace immigration as a solution to the population decline. To tackle the problem, the government has slowly turned to bringing in foreign workers.

Japan to count COVID cases using method for seasonal flu
NHK - Jan 28
Japanese health authorities say they will start counting coronavirus infections using the same method they do for cases of seasonal influenza.

Japan plans to downgrade COVID-19 classification on May 8
NHK - Jan 27
The Japanese government is planning to downgrade COVID-19 on May 8 to the same category of infectious diseases as seasonal influenza.

Japan PM Kishida cautious about same-sex marriage
Kyodo - Jan 26
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday struck a cautious tone about legally recognizing same-sex marriage in line with other Group of Seven countries that have already adopted the practice.

Japan aide gets told off by his mother... for putting his hands in his pockets during televised press conference in the US
dailymail.co.uk - Jan 24
It should have been one of the proudest moments of his political career. But one Japanese aide will remember his visit to the US President for the wrong reasons – after he got a dressing down from his mum for putting his hands in his pockets.

Japanese PM Kishida says addressing falling birthrate top priority
NHK - Jan 23
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says addressing the country's falling birthrate will be a top priority for the government.

Japan warns Unification Church over murky child adoption practice
Kyodo - Jan 23
The Japanese government on Monday issued an administrative guidance to the Unification Church demanding it comply with the law amid allegations that it has arranged for child adoption between believers' families without authorization.

Japan to lower COVID-19 to flu status in spring
Japan Today - Jan 20
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday announced plans to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza in the spring, a move that would further relax mask wearing and other preventive measures as the country seeks to return to normalcy.

Japan court acquits utility executives in Fukushima disaster
staradvertiser.com - Jan 19
A Japanese court on Wednesday found three former utility company executives not guilty of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the subsequent deaths of more than 40 elderly residents during their forced evacuation.

Japan to decide whether to downgrade COVID-19 on Friday
Nikkei - Jan 19
The Japanese government is set to decide Friday on whether to drop COVID-19 to its least serious category of infectious diseases this spring, Nikkei has learned.

Medvedev says Japanese PM should disembowel himself
Reuters - Jan 15
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday of shameful subservience to the United States and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself.