Japan remains among the world’s leading nations in seabed resource development and should accelerate work to sharpen its technology, Democratic Party for the People upper house lawmaker Yoshihiko Yamada said, calling for broader ocean policy investment, stronger protection of sea lanes and a more active Japanese role in mine-clearing operations near the Strait of Hormuz.
Chinese and Russian bombers and other military aircraft flew around Japan on June 27, prompting Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to describe the joint activity as a show of force directed at Japan.
Defense Minister Koizumi met with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul on the morning of June 28, with the two ministers agreeing to continue cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as among Japan, the United States and South Korea.
Japan’s political agenda on June 26 was dominated by national security, election regulation and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to reshape the country’s long-term economic strategy, as the Diet advanced measures that point to a broader shift in how the government is preparing for defense, technology and political campaigning.
The Takaichi government said on June 24 that public and private investment in 17 strategic fields, including AI and semiconductors, is expected to exceed 370 trillion yen by 2040, as it seeks to draw out private-sector spending and turn advanced technologies into economic growth.
A cross-party national council discussing a reduction in the consumption tax on food will present a draft proposal on June 24 calling for the rate to be lowered to 1% from April next year.