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Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reacts at a House of Councillors plenary session in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025, as the parliament enacts a law to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.

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Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reacts at a House of Councillors plenary session in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025, as the parliament enacts a law to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.

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[Breaking News]Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

TOKYO, Japan, Sept. 4 Kyodo - Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., holds a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement. (Kyodo)

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Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., bows during a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement.

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Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., holds a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement.

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Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., holds a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement.

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Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., holds a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement.

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Ex-Suntory Chairman Niinami

Takeshi Niinami, former chairman of Japanese beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., holds a regular press conference as head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2025. Niinami said he will step back from his duties as chief of the association but stressed he did not breach Japanese law in connection with the purchase of a dietary supplement.

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Japan's forced sterilization victim

Yumi Suzuki, one of the plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenics protection law, is pictured at her home in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan, in March 2019.

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Japan's forced sterilization victim

Yumi Suzuki, one of the plaintiffs who sued the Japanese government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenics protection law, speaks at a press conference after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who offered an apology, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 17, 2025. The Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in July 2024 and ordered the government to pay damages. Suzuki was named to the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2024.

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Japan PM on S. Korean president ouster

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responds to questions about South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal from office during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 4, 2025, after South Korea's Constitutional Court the same day upheld a parliamentary impeachment motion over his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

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Japan PM on S. Korean president ouster

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responds to questions about South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal from office during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 4, 2025, after South Korea's Constitutional Court the same day upheld a parliamentary impeachment motion over his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

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Detention of impeached S. Korean president

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi holds a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 15, 2025, following South Korean authorities' detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier in the day in connection with his short-lived declaration of martial law.

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Detention of impeached S. Korean president

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi holds a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 15, 2025, following South Korean authorities' detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier in the day in connection with his short-lived declaration of martial law.

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Japan PM Ishiba

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the premier's office in Tokyo on Dec. 4, 2024, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law.

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Japan PM Ishiba

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the premier's office in Tokyo on Dec. 4, 2024, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law.

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Condition of Japanese Princess Yuriko deteriorates

Japanese Princess Hisako leaves St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo on Nov. 9, 2024, after visiting her 101-year-old mother-in-law Princess Yuriko, whose condition has been deteriorating. The oldest member of the imperial family was hospitalized in March due to a mild stroke and aspiration pneumonitis.

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Japan Diet enacts law to compensate forced sterilization victims

Junko Mihara, Japanese minister for policies related to children, bows during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Oct. 8, 2024, after the Diet enacted a law to pay 15 million yen ($101,000) each to victims of forced sterilization surgery under a now-defunct eugenics protection law.

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Japan Diet enacts law to compensate forced sterilization victims

The Japanese House of Councillors approves legislation designed to pay 15 million yen ($101,000) each to victims of forced sterilization surgery under a now-defunct eugenics protection law, during a plenary session in Tokyo on Oct. 8, 2024.

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Japan Diet enacts law to compensate forced sterilization victims

The Japanese House of Councillors approves legislation designed to pay 15 million yen ($101,000) each to victims of forced sterilization surgery under a now-defunct eugenics protection law, during a plenary session in Tokyo on Oct. 8, 2024.

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Japan lower house passes forced sterilization compensation bill

Junko Mihara, Japanese minister for policies related to children, stands at a House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Oct. 7, 2024, after the passage of a bill requiring the government to compensate people who were forced to undergo sterilization surgery under a now-defunct eugenics protection law.

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Japan's top gov't spokesman on man detained in Belarus

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Sept. 5, 2024, regarding the case of a Japanese man who has been detained in Belarus after allegedly violating its domestic law on July 9, 2024.

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Japan's top gov't spokesman on man detained in Belarus

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Sept. 5, 2024, regarding the case of a Japanese man who has been detained in Belarus after allegedly violating its domestic law on July 9, 2024.

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Japan justice minister apologizes over forced sterilization

Japanese Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi bows in apology in a meeting with plaintiffs at the ministry in Tokyo on Aug. 2, 2024, following the Supreme Court's decision issued the previous month that the government must pay damages to those who were forced to undergo sterilization surgery in the 1950s to 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law.

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Japan top court orders damages for forced sterilization

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expresses an apology at the premier's office in Tokyo on July 3, 2024, following Japan's Supreme Court's order earlier in the day to the government to pay damages to plaintiffs who were forced to undergo sterilization surgery in the 1950s to 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law.

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Japan top court orders damages for forced sterilization

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the premier's office in Tokyo on July 3, 2024, over the Supreme Court's order earlier in the day to the government to pay damages to plaintiffs who were forced to undergo sterilization surgery in the 1950s to 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law.

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No-confidence motion against Kishida's Cabinet

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi holds a press conference in Tokyo on June 20, 2024, after the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet over the enactment of a revised political funds control law which has been criticized for failing to improve financial transparency in politics.

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Japan Prime Minister Kishida

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the press at the premier's office in Tokyo on June 19, 2024, after the parliament enacted a revised law proposed by his Liberal Democratic Party to reform political funding rules.

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Japan Prime Minister Kishida

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the press at the premier's office in Tokyo on June 19, 2024, after the parliament enacted a revised law proposed by his Liberal Democratic Party to reform political funding rules.

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Japan enacts law for new foreign worker scheme

The Japanese House of Councillors approves a bill during a plenary session in Tokyo on June 14, 2024, to replace Japan's controversy-plagued foreign trainee program with a new system that encourages workers from abroad to stay longer.

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Political funds reform bill in Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets the press at the premier's office in Tokyo on June 6, 2024, after the House of Representatives passed a bill to revise the political funds control law following a fundraising scandal centered around the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

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Political funds reform bill in Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets the press at the premier's office in Tokyo on June 6, 2024, after the House of Representatives passed a bill to revise the political funds control law following a fundraising scandal centered around the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

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Political funds reform bill in Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida bows after the House of Representatives passed a bill during a plenary session in Tokyo on June 6, 2024, to revise the political funds control law following a fundraising scandal centered around the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

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Political funds reform bill in Japan

The Japanese House of Representatives passes a bill during a plenary session in Tokyo on June 6, 2024, to revise the political funds control law following a fundraising scandal centered around the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

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Over 30,000 people rally in Tokyo to defend Japan's pacifist constitution

STORY: Over 30,000 people rally in Tokyo to defend Japan's pacifist constitution SHOOTING TIME: May 3, 2024 DATELINE: May 5, 2024 LENGTH: 00:01:27 LOCATION: Tokyo CATEGORY: POLITICS/SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the rally 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Japanese): KANEHISA YAMAUCHI, Protester 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Japanese): AKIKO NOGAKI, Protester 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Japanese): SHOICHI ITOH, Protester STORYLINE: More than 30,000 peace-seeking Japanese participated in a massive rally in Tokyo on Friday to defend the country's pacifist constitution, chanting "No constitutional amendments, defend the constitution, protect peace!" Japan marked the 77th memorial day of its pacifist post-war Constitution on May 3. The supreme law's Article 9 renounces war and bans the country from maintaining land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential. However, nowadays, concerns mount among Japanese people regarding the steadfastness in upholding the principles of the war-renouncing constitution. Kanehisa Yamauchi, who just returned

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BILATERA MEETING2

BILATERAL TALKS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a bilateral meeting at Malacañan Palace on Friday (Nov. 03). Kishida said Japan will work with the Philippines to strengthen cooperation in maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law. (PNA Photo by Rey Baniquet)

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S. Koreans continue to rally against Japan's radioactive wastewater dumping

STORY: S. Koreans continue to rally against Japan's radioactive wastewater dumping DATELINE: Sept. 3, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:04 LOCATION: Seoul CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of weekend rally in central Seoul held by Korean fishermen, activists and politicians STORYLINE: Thousands of South Korean people including fishermen, activists and politicians continued a weekend rally in central Seoul on Saturday to protest against Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean. The participants shouted slogans of "Immediately stop the marine dumping of radioactive wastewater" and "Prohibit import of all Japanese aquatic products," urging the South Korean government to file a lawsuit with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea against the Japanese government. According to the Research View survey of 1,000 adults for two days through Aug. 30, 72.4 percent said they opposed Japan's marine dumping of radioactive wastewater. A total of 78.3 percent of respondents said South Korea sh

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Ex-Johnny's idol, actor Yasushi Hashida

Japanese actor Yasushi Hashida (C, R) and two former teen idols give Jun Azumi (C, L), Diet affairs chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, a petition with about 40,000 signatures calling for the revision of Japan's child abuse prevention law at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 5, 2023. The former teen idols and alleged sexual abuse victims of the late Japanese boy band mogul Johnny Kitagawa have said they wanted to help victims like themselves.

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Ex-Johnny's idol, actor Yasushi Hashida

Japanese actor Yasushi Hashida attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on May 26, 2023. The former teen idol and an alleged victim of sexual abuse by the late Japanese boy band mogul Johnny Kitagawa announced that he will start a petition for the revision of Japan's child abuse prevention law and work as a collaborator for victims like himself.

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Ex-Johnny's idol, actor Yasushi Hashida

Japanese actor Yasushi Hashida attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on May 26, 2023. The former teen idol and an alleged victim of sexual abuse by the late Japanese boy band mogul Johnny Kitagawa announces that he will start signing petition for revision of Japan's child abuse prevention law and work as a collaborator for victims like himself.

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Japanese rally in Tokyo to defend pacifist Constitution, calling for peace

STORY: Japanese rally in Tokyo to defend pacifist Constitution, calling for peace DATELINE: May 5, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:06 LOCATION: Tokyo CATEGORY: SOCIETY/LAW SHOTLIST: 1. various of the rally 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Japanese): MIZUHO FUKUSHIMA, Head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Japanese): YUKI IZUMIKAWA, Special researcher, Okinawa University 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Japanese): KEN TAKADA, Organizer of the rally 5. SOUNDBITE 4 (Japanese): Rally participant STORYLINE: Some 25,000 Japanese people rallied on Wednesday in Tokyo, calling for peace and protection of Japan's Constitution, including the war-renouncing Article 9, as the country marked the 76th anniversary of its pacifist post-war Constitution. People marched with banners like "No going back to pre-war," "No amendments to the Constitution" and "Now more emphasis on Article 9." The Constitution's Article 9 renounces war and prohibits Japan from possessing "war potential" such as military forces. However, as the Japanese government has l

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Okinawa lawmakers urge Tokyo to promote peace through dialogue, diplomacy

STORY: Okinawa lawmakers urge Tokyo to promote peace through dialogue, diplomacy DATELINE: April 27, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:01 LOCATION: Tokyo CATEGORY: POLITICS/LAW SHOTLIST: 1. various of Japan's Foreign Ministry in Tokyo 2. various of the meeting at Japan's Foreign Ministry in Tokyo 3. SOUNDBITE (Japanese): KATSUTOSHI TOYAMA, Okinawa lawmaker 4. various of Japan's Defense Ministry STORYLINE: A delegation of lawmakers from Japan's Okinawa Prefecture has called on the country's government to engage in peacebuilding through dialogue and diplomacy. In a resolution submitted to the Defense Ministry, the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Monday and Tuesday, the lawmakers also urged efforts to prevent the southernmost prefecture from becoming a battlefield again. Japan should not attempt to achieve deterrence by deploying missiles or other means to strengthen military power in the southwestern islands region, according to the resolution. Japan should follow the principles it reached w

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U.N. Security Council open debate

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (C in front row) chairs a U.N. Security Council open debate on the rule of law among nations at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Jan. 12, 2023.

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Princess Mako's boyfriend in New York

NEW YORK, United States, Aug. 13 Kyodo - Kei Komuro (R), boyfriend of Japanese Princess Mako, walks to attend law school at Fordham University in New York on Aug. 13, 2018.

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Kishida explains Japan's view of S. China Sea disputes to Laos

VIENTIANE, Laos, July 24 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L) meets with his Laotian counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith in Vientiane on July 24, 2016, on the sidelines of a series of regional meetings. Kishida conveyed Japan's stance and view of South China Sea disputes, calling for a peaceful resolution to rival territorial disputes in the area in compliance with international law.

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Tanizaki's letter to sister-in-law Shigeko

TOKYO, Japan - A letter written by renowned Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) to his sister-in-law Shigeko is seen in this photo taken in Tokyo on Nov. 25, 2014. A collection of letters including letters exchanged among Tanizaki, his wife Matsuko and Shigeko will be published in January 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of Tanizaki's death.

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Japan, Philippines support 'rule of law' at sea

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (R) shakes hands with his Filipino counterpart Albert del Rosario in Tokyo on Nov. 17, 2014. They agreed on the importance of the "rule of law" in relation to issues concerning the South China Sea and the East China Sea where China has intensified its maritime activities.

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Harboring terrorists punishable by up to 10 years in prison

TOKYO, Japan - The House of Councillors, the upper house of the Japanese parliament, passes a toughened law on preventing terrorism funding on Nov. 14, 2014 in Tokyo. The amended law makes harboring terrorists or supplying them with weapons punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

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'Mother' of gender equality law recalls background

TOKYO, Japan - Former Japanese education minister Ryoko Akamatsu, known as the "mother" of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, speaks about the background to the controversial legislation in Tokyo on Oct. 20, 2014.

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Japanese PM Abe attends Cabinet meeting

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heads to a Cabinet meeting at his office on Oct. 21, 2014, a day after two female ministers resigned. Justice Minister Midori Matsushima was accused of distributing free paper fans to voters in her district in possible violation of the election law, while Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yuko Obuchi was involved in a political funds scandal.