Prime Minister Takaichi’s First Visit Home Since Taking Office

TOKYO, Jan 13 (News On Japan) - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in Nara on January 12th ahead of a Japan-South Korea summit scheduled for the following day, marking her first visit to her home region since taking office.

After landing at Itami Airport shortly after 1 p.m. on January 12th, Takaichi traveled to a cemetery in Nara City, where she paid respects at her family’s ancestral grave. She later visited another cemetery in the city to lay flowers at a memorial for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot in Nara City four years ago. It was the first time since becoming prime minister that Takaichi had returned to her hometown.

At around 3:55 p.m., a vehicle carrying Takaichi arrived at a hotel in Nara City, according to a local television reporter observing the scene.

On January 13th, Takaichi is scheduled to hold talks at the Nara City hotel with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. Security has been tightened in the surrounding area, with investigators saying several thousand personnel, including reinforcements from across the country, have been deployed. Traffic restrictions are also expected on some expressways not only in Nara Prefecture but also in neighboring Osaka Prefecture on January 13th and 14th.

Source: YOMIURI

Six Students Taken to Hospital After Eating Overly Salty Pizza

Six junior high school students were taken to hospital after falling ill from eating pizza made during a home economics class in Kitakyushu last month, with officials suspecting the cause to be an excessive amount of salt added to the dough.

Osaka Fraud Losses Top 33.9 Billion Yen as Police-Impersonation Scams Surge

Losses from special fraud and SNS-based investment and romance scams in Osaka Prefecture over the past year exceeded 33.9 billion yen, marking a record high.

Japan Supplies Generators to Ukraine

A ceremony was held in Kyiv on February 11th where the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) presented generators to Ukraine as the country grapples with worsening electricity shortages following Russian attacks on energy facilities, with citizens struggling to endure severe winter conditions and international assistance for power infrastructure continuing to grow.

Water Supply Disruptions Continue in Hakone

A renewed water outage struck Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture after supplies briefly resumed on February 11th morning, with authorities reinstating water restrictions from 9 p.m. as frozen pipes and low reservoir levels linked to an intense cold wave continued to disrupt supply across the region.

Japan’s Oldest Man Dies at 111

Kiyotaka Mizuno, the oldest man in Japan and the oldest resident in Shizuoka Prefecture, died of natural causes at his home in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, on February 8th at the age of 111, according to local authorities.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Politics NEWS

LDP Wins Overwhelming Victory in Lower House Election

Japan's 51st House of Representatives election was held on February 8 with ballots counted the same day, delivering a sweeping victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which significantly increased its strength from before the official campaign and secured more than two-thirds of the 465 seats in the chamber on its own, surpassing 310 seats and achieving a landslide win.

Immigration Debate Takes Center Stage in Japan's Lower House Election

With three days remaining until voting and ballot counting in the Lower House election, Saitama’s 2nd district centered on Kawaguchi City has drawn national attention as a frontline in Japan’s foreign resident policy debate, where multiple candidates are calling for stricter controls.

Election Highlights Local Childcare Policy

At a daycare center in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, where the proportion of foreign residents is particularly high, more than 30% of enrolled children hold foreign nationality, and foreign staff have become an indispensable part of daily operations, even as the question of how Japan should accept foreign residents has emerged as one of the key issues in the Lower House election.

Japan Divided Over Tighter Residency Controls as Foreign Workforce Swells

Foreign workers are now indispensable across Japan, from convenience stores and agriculture to nursing care, and with the House of Representatives election approaching, political parties are sharpening their positions on how the country should manage its rapidly growing foreign population.

China Urges Citizens to Avoid Traveling to Japan During Lunar New Year Holidays

China’s Foreign Ministry has urged Chinese citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday period, citing a rise in crimes targeting Chinese nationals and a series of earthquakes in parts of the country.

Japan Moves to Tighten Citizenship Rules

The government on January 23rd compiled a comprehensive set of measures after holding a ministerial meeting on foreign resident policy, stressing the need for “orderly coexistence.”

Seven Party Leaders Face Off On Live TV

With the House of Representatives election officially kicking off on January 27, seven party leaders appeared on Fuji TV’s “Sunday Report THE PRIME” to debate how quickly they could deliver the consumption tax cuts many are promising as a response to rising prices, along with the rationale for the snap dissolution and Japan’s security policy as tensions with China persist.

Japan Heads Into Snap Election

The Japanese government decided at a Cabinet meeting on January 23rd to dissolve the House of Representatives, with the Lower House set to be formally dissolved at a plenary session later in the day, effectively launching the election campaign.

< 2 3 4 5 >