Tag - foreign-ministry

 
Menu
Search
 
July 02, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

FOREIGN MINISTRY

Eighteen officials have been certified to be eligible to handle critical economic security information, with those results included in a draft of the government's upcoming report on economic security information.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Japan clears 18 officials to handle economic security info
The personnel were qualified under the security clearance assessment system based on the law, which was enacted in May 2024.
All Japan-linked vessels ​carrying ‌Japanese crew members have now evacuated the Gulf, Japan's Foreign Ministry ‌said.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2026
Japan-owned vessel passed through Strait of Hormuz on Friday
All Japan-linked vessels ​carrying ‌Japanese crew members have now evacuated the Gulf, the Foreign Ministry said.
Japan fans watch Samurai Blue's training session in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 9, 2026
Japan launches heightened safety campaign for citizens traveling to World Cup
Japan’s Foreign Ministry decided to implement unprecedented safety measures due to anticipated confusion related to the tournament being hosted by multiple countries.
Russia's Ministry of Economic Development in Moscow
JAPAN
May 28, 2026
Japanese officials visit Russia to discuss business environment amid war
Economic cooperation between the two countries has significantly stalled since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A booklet released by the Foreign Ministry in partnership with the Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook
JAPAN
May 18, 2026
Japan taps popular travel guide to promote overseas development assistance
The newly released booklet shows bridges and railways built with Japan’s contributions as well as historic World Heritage Sites preserved and restored with such support.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi receives a policy recommendation document from Takayuki Kobayashi (center left), head of the Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for Intelligence Strategy, in March at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 14, 2026
Government ramps up push to enhance intelligence capabilities
As a first step, the government plans to establish a national intelligence bureau as early as July.
At a plenary session on Friday, the House of Councilors passed a bill cutting application fees for 10-year passports to ¥8,900 for online applications and to ¥9,300 for in-person applications.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2026
Japanese passport fees going down to ¥9,000 in July
Under the revised passport law, which takes effect on July 1, adult Japanese nationals aged at least 18 can apply for passports valid for 10 years only.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi speaks during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2026
Japan lowers view of China relations amid tension over Taiwan
Japan referred to China as “an important neighbor” after describing Tokyo-Beijing ties as “one of the most important bilateral relations” in the 2025 iteration of a key report.
U.S. service members conduct early morning security rounds at the Cryptologic Operations Center in Misawa, Japan. Japan needs its own central agency to integrate signal and human intelligence, as well as open-source and cyber data, to produce actionable analysis.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2026
Japan’s intelligence overhaul is overdue, not ominous
Japan’s planned reforms would upgrade the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO) into a national intelligence bureau.
Japan’s tonal shift about China is likely less a dramatic shift in Tokyo’s approach to Beijing, and more of a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2026
Japan’s change of China’s description is not a ‘significant shift’
Tokyo’s adjusted phrasing is likely more a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
Japan's relationship with China has been on a downward trend since November.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Japan to drop ‘most important’ tag for China ties
The 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook will describe China as an important neighbor and the relationship as “strategic” and “mutually beneficial.”
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi delivers a speech during the House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s push to mediate conflicts meets familiar limits
Tokyo’s past efforts to broker peace have had mixed results, and questions remain about how Japan will handle the Iran war.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi responds to questions during a budget committee session of the House of Representatives at parliament in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2026
Japanese panel begins talks on improving development aid
The panel of 10 specialists on areas including development policy will discuss ways to strengthen the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
A Self-Defense Forces transport plane departs for the Maldives at Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture early Sunday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2026
In Iran conflict, Japan shows improved evacuation readiness
Japan’s response underscores both Tokyo’s growing security role overseas and the diplomatic balancing act between Washington and Gulf states hosting Japanese nationals.
Members of the Air Self-Defense Force board an SDF transport plane bound for the Maldives at Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture early Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2026
SDF aircraft on standby in Maldives to support evacuation mission
The SDF plane will stand ready at an airport in the Indian Ocean island nation to respond to unforeseen circumstances.
A member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army stands as the strategic strike group displays DF-5C nuclear-capable missiles during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing last September.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2026
U.S. and Japan discuss China’s ‘destabilizing’ nuclear buildup and testing
The allies’ Extended Deterrence Dialogue came amid growing tensions with China over Beijing’s push to expand and modernize its nuclear arsenal — an issue broached at the talks.
Japan's Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa (left) shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao after a meeting in Beijing in October 2011.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2026
Uichiro Niwa, former Itochu president and envoy to China, dies at 86
Niwa was the first Japanese ambassador to China from the private sector since the 1972 diplomatic normalization between the two nations.
Chinese ground forces conduct long-range live-fire drills targeting waters south of Taiwan, at an undisclosed location in this screenshot from a video released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2025
Japan says Chinese military exercises around Taiwan ‘increase tensions’
Tokyo joined Australia and several European nations in conveying concern to Beijing over the large-scale drills as Taipei remained on high alert. 
Rescue boats provided by Japan to Malaysia under the official security assistance program
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2025
Japan to expand military aid as OSA budget more than doubles
The Cabinet agreed on a 125% — or ¥10 billion — year-on-year increase in military aid funding, raising the budget to ¥18.1 billion ($116 million) for fiscal 2026.
Former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa is interviewed in Tokyo on Dec. 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2025
Japan faced tough U.S. demands in 1994 North Korea nuke crisis
U.S. congressional heavyweights openly expressed frustration when they met with the visiting Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER