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Tokyo Report
The 2-Level Game in Japan’s Agriculture Trade Negotiations
By Zhuoran Li
The Japanese agriculture sector has a long history of obstructing international trade talks.
Japan, Philippines Agree to Intensify Defense Cooperation
By Takahashi Kosuke
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Manila saw the continued expansion of Japan-Philippines military cooperation.
RIP FOIP? Examining Japan’s New Foreign Policy Mantra
By Kei Hakata
What to make of Prime Minister Kishida’s repeated calls for a “free and open international order based on the rule of law”?
Can Japan Thread the Needle on the Israel-Hamas Conflict?
By William M.Z. Fujii
The geopolitical picture increasingly resembles that of 1973 – a traumatic experience that Japan wants to avoid reliving.
Japan’s Catch-22 Situation Over the Israel-Hamas War
By Takahashi Kosuke
Tokyo is caught between a diplomatic rock and an economic hard place.
Japan’s Top Court Strikes Down Required Sterilization Surgery to Officially Change Gender
By Mari Yamaguchi
The ruling does not address the constitutionality of requiring gender-transition surgery in general to obtain a state-sanctioned gender change.
Japan’s Fishing Sector Struggles After China Seafood Ban
By Thisanka Siripala
Japan is ramping up efforts to counter China’s seafood ban amid the controversial wastewater release from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Can Kishida Turn the LDP Into a Friend of Labor?
By Jio Kamata
The LDP is hoping to capitalize on rifts within the Japanese Trade Union Confederation and the opposition ranks.
What Next for Japan’s Digital Agency After the My Number Misfire?
By Luke Cavanaugh
As the cliché in digital government goes, technology is almost the least important indicator of success in the space.
Japan’s Government Will Seek to Revoke Legal Status of Unification Church
By Mari Yamaguchi
Decades of cozy ties between the church and Japan’s ruling party, revealed in the investigation of Abe’s 2022 assassination, have triggered public outrage.
Japan Announces Economic Stimulus to Combat Cost of Living Crisis
By Thisanka Siripala
Japan’s escalating consumer inflation is compounded by stagnant wages and a sliding yen.
Japan’s New Cabinet Has a Record Number of Women. So What?
By Soyoung Kim
A “record” of five women out of 19 ministers, most from political dynasties, is hardly something to celebrate.