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August 30, 2025
 

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CONSTITUTION

A peace rally on Constitution Memorial Day in Tokyo on May 3. Japan’s identity as a pacifist nation is shifting as the government strengthens its military, but many don’t agree with the policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2024
Government and society are at odds on national security
Tokyo posits itself as a mutual defense ally of the U.S., but polls show that while the public wants a stronger military, changes should align with the peace Constitution.
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
Lawmakers are instead focusing their attention on reviewing the political funds control law in the wake of the LDP's slush funds scandal.
Two plaintiffs filed a lawsuit with Osaka District Court in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2024
Death-row inmates' lawsuit targeting same-day notifications of executions dismissed
The judge said the plaintiffs' social standing — being death row inmates — doesn't allow them to avoid execution when they are notified.
A boy watches Self-Defense Forces live-fire drills in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2017. Japan’s defense posture is shifting, as the government’s recent approval of new arms export regulations signals.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2024
Is Japan leaving pacifism behind?
How a previous generation of Japanese leaders, those who made defense budget and arms export limits a national credo, would view the current shift.
Japan’s Cabinet agreed to ease defense export rules for the nation’s next-generation fighter jet, a concept model of which is seen on display here at a defense show in Chiba in March 2023.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2024
Japan greenlights its defense industry
The government's steps on easing defense export rules will allow Japanese companies to participate more fully in the global market for defense equipment.
Plaintiffs, lawyers and supporters march to the Tokyo District Court on Nov. 30, the same day the court ruled that Japan’s lack of legal protections for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 27, 2023
Japan's 'failed' same-sex marriage lawsuits can still propel reform
Even unsuccessful cases challenging Japan’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage have gotten courts to acknowledge a constitutional problem.
Sept. 7, 1998
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Sep 4, 2023
Japan Times 1923: Foreigners leave; destroyers are here
When a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Kanto on Sept. 1 a century ago, The Japan Times resorted to daily bulletins before returning to normal on the 17th.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2023
Would gender quotas for lawmakers work in Japan?
Experts both at home and abroad say quotas are the fastest way to achieve gender equality in politics, but there are many factors at play, both legally and culturally.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2023
Uncertainty hangs over Kishida's ability to deliver constitutional reform
Kishida is lacking the political capital to push forward with the very challenging topic, due to dismal public support for his Cabinet.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2023
LDP seeks to drive wedge into CDP-Nippon Ishin collaboration
With unified local elections and by-elections for the House of Representatives slated to be held in April, the tug-of-war between the ruling and opposition camps is likely to intensify.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2023
A plea and a promise for 2023: No more ‘pacifism’
The characterization of Japan as a “pacifist” country is widespread — and very misleading.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2022
Is Japan’s counterstrike capability a departure from its post-WWII pacifism?
What is the future of Japan's defense-oriented security posture amid growing military threats and a worsening geopolitical environment?
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2022
Japan charts a new course on national security
Japan is looking at new strategies and a fundamental shift in its thinking about national defense.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 23, 2022
Can Japan at last do away with its 'postwar' mindset?
The time has come for pacifist Japan to fundamentally change its security strategy to reflect a changing world and new challenges and threats.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 4, 2022
Fifth court finds Upper House poll was held in state of unconstitutionality
The maximum gap of 3.03 times represented a 'striking inequality' serious enough to raise the issue of unconstitutionality, a Miyazaki court said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2022
Japan's pro-constitutional reform parties struggle to get on the same page
The four parties remain apart in their positions on not only the top issue of amending the war-renouncing Article 9 but also on less controversial items.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2022
Kishida risks political fight with vow to take up Abe’s legacy
Any change to the country's pacifist Constitution is likely years away, even though the ruling coalition won enough seats in the July 10 Upper House election to start the process.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 11, 2022
Constitutional revision inches closer in Japan, but actual change still far off
Divisions over what aspects to revise and more pressing political issues for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could delay change to the top law.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2022
LDP targets ‘counterstrike capability’ for first time in campaign platform
The shift comes amid growing concerns related to Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang, but critics say it deviates from Japan's traditional defense-oriented policy.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 2, 2022
Ukraine war pushes revision of Japan's Constitution into the spotlight
With more LDP lawmakers calling for changes and the public taking a greater interest in the issue, Kishida has been forced to address the topic ahead of July's Upper House election.
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
In pictures: Koenji Awa Odori 2025
Japan Times
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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