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May 05, 2024
 

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COURTS​

Eri Nakaya, one of the plaintiffs who have appealed a high court ruling on same-sex marriage, speaks to reporters in Sapporo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2024
Same-sex couples appeal Sapporo court ruling rejecting compensation
The court upheld a verdict that said nonrecognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional but rejected a claim for damages totaling ¥6 million.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking damages for Minamata disease hold banners outside the Kumamoto District Court in the city of Kumamoto on Friday, criticizing the ruling as “unjust.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims
Across Japan, nearly 1,800 individuals have filed similar lawsuits, with 1,400 cases consolidated in the Kumamoto district court.
Shizuo Aishima's son speaks to reporters next to a photo of his father in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024
Ohkawara execs to file criminal complaint against Tokyo police
The complainant's lawyer said that the execs hope to kick-start an internal investigation into the department’s misconduct.
Masaaki Okawara (center) and other plaintiffs celebrate in December after the Tokyo District Court ruled that police and prosecutors had falsely accused them of illegally exporting spray dryers. But the civil suit continues as both sides have appealed the ruling.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2024
Japan's 'hostage justice system' faces renewed scrutiny
The long-criticized system has come under the spotlight as executives wrongly accused of a crime continue their legal battle.
People who sought an injunction to halt the No. 3 unit of Kansai Electric Power's Mihama power plant in Fukui Prefecture hold up signs about the Osaka High Court's ruling in Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan court allows aging Fukui nuclear reactor to continue operations
The reactor became the first of its kind to operate beyond 40 years under new rules that allowed for service extensions of up to 20 years.
Plaintiffs of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a ban on same-sex marriage and their supporters hold a banner calling for authorities to allow such unions in front of the Tokyo District Court on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Sapporo High Court rules
This is the first such ruling by a high court in Japan in favor of plaintiffs challenging the ban.
YouTuber and former Upper House member GaaSyy after his release on bail in September
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
YouTuber GaaSyy given suspended prison term for defaming celebrities
GaaSyy's acts seriously threatened the victims, the presiding judge said, causing them “enormous financial damage” through online hate.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mito Kakizawa was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison, suspended for five years, for an illegal campaign finance offense related to a Tokyo ward election in April last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ex-senior vice justice minister Mito Kakizawa found guilty of vote buying
"His criminal acts were malicious crimes and shook the people's confidence in the fairness of elections, which is the basis of democracy," the judge said.
A court sketch shows Satoru Nomura, head of the Kudokai crime syndicate (center), and Fumio Tanoue, the group's second-in-command (right), during their sentencing at the Fukuoka High Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2024
Death sentence overturned for Kudokai gang boss
The criminal mastermind remained expressionless and stared directly at the judge as it was announced that the death sentence had been overturned.
Plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit over Japan's separate surname rule head into the Tokyo District Court on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2024
Group files lawsuit over Japan law that mandates couples share a surname
Similar lawsuits have been filed before, but public opinion appears to be shifting in favor of allowing couples to have separate surnames.
A Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024
Government OKs bill to introduce joint custody after divorce
The bill would permit either sole custody or joint custody. A family court will intervene if there is a dispute.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024
A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan
Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
Located in Ehime Prefecture at the base of the Cape Sada Peninsula, the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant lies about 45 kilometers from the town of Saganoseki within the city of Oita.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Court rejects class action suit opposing nuclear plant in Ehime
Local residents in Oita, less than 50 kilometers from the facility, had called into question the safety of the plant during natural disasters.
Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, more commonly known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024
Japan panel OKs putting Unification Church under increased scrutiny
Once an organization is designated, it will be obliged to notify authorities of any disposal of its real estate assets at least one month in advance.
Judges at the Kyoto District Court hear a case involving Yoshikazu Okubo, a doctor accused of the consensual killing of a woman with a fatal neurological disease, on Jan. 11.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024
Japanese doctor given 18 years for consensual killing of ALS patient
Admitting to charges of commissioned murder, Yoshikazu Okubo had said that he "did it to fulfill (the patient's) wish."
The Cabinet approved a bill on Tuesday to provide a better support for victims of sex crimes and the bereaved families of murder victims.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2024
Japan to boost legal aid for crime victims and bereaved families
A new bill is designed to reduce the mental and financial burdens of victims and bereaved families.
Construction work for the relocation of the U.S. Marines Air Station Futenma is undertaken in the Henoko are of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2024
Top court nixes Okinawa governor's appeal against U.S. base landfill
The decision is likely to be seen as an endorsement for continued work at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation site in Nago.
Investigators at the site of the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a handmade gun in the city of Nara in July 2022
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2024
Japan bill would punish those who encourage unlawful gun ownership
The bill is also aimed at toughening requirements to qualify for possessing a so-called half-rifle hunting gun.
As people in the public gallery looked on at the Osaka High Court on Friday, lawyers for the appellant and respondent deliberated over evidence and confirmed the judgment date remotely.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 1, 2024
Osaka High Court pioneers remote legal proceedings
Lawyers representing parties in an appeal case joined the hearing via web conferencing to argue their cases.
Maurice Shelton (left) and his lawyer Motoki Taniguchi spoke about alleged racial bias on behalf of the police at a recent press conference.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Feb 29, 2024
Making Japanese history by being Black history
Three individuals have stepped up to try and make a difference in the country we live in. They should be applauded.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
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's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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