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November 06, 2025
 

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LOWER HOUSE

Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2017
'Japan's Macron' Shinjiro Koizumi in the spotlight ahead of Cabinet shake-up
He's young, good-looking and the media call him "Japan's Macron," so it is little surprise that lawmakers say Shinjiro Koizumi may be offered a post when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffles his Cabinet next month in a bid to revive his public support, which is now sagging.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2017
Overhaul of sex crime laws receives broad support
The nation took the first significant step in more than a century Wednesday toward revamping its outdated sex crime laws with a Lower House committee's unanimous passing of a package of amendments.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2017
Lawmakers ram conspiracy bill through Lower House as U.N. expert slams Tokyo
As the bill moved forward, a heated war of words broke out between Tokyo and a United Nations expert on privacy.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2017
Ruling bloc shoves conspiracy bill through Lower House judiciary panel
A contentious conspiracy bill criticized for its Orwellian implications begins a weakly opposed journey through the Lower House, driven by the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc.
JAPAN / Politics
May 18, 2017
No-confidence vote falters, paving way for conspiracy bill to be rammed through Lower House
The no-confidence motion against Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda was delaying the controversial conspiracy bill, which will likely be rammed through the powerful Lower House next week.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jan 15, 2017
Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet
When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence on Jan. 20, let's look...
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2016
Lawmakers aim to enact bill to legalize casinos by Dec. 14
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party resumes Lower House committee deliberations on the long-stalled, controversial legislation.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2016
Diet panel resumes talks on amending Constitution
Thursday's debate by the panel zeroed in on the long-standing assertion by conservative forces that Japan's supreme law was “imposed” by the Allied Powers.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2016
Ruling bloc rams TPP bill through committee
The ruling coalition steamrolls a TPP ratification bill through the Lower House Trans-Pacific Partnership panel, infuriating opposition lawmakers and sparking chaos in the Diet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2016
Busy 2017 schedule fuels rumors of snap Lower House election in January
Speculation gained momentum after Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, urged his peers to brace for a possible new year poll.
JAPAN
May 24, 2016
Diet passes legislation to revamp Japan's criminal justice system
New legislation increases video recording of interrogations, expands the reach of the wiretap law and introduces plea bargains.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2016
Lower House approves record ¥96.7 trillion budget
The Lower House passes a record budget, marking a turning point in Diet deliberations in which the ruling and opposition camps will switch attention to the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 29, 2016
Lower House ready to pass record ¥96.7 trillion draft budget
The Lower House is set to pass the government's fiscal 2016 budget proposals Tuesday, making enactment of the record draft totaling ¥96.7 trillion all but certain.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2016
Lawmakers can't break logjam over Japan's unequal voting districts
One month after an expert panel proposed key electoral reforms to correct wide vote-value disparities between urban and less-populated areas, major political parties remain divided on the issue.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 19, 2016
Abe eschews further delays, vows to cut 10 Lower House seats in line with census
The prime minister pledges to slash 10 seats in the Diet's House of Representatives sooner than his LDP party has proposed.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 4, 2015
The Supreme Court and the state of unconstitutionality
Do we want the Supreme Court to violate the Constitution by allowing illegally elected politicians to stay in office, or do we want something closer to real democracy?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 25, 2015
Supreme Court says December election 'in state of unconstitutionality,' but won't nullify results
The top court decides that the last Lower House election was borderline unconstitutional due to the high level of vote-value disparities among constituencies.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 27, 2015
Ex-LDP lawmaker Takaya Muto involved in sex scandal: report
Takaya Muto, a Lower House member who quit the Liberal Democratic Party over an alleged money scandal last week, has engaged in sexual intercourse with a 19-year-old male prostitute repeatedly since last November, the latest issue of weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reported.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2015
Lawmaker Takaya Muto denies involvement in stock fraud, says he won't resign
Embattled Lower House lawmaker Takaya Muto on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that he was involved in investment fraud and said he had no plans to resign from the Diet.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2015
Upper House vote reform falls short
The recent changes to the Upper House districts fall far short of addressing in a meaningful way the disparity in vote values.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo
Takaichi leads first ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign residents
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign nationals and immigration on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumps 4%, led by losses in tech sector
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average index briefly tumbled more than 2,000 points on Wednesday morning following a downbeat session on Wall Street fueled by fears of a bubble in the artificial intelligence sector.
A narrow Pacific waterway at heart of U.S. plans to choke China’s vast navy
Philippine and Australian troops fire an M777 howitzer during live fire exercises as part of joint military drills in Laur, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines, in August.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo
Young Indonesians in Japan find their political voice
Indonesian students at Hiroshima University hold posters of the 17+8 Demands, demanding transparency and action from their homeland’s government.
The unstoppable rise of konbini tourism
Guests typically follow Ryo Ito’s lead as he weaves through the narrow, colorful aisles of convenience stores.

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

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