Japan’s recent political milestone—the election and re-election of Takaichi Sanae as Prime Minister—has drawn fresh attention to gender inequality in Japanese society. Yet one dimension of this inequa...

Newly introduced visa restrictions in Japan pose a major threat to beloved, migrant-run restaurants.

The recent escalation of tensions around Iran and renewed instability in the Strait of Hormuz have exposed Japan’s energy import vulnerabilities with particular clarity. Around 90 to 95 percent of Jap...

Forgotten philosopher and political prisoner Tosaka Jun (1900-1945) can help us understand the discourse of Japan's

The Liberal Democratic Party’s absolute majority in the House of Representatives under the leadership of PM Takaichi Sanae, and the 15 seats won by the anti-immigration party Sanseitō, mark another st...

Following her decisive Lower House victory, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae signaled plans to devote greater resources to strengthening Japan’s defense posture. Given the Liberal Democratic Party’s newf...

A December 2025 report by the Mainichi Shimbun revealed that Japan’s Ministry of Education had not included graduates of special-needs schools in its official count of the “18-year-old population,” a ...

The biggest surprise in an already difficult-to-predict election has been the merger of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and the ruling party’s former coalition partner Komeito into ...

Japan is confronting mounting concerns over child safety, as data from education and police authorities point to record levels of school refusal, a rise in serious bullying cases, continued disciplina...

The new year has kicked off with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi calling a general election to “ask the sovereign people to decide” whether to support her and the new Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-Japa...

Recent public debate in Japan has grown markedly more heated around foreign crime, driven in part by political rhetoric, rising arrests of non-Japanese individuals, and proposals by governing party fa...

Tokyo Review invited me to take a critical look at an essay I published in Foreign Policy thirty years ago, when I was a junior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. In that piece, ambitiously titled...

As Japan faces demographic decline and a shrinking research workforce, securing the next generation of researchers has become a matter of national urgency. Financially stable doctoral programs are ess...

“Without a doubt.” When I asked my father whether Toyota had changed our hometown, he was unequivocal. A day-one employee at what became Toyota’s largest global manufacturing hub, he spent more than 2...

A specter is haunting local governance in Japan—the specter of the attention economy. Municipal officials, whose daily work usually revolves around routine community services, now find themselves conf...

The adult world glimpsed through—or better yet, juxtaposed with—children’s eyes is brutally honest. What is it about grandparent-grandchild relationships? They might be affectionate together but barel...

Just last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) published a report that indicated a decrease in “core agricultural workers,” falling by over half to a new low of 1.1 million...

Japan’s new government under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and its partnership with the populist Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), raises significant...

The question of ego might be best answered in the portrayal of one’s (imaginary) nemesis. During their stage greeting at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, director Nakano Ryōta lauded actor ...

Taiwan is back at the center of Sino-Japanese relations after Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae told the Diet last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Ja...

As Japan’s far-right gains political and ideological force, can the center hold? It is a familiar question, one that is now rapidly gaining salience after Takaichi Sanae was elected leader of the Libe...

For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Japan faced persistently high suicide rates. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, annual suicides exceeded 30,000 for 14 consecu...

Japanese politics has hit a major inflection point.  Takaichi Sanae has become the first woman to be named prime minister. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) over two decades-long coalition w...

Itō Shiori, the Japanese #MeToo trailblazer who regrettably never was A conspiracy-thriller-adjacent documentary of her 8-year journey as a sexual assault survivor, Itō Shiori’s Black Box Diaries (202...

Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” (パートナーシップ制度) to recognize LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed...

In July 2025, Sanseitō (a.k.a. The Party of DIY !!) became the first far-right political party in postwar history to establish a stable presence in both Houses of the National Diet. With the party’s f...

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s decision to move Japan’s defense-spending target of two percent of GDP two years earlier—from fiscal 2027 to the current fiscal year—is more than a headline. It reflect...

When Tokyo Review was founded eight years ago, its founders had two goals. The first was to elevate the standard of analysis on Japan-related issues for an English-speaking audience. That goal remains...

Faced with losing its majority in both Houses of the Diet, the LDP may need new partners to allow stable governance - with even a coalition with the main opposition party being on the table.

Japan's ruling coalition has lost its majority - with difficult negotiations among potential governing partners on the horizon, who are the winners and losers of this week's election?

Japanese and U.S. voters going to the polls this month won't think much about each other - but both choices will be hugely consequential for the future of Japan's security and trading alliances.

With newly appointed leader Ishiba Shigeru facing down strident opposition from the LDP's conservative wing, this week's General Election will be crucial in deciding how Abe's legacy will influence th...

New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has been far more positive on LGBT rights than any of his LDP predecessors - but activists are cautious on the prospects for major reforms.

New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has announced his intention to hold a snap general election: here's how that will work and what to expect.

On September 27, the Liberal Democratic Party will elect a new leader - who will become Japan's next Prime Minister and lead the party into an upcoming election.

The Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) is voting for a new leader - but three of the four candidates already led the opposition in the past, raising questions about why the party seems to lack a ne...