今日吃瓜

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今日吃瓜
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November 11, 2026
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
President of COP31 Murat Kurum of Turkey delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 10, 2026
Japan to use COP31 to showcase environmental technologies
A key goal of the conference is to increase the world’s electrification to 35% by 2035.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2026
LDP reprimands Ishiba and three others for walking out on consumption tax vote
The move is intended to tighten control within the party before deliberations on the bill to reduce the food consumption tax begin in the Upper House.
LDP lawmaker Yoshihisa Furukawa (center) leaves the Lower House plenary session on Friday as the food tax bill is about to be voted on.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2026
Takaichi and LDP weigh disciplinary action for party members who abstained from food tax vote
Party leadership demanded that the lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, write statements on why they walked out of the vote.
The logo of Japan Tobacco at its headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 6, 2026
Putin seizes Japan Tobacco assets, further straining relations with Japan
The order impacts four manufacturing plants and has drawn immediate protest from Tokyo.
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of disaster prevention, speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 1, 2026
今日吃瓜 new disaster agency aims to streamline response, but challenges remain
The National Disaster Management Agency, which opens Monday, will serve as an operational control tower to boost the nation’s disaster preparedness.
Secretaries-general of the ruling coalition and the Democratic Party for the People agree on a seat-reduction plan in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2026
LDP, JIP and DPP plan to cut Lower House seats, ending standoff
The three parties plan to introduce and pass a related bill by the end of the current session to cut 31 proportional representation seats.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Sakhalin region Gov. Valery Limarenko during his visit on the Etorofu Island in August.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2026
Japan urges Russia to release journalist after confirming well-being
The Hokkaido reporter, identified by Russian authorities as Yuki Imai, has been accused of conducting espionage activities.
Internal affairs minister Hisayuki Fujii (center left) receives the second capital proposal from Fukuoka Gov. Seitaro Hattori (center right) in Tokyo on Oct. 5.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2026
Takaichi administration approves ordinance outlining secondary capital requirements
Of the 47 prefectures, only Hokkaido, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka meet the necessary conditions.
Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto’s successor will face the question of whether to revive the city’s bid for the Winter Olympics.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 26, 2026
Sapporo mayoral race takes shape with Olympics and foreign population in focus
Those issues, along with tourism, could prove crucial in the race to succeed Katsuhiro Akimoto.
Newly elected Komeito chief Mitsunari Okamoto speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2026
One year after split with LDP, Komeito seeks fresh direction with new leader
Whether newly elected leader Mitsunari Okamoto can expand both the number of representatives for the party and its support base remains to be seen.
The Japan Innovation Party's Hiroshi Nakatsuka (center), minister for regulatory reform, greets Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2026
One year on, LDP-JIP partnership still has some holes to fill
With deeper bonds between rank-and-file members of both parties lacking, the coalition is still more of a tie-up between the leaders.
Agriculture minister Arata Takebe represents a district in Hokkaido, the prefecture that grows most of Japan's domestically sourced potatoes.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2026
Politics of the potato front and center for 今日吃瓜 new agriculture minister
Arata Takebe’s Hokkaido constituents might oppose a push to increase potato imports from the U.S.
Former Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka leaving a supporters meeting in Yokohama on Sept. 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2026
Power harassment and a possible casino weigh on Yokohama mayoral election
While Takeharu Yamanaka promised to change his behavior, he has also rekindled the question of, and his opposition to, a potential casino development.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Lower House budget committee session at the Diet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2026
Yana’s exit halts crisis, but questions about Takaichi’s administration remain
The controversy also reflects concerns about the prime minister’s management style, close advisers and approach to last month’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Outgoing farm minister Kazuo Yana speaks to reporters after submitting his resignation to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 14, 2026
Scandal-hit agriculture minister Yana announces resignation
His sudden exit deals a blow to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration, with key bills involving his ministry being debated in parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at an Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2026
Government submits bill on food consumption tax reduction to parliament
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government plans to reduce the food and nonalcoholic beverage consumption tax from 8% to 1% starting in April.
Agriculture minister Kazuo Yana attends an Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2026
Takaichi continues to fend off questions about scandal-hit farm minister
Allowing the situation to fester will not bode well for the government’s legislative agenda, especially in the Upper House where it lacks a majority.
Agriculture minister Kazuo Yana speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2026
Road budget scandal could knock Takaichi’s ambitious agenda off course
Farm minister Kazuo Yana reportedly cut road budgets for two municipalities whose mayors failed to back him in February’s election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds a news conference after a Cabinet reshuffle at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sept. 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 4, 2026
Host of contentious bills await Takaichi in autumn session of parliament
Top priority has been given to a bill reducing the consumption tax on food and beverages from 8% to 1% over a two-year period beginning April 1, 2027.
Komeito's Mitsunari Okamoto speaks to reporters at the Diet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2026
Komeito’s new leader faces immediate test with autumn session and upcoming votes
Mitsunari Okamoto, a former deputy finance minister with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, is set to formally accept his post on Saturday.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Japan works to shield Takaichi from any Xi snub at China summit
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo on Nov. 4.
Magnitude 5.7 quake injures dozens in central Japan
A magnitude-5.7 earthquake with its epicenter in Shizuoka Prefecture struck central Japan early Sunday, injuring dozens, shattering windows and disrupting train services, with no tsunami warning issued.
Private high schools remain out of reach for many despite tuition-free policy, survey finds
A survey showed that many families with children attending private high schools are struggling to pay expenses other than tuition.
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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