Sanae Takaichi
Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan since 2025
Photo: 外務省 (MOFA), CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- 17h ago
Takaichi apologizes over Yana exit as makeup remarks spark gender debate
Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi told the Senate on Friday, 16 October, that she regrets appointing former agriculture minister Kazuo Yana. Her separate remarks that makeup and chores add hours to her workday have set off a debate on gender roles.
- 4d ago
Japan denies espionage as Russia holds Hokkaido Shimbun reporter Yuki Imai
Tokyo has rejected Russia's espionage accusation against a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter detained in Sakhalin. Moscow's ambassador also turned down Japan's requests for information and humanitarian consideration.
- Oct 5
Sanae Takaichi calls China an important neighbour in policy speech to Japan's Diet
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to build stable ties with China while asserting national positions, and promised a year-end demographic strategy as Japan's domestic population fell below 120 million.
- Oct 4
US forces face Okinawa curfew after Marine arrested over woman's murder
US military commanders ordered a 30-day curfew and a 48-hour alcohol ban for personnel in Okinawa after the arrest of a 20-year-old Marine suspected of killing a local woman in Naha.
- Oct 3
Japan sanctions 35 Russian shadow fleet oil tankers and explores Patriot missile aid
Tokyo imposed permit rules on 35 oil tankers and froze assets of 33 Russian organizations, while preparing talks on sending Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine.
- Oct 1
Japan raises permanent residency fees to 200,000 yen and tightens income rules
The Japanese government increased permanent residency fees from 6,000 to 200,000 yen on Thursday while introducing strict income thresholds and upcoming language tests for foreign applicants.
- Sep 21
Typhoon Dujuan leaves nine dead and four missing in eastern Japan as storm moves out to sea
Typhoon Dujuan caused fatal landslides and widespread flooding across the Kanto region, cutting electricity to 58,000 homes and forcing 1.9 million people to evacuate before moving into the Pacific.
- Sep 21
Trump weighs military strike or deal with Iran ahead of UN General Assembly
US President Donald Trump stated he is deciding between military strikes, economic pressure, or a deal with Tehran, while expressing openness to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York.
- Sep 20
North Korea launches two projectiles into Sea of Japan after rejecting UN nuclear resolution
North Korea fired two projectiles from Wonsan into waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone on Sunday, prompting South Korea to convene an emergency security council.
- Sep 17
Sanae Takaichi reshuffles Japan's Cabinet while retaining key economic and defense ministers
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi kept her top diplomatic, defense, and economic chiefs in office on Thursday while adding coalition ally Hiroshi Nakatsuka to the Cabinet to advance government reforms.
- Sep 14
Conservative Genta Koja Wins Okinawa Governor Race, Defeating Incumbent Denny Tamaki
Former Naha deputy mayor Genta Koja defeated two-term incumbent Denny Tamaki in Sunday's election, returning conservative leadership to Okinawa for the first time in 12 years as the central government advances base relocation plans.
- Sep 5
Giorgia Meloni sets Italian post-war longevity record with 1,413 days in power
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni surpassed Silvio Berlusconi to lead the longest continuous administration in post-war Italy, marking 1,413 days in office on Friday.
- Aug 24
France and Saudi Arabia agree on €6 billion theme park project near Paris
France and Saudi Arabia have agreed to build a 6 billion euro amusement park complex near Cergy-Pontoise featuring a Dragon Ball Z park and 22,000 projected jobs.
- Aug 23
Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes eastern Japan, injuring 37 across Tokyo region
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck southern Ibaraki Prefecture early Sunday, shaking Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, injuring at least 37 people and delaying regional rail services.
- Aug 21
Japan executes pachinko arsonist Sunao Takami in first hanging under Sanae Takaichi
Japan executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami on Friday morning for a 2009 Osaka pachinko parlour arson attack that killed five people, marking the country's first hanging under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
- Aug 18
US imposes sanctions on ICC leadership as President Tomoko Akane warns of threat to global legal order
Washington placed asset freezes and travel bans on ICC President Tomoko Akane and Deputy Prosecutor Abdoulaye Seye, drawing criticism from the UN, EU, Japan, and Senegal.
- Aug 15
Japan ministers visit Yasukuni Shrine on war anniversary, China lodges formal protest
Four Japanese cabinet ministers visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on the 81st anniversary of Japan's WWII surrender, prompting China to lodge a formal protest as Prime Minister Takaichi sent a cash offering instead of visiting.
- Aug 14
Putin makes first presidential visit to disputed Kuril Islands, triggering diplomatic protests from Japan and US backing
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first presidential visit to the disputed Kuril Islands on August 13, drawing strong protests from Tokyo and a US endorsement of Japan's sovereignty claim over the archipelago.
- Aug 13
Putin visits disputed Kuril island of Iturup, triggering diplomatic crisis with Japan
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed island of Iturup in the southern Kuriles on August 13, drawing fierce protests from Tokyo and a US rebuke in the first such visit since 2010.
- Aug 11
Australian PM Albanese rejects apology demand over melon joke about Japan's Takaichi
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is refusing to apologise for comments about a gift of Japanese crown melons from PM Sanae Takaichi, after former ambassador Shingo Yamagami called the remarks a sexist joke that damaged bilateral ties.
