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The Japanese government on Monday demanded explanations from China after Xue Jian, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, threatened to “cut” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “dirty neck.” Xue, in a now deleted social media post on X (formerly Twitter), reportedly threatened Takaichi over remarks recently issued by the prime minister regarding Taiwan. According to the Tokyo Weekender, the Chinese diplomat’s message read, “We have no choice but to cut off that dirty neck that has lunged at us without a moment’s hesitation. Are you ready?” The now-deleted social media post included a link to a news article covering comments made...

Japan is still in many ways a traditionalist – not to say a sexist – society. But the times they are a changing, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have just chosen Sanae Takaichi as its leader, which means that she will become the country’s first ever female Prime Minister, and it’s most stridently right-wing one. Takaichi, 64, revels in the nickname the “Iron Lady” and is a hardline patriotic right-winger who is an avowed admirer of the original Iron Lady – Britain’s Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who Takaichi has cited as her role model. She was elected...

Sanae Takaichi, who is likely to become Japan's first female prime minister, is a conservative politician who has hailed former U.K. premier Margaret Thatcher and once worked in the U.S. Congress. On Saturday, Takaichi was elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following a runoff vote. Why It Matters If confirmed by parliament, Takaichi will become Japan's fifth prime minister in five years and the first woman to hold the office in the country's history. Her policies have included a tough stance on immigration, and as the head of government, she would have to navigate domestic and economic...

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Saturday by defeating farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff vote, paving the way for her to become Japan's first female prime minister.

The government of Japan this week extended the application of nine laws related to spousal rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples, a significant, if limited, victory in the country’s slow march towards marriage equality. The Japanese constitution currently defines marriage as “mutual consent between both sexes.” It does not recognize same-sex unions. Three of eight of Japan’s regional high courts in the last few years have ruled that the government’s failure to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples is unconstitutional. In its Tuesday announcement, the government said it will consider same-sex couples to be in “de facto marriages” under the...

Japan’s next Prime Minister could shape the region’s future.On October 4, 2025, Japan will choose its fourth prime minister in five years, since Shigeru Ishiba resigned after only a year in office due to internal pressures within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Although leadership changes in a parliamentary system are common, the process comes at a time of economic uncertainty and social transformations in Japanese society, which are paired with increasing geopolitical tensions around the Asia–Pacific region. As a Latin-American who lived in Japan during COVID-19, I find myself pondering on the implications of Shinzo Abe’s assassination, the rise of...

Global debt hit a record high of $337.7 trillion at the end of the second quarter, driven by easing global financial conditions, a softer U.S. dollar and a more accommodative stance from major central banks, a quarterly report showed on Thursday. The Institute of International Finance, a financial services trade group, said that global debt rose over $21 trillion in the first half of the year to $337.7 trillion. China, France, the United States, Germany, Britain, and Japan recorded the largest increases in debt levels in U.S. dollar terms, though some of that was due to a waning dollar, the...

The vast majority of Japan’s centenarians are women. Japan has hit a record high in the number of people aged 100 or older, according to new data. It’s the 55th year in a row that Japan, renowned for its longevity, has reached this milestone. As of 1 September, the country had 99,763 centenarians, up 4,644 from the previous year, Japanese media reported. The vast majority – about 88 per cent – of them are women. Japan’s oldest woman is 114-year-old Kagawa Shigeko, and its oldest man is 111-year-old Mizuno Kiyotaka, national media said. The government began recording the number of...