Nipponica

A Japanese high court on Wednesday approved an official gender change for a transgender woman who has not undergone confirmation surgery as legally required, in a rare decision.

The clause requiring gender confirmation surgery is "suspected of being unconstitutional" as it forces an individual to choose between undergoing surgery or giving up on gender change, the Hiroshima High Court said.

One more step. Also major props to all these Japanese courts that have been delivering similar ruling and pressuring the central government to act and legalized LGBT rights nationwide.

A record 56 people filed their candidacies for the July 7 gubernatorial election, but only 48 posters could be displayed on each of the official election campaign boards erected around Tokyo. The commission instructed the 49th person to file their candidacy and those that followed to attach their posters outside of the campaign board frame using plastic file folders.

Kawai, 43, argued, "The gubernatorial election, where not all candidates could display posters under the same conditions, was unfair and should be nullified." He stated that if his objection is rejected, he will pursue legal action.

Death to the stupid election poster boards already.

Saito's refusal came after the prefectural employee union submitted a complaint to the prefectural government earlier on Wednesday effectively demanding his resignation over the death of the official.

The late official, a former head of a regional branch of the prefectural government, created a document claiming that gifts from Hyogo Prefecture companies are piled up at the governor's home and that his power harassment is exceeding what officials can handle.

Pretty damning accusations by the union and the official that passed away.

The meeting is being backed by the cross-party Japan-Tibet Parliamentary Association, which is headed by former education minister Hakubun Shimomura and aims to boost support for Tibet.

The legislative body of Tibet’s government in exile will run the meeting, with around 90 people including lawmakers and scholars to come from 26 countries. The Dalai Lama, exiled supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is planned to deliver a speech online

In an effort to support local and surrounding residents who wish to get married, this north Japan city has opened an online marriage support center. The service is like a local government-run "dating app," so to speak, and requires an interview and photo ID to join.

A city official in charge of the service said, "We hope that many men and women will use this service as it provides a safe and secure environment for their partner hunting activities." According to the Sapporo Municipal Government, this is the first such service among local governments in Hokkaido.

Insert Grindr joke here.

Operations at Hawaii’s Hilo International Airport were halted when security screeners spotted two items that looked like grenades in a bag belonging to a man from Japan.

Officers evacuated the terminal area Tuesday morning while a bomb squad determined the grenades were inert, according to a Hawaii Police Department statement. Airport operations resumed about an hour later.

Nothing to declare, apparently.

A woman who was swept out to sea while swimming at a beach in Japan has been rescued about 80km (50 miles) off the coast, 36 hours after she went missing, officials have said.

The 21-year-old Chinese national, buoyed by a rubber ring, had been swimming at Shirahama Ohama beach at about 7.30pm on Monday with a friend, the coast guard said on Thursday.

Literally one of my worst nightmares.

The local government in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture has just passed an ordinance calling on residents to laugh at least once every day to promote better physical and mental health, although the new law has gone down like a bad joke in some quarters.

Put forward by members of the normally strait-laced Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and passed on Friday, the ordinance encourages local residents to snigger, chortle or guffaw daily and asks business operators to “develop a workplace environment that is filled with laughter,” the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

Walt Disney and Japan’s Oriental Land Company unveiled plans on Tuesday to launch a new cruise ship that will set sail from Tokyo in 2029, adding a ninth vessel to the brand’s growing fleet.

The new ship will be modeled after the Wish, the largest vessel in Disney’s fleet. OLC, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, will also operate the new cruise vessel.

The best news of this announcement is that operations will be run by OLC, who has surpassed Disney itself in providing excellent service at their parks.

The Japanese government said Tuesday that Yukihiko Imasaki, a 66-year-old Supreme Court justice, will become chief justice of the country’s top court to replace Saburo Tokura, who will retire on Aug. 10.

Not the most liberal institution in the world but at least it is functioning unlike other courts I could name.

Following her loss Sunday night, Renho did not touch on the reason for her unexpectedly poor performance. Instead, she offered thanks to her supporters, including the JCP, whose members appeared with her at campaign stops and gave speeches.

“I consider it an asset for me to have received so much support from the JCP and others,” she said.

But conservative CDP veterans have long been skeptical of the cooperation between the CDP and the JCP in national and local elections, which is meant to avoid splitting the opposition vote.

Until the LDP’s turnouts are low enough for a second party to get enough seats to form a government, multi-party coalitions are necessary to attain any kind of power. Perhaps the problem isn’t entirely with the parties (although some blame is theirs) but with the candidate.

Under the new law, individuals in the public and private sectors who are qualified to handle classified information will receive certification from the government, facilitating easier participation in international research projects by businesses.

Kinda surprised this wasn’t the system already. Japan slow to move in yet another area. However…

At the same time, challenges remain, such as safeguarding the privacy of individuals in relation to the background checks required for certification.

Compared to the same procedure in the US, privacy of the individual does not factor in at all. Point to Japan for even considering it.

The city of Omura in Nagasaki Prefecture issued resident certificates to a same-sex couple in May that use the term meant for common-law husbands, prompting the alarmed Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry to send a letter to the city on Monday.

Hey, any progress towards LGBT equality is good progress. More bureaucratic screwups please.

While Japan can never become an official member of the regional alliance, its participation in the organization's activities and cooperation with its member states is increasingly important as it develops its defense capacity.

There are limits to Japan's partnership with NATO. The organization cannot come to the defense of Japan, even if it were to enter conflict with Russia, China, or North Korea. But NATO's member states, especially the U.S., could certainly support Japan with military and nonmilitary support, if necessary. Beyond the mutual defense agreement of the NATO treaty (Article 5), there are other aspects of the treaty that allow for institution building and capacity training between NATO, its members and Japan.

This is a good explainer article about how Japan fits into the western security umbrella and how it could come to the nation’s aid in the event of conflict.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te plans to appoint Lee Yi-yang, former vice president of the Examination Yuan, as the next de facto ambassador to Japan, a source has said.

Lee, 69, worked as a news reporter and a Taipei City Council member before becoming secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party and minister of the interior under Chen's administration.

The recent words of FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki back up these ostensible labor wins for Japanese workers. Of the mass layoffs that are happening in the US and elsewhere, Miyazaki said, “as long as this company is my responsibility, that’s something I would not let happen.” But more so than the personal benevolence of leaders like Miyazaki, it is the country’s robust labor regulations that most protect workers.

Tongue firmly in cheek with the headline, but overall this is a well researched article about how Japanese tech & gaming companies treat layoffs versus their American counterparts.

A reportage of stations along the circular JR Yamanote line in Tokyo, capturing the hustle and bustle at the heart of the world’s biggest urban area. In service since 1885, the line is the city’s oldest, most important and most famous, with millions cramming on to the 35km (22-mile) route’s distinctive green cars every day

Some nice photography inside of the transport infrastructure that keeps Tokyo alive.

It's often said in discussions about United States military bases in Okinawa and related issues that Japan is subordinate to the U.S. and lacks sovereignty. As someone who has never lived in a town hosting a U.S. base, this reporter had always thought that the blatant ruler-subordinate style of relationship under the postwar occupation had lifted.

It's been four years since I happened to witness a certain episode and began researching the activities of U.S. military aircraft above the Tokyo metropolitan region. Looking back, I think my previous views were naive.

Good article highlighting Oba's reporting over the past few years about US helicopter flights over Tokyo. These things need to be said out loud.

As of the end of 2023, there were a record 3.41 million foreign nationals living in Japan, up 330,000 from the previous year. Not only have these residents helped make up for labor shortages in the country, they also are becoming important supporters of the nation's pension system.

A good article spelling out the need for steady (and increasing) flows of foreign workers into the Japanese economy to sustain existing systems. Immigration is the answer.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kamikawa said, “We’d like to strengthen our bilateral cooperation to maintain and enhance the international order based on the rule of law.” Kihara added, “Japan-Philippines relations have seen significant progress in terms of defense cooperation and exchanges under the leadership of the president and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.”