Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in Nara on January 12th ahead of a Japan-South Korea summit scheduled for the following day, marking her first visit to her home region since taking office. (News On Japan)

Three years have passed since construction began on January 12th on a Japan Self-Defense Forces base on Mageshima, an uninhabited island off Tanegashima in Kagoshima Prefecture, as part of a plan to relocate U.S. carrier-based aircraft field carrier landing practice to the site, with the local community enjoying a construction-driven economic boost while growing concerns spread over the prolonged impact on daily life caused by significant delays to the project. (News On Japan)

Delays have emerged in customs procedures for food and other products exported from Japan to China, with clearance in many cases taking around two weeks longer than usual, raising the possibility that the measures are a response to comments by Takaichi regarding a potential Taiwan contingency. (News On Japan)

Tetsuzo Fuwa, former chairman of the Japanese Communist Party and a central figure in the party for decades, died on December 30, the party announced. He was 95. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Takaichi moved into the official residence next to the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday, relocating from the lawmakers’ housing complex in Akasaka, Tokyo, as the year-end and New Year holiday period begins. (News On Japan)

The U.S. military is expected to resume solo patrols outside its bases as early as the end of the year, with both the Japanese and U.S. governments confirming the policy shift following a temporary suspension triggered by the wrongful detention of a civilian man. (News On Japan)