The Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly is facing mounting scrutiny over its use of public funds after revelations that assembly members spent about 45 million yen in one year on overseas inspection trips, including a Hawaii visit that cost nearly 12 million yen for four members. (News On Japan)

Neyagawa in Osaka Prefecture has approved Japan's first citywide tax on vacant homes, imposing a new municipal levy at a rate of 35% on owners in addition to existing fixed-asset taxes from fiscal 2029. (News On Japan)

Taro Yamamoto, leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi, announced on July 10 that he will resign as party leader and retire from politics, citing both a speeding violation that resulted in criminal penalties and ongoing health problems. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy came under renewed scrutiny on July 8 as the government considered softening language in its long-term policy blueprint that had raised concerns over political pressure on the Bank of Japan, while the administration continued to face Diet tensions over its legislative agenda before the current session ends next week. (News On Japan)

Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to work together to promote the introduction of next-generation small modular reactors, signing a memorandum of cooperation at a foreign ministers' meeting in Turkey on July 7. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura held talks on July 7 as Diet deliberations remained stalled over opposition resistance to two bills Ishin is seeking to pass, including legislation to cut the number of lawmakers and a bill to establish a secondary capital. (News On Japan)

Opposition parties boycotted Diet deliberations after accusing the ruling bloc of forcing debate on bills to cut the number of lawmakers and create a secondary capital system, leaving committee sessions to proceed without them and exposing widening rifts not only between the ruling and opposition camps but also within the government and ruling coalition. (News On Japan)

Peru's election authorities formally announced on July 3 that Keiko Fujimori, the Japanese-descended eldest daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, had won the country's presidential runoff election. (News On Japan)

Reiwa Shinsengumi said its leader, Taro Yamamoto, was fined 90,000 yen and had his driver’s license suspended for 90 days after being caught speeding on an expressway in Oita City. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Takaichi is returning to Japan after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the two leaders agreeing to deepen their strategic cooperation and Japanese and Indian companies signing 129 memorandums and related agreements linked to a 2 trillion yen investment package for India. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s political agenda faced pressure on several fronts on July 3, as the government kept open the possibility of currency intervention to support the yen, opposition parties continued to challenge the ruling bloc’s management of the Diet, and Japan moved to extend its security diplomacy through India and NATO-related talks. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to India on July 2 placed foreign policy, economic security and strategic investment at the center of Japan’s political agenda, even as opposition parties kept pressure on the government over Diet proceedings and unresolved domestic policy disputes. (News On Japan)

The entire Negishi Housing Area in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, has been returned to Japan for the first time in 79 years, ending its use as a residential district for U.S. military personnel and their families. (News On Japan)

Japan’s political agenda on June 29 centered on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s attempt to connect economic growth, national security and technological resilience, as the government moved toward a long-term economic blueprint while also responding to China’s expanded export controls and preparing a revision of Japan’s Arctic policy. (News On Japan)

Japan remains among the world’s leading nations in seabed resource development and should accelerate work to sharpen its technology, Democratic Party for the People upper house lawmaker Yoshihiko Yamada said, calling for broader ocean policy investment, stronger protection of sea lanes and a more active Japanese role in mine-clearing operations near the Strait of Hormuz. (News On Japan)

Defense Minister Koizumi met with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul on the morning of June 28, with the two ministers agreeing to continue cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as among Japan, the United States and South Korea. (News On Japan)

Chinese and Russian bombers and other military aircraft flew around Japan on June 27, prompting Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to describe the joint activity as a show of force directed at Japan. (News On Japan)

Japan’s political agenda on June 26 was dominated by national security, election regulation and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to reshape the country’s long-term economic strategy, as the Diet advanced measures that point to a broader shift in how the government is preparing for defense, technology and political campaigning. (News On Japan)

The Takaichi government said on June 24 that public and private investment in 17 strategic fields, including AI and semiconductors, is expected to exceed 370 trillion yen by 2040, as it seeks to draw out private-sector spending and turn advanced technologies into economic growth. (News On Japan)

A cross-party national council discussing a reduction in the consumption tax on food will present a draft proposal on June 24 calling for the rate to be lowered to 1% from April next year. (News On Japan)