A Japan–South Korea summit held in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s home region of Nara concluded after a series of events that highlighted both countries’ strategic calculations and a deliberate display of goodwill. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Takaichi held a surprise “drum session” with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung following their bilateral talks, adding an unexpected cultural touch to a day of high-level diplomacy. (News On Japan)

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)

Japan’s newest Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer was launched in Nagasaki City, with Defense Minister Koizumi attending the ceremony. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Takachi on December 22nd visited a “Press Photo Exhibition” in Tokyo reviewing key events of 2025, smiling for reporters as she recreated a pose from a photograph taken aboard the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington alongside President Trump. (News On Japan)

Finland’s prime minister has apologized to Japan, China and South Korea after photographs posted by Finnish lawmakers featuring a so-called “slant-eye” gesture were widely criticized as discriminatory toward Asians. (News On Japan)

The extraordinary session of the Diet has closed, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi using a press conference to highlight what she described as concrete achievements by her administration. (News On Japan)

Shizuoka Prefecture announced that it held a public auction on December 16 for the governor’s official residence in Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City, with housing manufacturer Sekisui Heim Tokai winning the bid at 710.35 million yen. (News On Japan)

The White House officially released the "National Security Strategy" report at the beginning of the month, outlining the adjustments made by the current US administration in foreign policy. (News On Japan)

"To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime brought untold sorrow to mankind," the statement in the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations regarding its founding purpose is thought-provoking. (News On Japan)

The extraordinary session of the Diet closed on December 17th, with Prime Minister Takaichi using a press conference to stress inflation relief as her top priority, defend the government’s handling of cost-of-living pressures through a supplementary budget, reaffirm her determination to pass a bill cutting the number of lawmakers, and signal a dual-track approach toward China that combines dialogue with vigilance over security concerns. (News On Japan)

The Japanese government is preparing to end support for new large-scale solar power projects starting in fiscal 2027, as policymakers move to revise the framework used to promote renewable energy in the years following the Fukushima Daiichi accident. (News On Japan)

Belarus carried out a large-scale amnesty on December 13th, releasing 123 detainees that included a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist and a Japanese national. (News On Japan)

America’s business magazine Forbes announced on December 10th that Prime Minister Takaichi has been ranked third on its list of the “World’s Most Powerful Women,” placing the Japanese leader near the top of a global ranking of 100 figures across politics, business, and culture, and marking a prominent acknowledgment of Japan’s first female prime minister. (News On Japan)

China’s Foreign Ministry issued a renewed advisory on December 11th urging Chinese nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Japan, reiterating a call made nearly one month ago but this time citing a series of earthquakes observed off the eastern coast of Honshu as the reason for heightened caution. (News On Japan)