Japan’s defense strategy assumes stable energy access—but what if that assumption fails? Helen Cecile argues that upcoming NSS revisions under PM Takaichi must integrate energy security to ensure Japan’s defense plans are operational, not aspirational.

Omission of special-needs graduates from official Japanese government data about the country's "18-year-old population" does not appear to reflect deliberate exclusion, but it nevertheless carries negative symbolic and practical consequences.

The idea of a unified opposition may have run its course. If so, what remains to be seen is whether or not the predicted defeat of the CRA will be a moment of creative destruction. www.tokyoreview.net/2026/02/is-t...

Peter Chai and Charles Crabtree write about how Japan can face the unfolding child safety crisis as the sources of harm diversify and spill out of the classrooms

We have started our Election 2026 coverage, beginning with a piece by editor Nishimura Rintaro about the challenges PM Takaichi faces this year

Japan does not have a "foreigner problem" in any sense of the word, but the topic has dominated recent political discussions. Stefan Aichholzer carefully deconstructs the myth to reveal that there is not much of substance behind the rhetoric.

What happens when a bold U.S.-Japan policy proposal meets 30 years of history? In a new essay, Amb. Kurt Tong, Managing Partner at The Asia Group, revisits his 1995 call to “revolutionize” America’s Japan policy—and how the relationship evolved since.

In Japan, entering a PhD program can be a big gamble. Ryo Konishi and Stefan Aichholzer explain how the current state of graduate education and research funding is leading to steady declines in Japan's research workforce.

Kentucky’s first female governor helped secure one of the most enduring pillars of the U.S.–Japan relationship—far from Washington. In a moving new essay, Duncan J. Barron reflects on Martha Layne Collins and the quiet power of subnational diplomacy.

"Japan’s low levels of street protest have not produced disengagement; participation has migrated online", Rina Komiya writes, as she explains how digital outrage increasingly manages to derail local inclusion policies in Japan.

Heidi Lee returns with a review of Left-Handed Girl, a Sean Baker-produced Taiwanese film directed by Shih-Ching Tsou that offers "a penetrative character study of girlhood in Chinese cultures."

"For many farmers, long hours and tough work have been a steady reality. Now, what lies ahead remains uncertain, even with growing help from migrant laborers." Matthew Myles writes about his experience working on a dairy farm in Hokkaido.

Japan’s labor market and social welfare challenges demand foreign labor, yet the current political framing from Takaichi's new government treats foreigners as a social problem, writes Stefan Aichholzer in his analysis:

This new film review by Heidi Lee of the upcoming film "Bring Him Down to a Portable Size" asks timely questions about the moral failings of masculinity

Taiwan is back at the center of Sino-Japanese tensions. PM Takaichi’s remarks on a “survival-threatening” Taiwan scenario sparked fury in Beijing—but the audience that matters most is in Taipei.

Tamaki Yūichirō is dealing with forces that cannot be controlled. Can he—and those learning from his recent success—avoid being changed by the worst impulses of contemporary politics?

Writing about Japan's declining suicides, Peter Chai from Waseda University argues that the numbers obscure the unequal distribution of risk www.tokyoreview.net/2025/11/japa...

Rintaro Nishimura offers a timely and vital analysis of the LDP's fragile, new alliance with Nippon Ishin no Kai. Will the partnership serve both parties equally, as the LDP-Komeito coalition once did? Or has it already started teetering on the edge?

In this film review, Heidi Ka-Sin Lee discusses "Black Box Diaries" by Itō Shiori, a pathbreaking documentary detailing the director's own civil case against her assaulter, but which has yet to be released in her home country.

Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” to provide some level of recognition to LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed, the policy has spread tremendously and paved the way for further change.

@rmarcantuoni.bsky.social provides a summary of his recent research article on the far-right conspiracy party Sanseitō. Responding to the media's portrayal of the party as a catch-up moment for Japanese politics, he instead argues that its conspiracy ideology is a novel form of political action.

"If the United States hopes to rely on Japan as a pillar of the Indo-Pacific order, it must match Japan’s sense of urgency with sustained capacity, clarity of direction, and alignment of strategic intent", Jada Fraser writes in her analysis on the changing dynamics of the US-Japan security alliance.

Times are changing and so is Tokyo Review. We are excited to announce a fresh new team of editors!

As voting continues in Japan's Upper House election, Rintaro Nishimura asks whether the LDP's declining fortunes and global instability could make the once unthinkable - a grand alliance with the opposition CDP - into a new reality: www.tokyoreview.net/2025/07/how-...

Japan’s ruling coalition has lost its majority – with difficult negotiations among potential governing partners on the horizon, @robfahey.bsky.social runs through the winners and losers of yesterday's election. www.tokyoreview.net/2024/10/elec...

Japanese and U.S. voters won’t think much about each other as they both go to the polls – but their choices will be hugely consequential for the future of Japan’s security and trading alliances, explains @pauljnadeau.bsky.social. www.tokyoreview.net/2024/10/elec...

With newly appointed leader Ishiba Shigeru facing down strident opposition from the LDP’s conservative wing, this week’s General Election will be crucial in deciding how Abe’s legacy will shape the future of the LDP, as Rintaro Nishimura explains: www.tokyoreview.net/2024/10/the-...

New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has been far more positive on LGBT rights than any of his LDP predecessors – but as @suika.bsky.social explains, activists remain cautious on the prospects for major reform: www.tokyoreview.net/2024/10/lgbt...

With Ishiba Shigeru being sworn in as Japan's new Prime Minister today, his first major task will be leading his party into the upcoming general election. @robfahey.bsky.social has a quick primer on how the election will work and what to expect: www.tokyoreview.net/2024/10/japa...

Tomorrow, Liberal Democratic Party will elect a new leader. @robfahey.bsky.social introduces the nine candidates in the race to be Japan's next Prime Minister - and explains why the outcome among the three front-runners is so hard to predict: www.tokyoreview.net/2024/09/who-...

Japan's Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) elects a new leader this week. @rmarcantuoni.bsky.social notes that three of the four candidates already led the opposition in the past; does the party simply lack a new generation of potential leaders? www.tokyoreview.net/2024/09/look...