🇯🇵Week of October 19

The Liberal Democratic Party is finalizing a plan to cut 31 seats from the proportional representation bloc in the House of Representatives, and could present the proposal to the ruling and opposition parties as early as Oct. 22. The figure is a compromise put forward in talks on the lower house election system.123

Nippon Ishin no Kai has signaled it will not oppose the 31-seat reduction, while the Democratic Party for the People gave the plan a certain level of credit. The proposal was presented as a compromise on proportional seats.43

The Japanese Communist Party opposes any reduction in proportional representation outright and has campaigned against it, holding a petition signature drive in Hiroshima under the banner of absolute opposition.5

Former BOJ board member Maeda said the policy rate could rise to 1.75 percent by next spring, with the next hike possible in December. The October meeting preview from Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management's chief market strategist set out the points to watch at the gathering.12

Attributed claim: 沖縄タイムス社 / 日本経済新聞: The 2 percent reading is not matched by wage growth, and the Okinawa Times warns the economy faces a risk of cooling. The Nikkei frames the meeting as a pause in the hiking cycle rather than an end to it, with the 2 percent goal now effectively in hand.34

Foreign Ministry Europe Bureau Director-General Nakamura met a Russian Foreign Ministry official in Russia and demanded the immediate release of a detained Hokkaido Shimbun reporter, along with an early consular meeting with the journalist. The demand was conveyed during talks between Japanese and Russian diplomatic authorities.1234

Russia's own account of the meeting made no mention of the reporter's detention, according to Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting on the Russian announcement.512

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said the government will work with all its strength from the standpoint of protecting Japanese nationals, responding to the diplomatic talks over the detention.164

US Ambassador to Japan Glass condemned Russia over the detention, calling it a blatant attempt to intimidate the press. The Japan Congress of Journalists also issued a statement demanding the reporter's release, saying freedom of the press is the foundation of democracy.678

North Korea's Kim Yo-jong said the North is considering strengthening "tactical attack means" along the inter-Korean military demarcation line, and the North warned of a "serious situation" near the border with South Korea. The North has been pushing ahead with a "fortification" of the frontier and has repeatedly crossed into the South's side, according to Yomiuri Shimbun.12

South Korea's military named Kim Yo-jong directly and expressed concern that she has raised tensions through military threats, in a dispute tied to a landmine accident. The South Korean military said it would respond resolutely to further North Korean provocations and accused the North of shifting responsibility for the escalation.34

Explosions from the North's construction work carry as far as South Korean islands, and the two Koreas remain at odds over the line itself: the MDL is hard to verify on the ground, one month after the landmine blast. South Korea's military announced a "strengthening operation" at the MDL, saying it would respond resolutely if the North provokes.567

North Korea suggested it would resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South, a test for the tension-reduction policy of President Lee Jae-ming's government. d Menu News also reported that Kim Yo-jong has taken a hard line toward the South while questions circulate about Kim Jong-un's health and a possible US-North Korea summit.89

The family of a truck driver who died after falling into a collapsed road in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, has filed a lawsuit against the prefecture. The suit was lodged with the Saitama District Court, seeking damages over the death.12345

Japan's education minister said the University of Tokyo's presidential selection lacked a clear explanation and asked the university to review how the process was conducted. The ministry's request for a review of the selection is described as unusual.123

The review request follows a selection in which a candidate who did not place first in the vote count and did not hold a majority became the university's president. Faculty at the university have raised concerns that the selection process is becoming a formality without substance.4

Yuko Fujigaki asked the University of Tokyo to verify the circumstances of the presidential selection, and the education minister called for a sufficient explanation.5

Japan's defense research funding program received a record 560 applications, and 11 universities were selected for grants for the first time, according to the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency's security technology subsidy scheme. Defense Minister Koizumi said the attitude of universities has clearly changed.123

The surge in applications has drawn scrutiny from academics. A professor who took defense ministry research money said the funding had forced even students to economize, while at Nagoya University, which proclaims a peace charter, questions have been raised on campus about 2 billion yen in defense subsidies.45

The record application count and the first-time selection of 11 universities were reported across the Japanese press, with the defense minister's remark on universities' changing posture carried by the right-leaning Sankei Shimbun and the business daily Nikkei.213

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted on X that she is not ruling out government bond issuance across the budget compilation as a whole, as her government works on a consumption tax cut for food. The post framed bond issuance as one option within the overall budget rather than a commitment to use it.12

Takaichi said she does not expect the food tax cut to create downward pressure on prices. The remark addressed the consumption tax reduction on food that the government is preparing.2

Finance Minister Katayama said the target of a Japanese version of DOGE, the cost-review drive, is at least about 1 trillion yen. The figure sets the scale of the spending review being weighed alongside the tax cut.3

Former Prime Minister Ishiba expressed discomfort with the consumption tax cut, asking which items would be reviewed and how much money would be produced to secure funding. The question pressed the government on the concrete source of revenue for the cut.4

Conservatives are set to vote in favour of the consumption tax cut bill. The support gives the tax measure backing from the right as the government works out how to pay for it.5

Atsumi Harasawa, a lawyer and first-time candidate, won the Yokohama mayoral election by a wide margin, defeating incumbent Takeharu Yamanaka. The election was a re-run forced by a workplace harassment finding against the incumbent.12

Yamanaka finished third. Asked whether he regretted running again, he said he had no such feeling.32

Harasawa received her certificate of election after winning. She said she will create a workplace environment where people can work safely and with peace of mind.41

The new mayor's supporters in the ruling camp expect her to push policy forward, while the city assembly seeks a measured distance in the relationship between the mayor and the assembly.5

H2O Retailing, the parent of Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, has reported a leak of personal information covering about 1.26 million people, nearly its entire membership base. The exposed data includes names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses, and the breach followed unauthorized access to a reservation site. The affected records are tied to a shared ID used across Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores and related services.123

In Fukuoka, an event facility in the city is suspected of leaking 2,239 pieces of personal information through unauthorized access. FBS News NNN reported that Hakata Hankyu and the Fukuoka Convention Center may also be affected.45