A publishing platform for academics, journalists and researchers writing in-depth, evidence-based work on issues related to Japan and its place in the world.
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
Japan faces child safety crisis amid rising school bullying and child abuse
Japan is confronting mounting concerns over child safety, as data from education and police authorities point to record levels of school refusal, a rise in serious bullying cases, continued disciplina...
We have started our Election 2026 coverage, beginning with a piece by editor Nishimura Rintaro about the challenges PM Takaichi faces this year
Takaichi faces major stress test in 2026
The new year has kicked off with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi calling a general election to “ask the sovereign people to decide” whether to support her and the new Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-Japa...
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.
Rhetoric over reality: The myth of rising foreign crime
Recent public debate in Japan has grown markedly more heated around foreign crime, driven in part by political rhetoric, rising arrests of non-Japanese individuals, and proposals by governing party fa...
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.
A 1995 Vision for U.S.–Japan Relations, Revisited
Tokyo Review invited me to take a critical look at an essay I published in Foreign Policy thirty years ago, when I was a junior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. In that piece, ambitiously titled...
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.
The price of a PhD in Japan: Prestige without security
As Japan faces demographic decline and a shrinking research workforce, securing the next generation of researchers has become a matter of national urgency. Financially stable doctoral programs are ess...
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.
Remembering Martha Layne Collins: A Force for U.S.–Japan Subnational Diplomacy
“Without a doubt.” When I asked my father whether Toyota had changed our hometown, he was unequivocal. A day-one employee at what became Toyota’s largest global manufacturing hub, he spent more than 2...
"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.
How online outrage undermines local inclusion efforts in Japan
A specter is haunting local governance in Japan—the specter of the attention economy. Municipal officials, whose daily work usually revolves around routine community services, now find themselves conf...
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."
“Left-Handed Girl” review
The adult world glimpsed through—or better yet, juxtaposed with—children’s eyes is brutally honest. What is it about grandparent-grandchild relationships? They might be affectionate together but barel...
"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.
Migrant labor in an aging agricultural sector
Just last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) published a report that indicated a decrease in “core agricultural workers,” falling by over half to a new low of 1.1 million...
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:
Foreigner fatigue and Japan’s new populism
Japan’s new government under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and its partnership with the populist Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), raises significant...
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
“Bring Him Down to a Portable Size” review
The question of ego might be best answered in the portrayal of one’s (imaginary) nemesis. During their stage greeting at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, director Nakano Ryōta lauded actor ...
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.
Taipei is watching Takaichi’s standoff with Beijing
Taiwan is back at the center of Sino-Japanese relations after Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae told the Diet last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Ja...
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?
The center’s self-defeating politics
As Japan’s far-right gains political and ideological force, can the center hold? It is a familiar question, one that is now rapidly gaining salience after Takaichi Sanae was elected leader of the Libe...
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...
Japan’s suicide rates decline, but risks persist for youth and women
For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Japan faced persistently high suicide rates. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, annual suicides exceeded 30,000 for 14 consecu...
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?
The future of the LDP-Ishin partnership
Japanese politics has hit a major inflection point. Takaichi Sanae has become the first woman to be named prime minister. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) over two decades-long coalition w...
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.
“Black Box Diaries” review
Itō Shiori, the Japanese #MeToo trailblazer who regrettably never was A conspiracy-thriller-adjacent documentary of her 8-year journey as a sexual assault survivor, Itō Shiori’s Black Box Diaries (202...
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.
A decade of LGBT partnership systems in Japan
Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” (パートナーシップ制度) to recognize LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed...
@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.
What far-right conspiracy party Sanseitō tells us about a nascent ideology
In July 2025, Sanseitō (a.k.a. The Party of DIY !!) became the first far-right political party in postwar history to establish a stable presence in both Houses of the National Diet. With the party’s f...
"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.
Why Japan’s accelerated defense timeline is not just about security threats
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s decision to move Japan’s defense-spending target of two percent of GDP two years earlier—from fiscal 2027 to the current fiscal year—is more than a headline. It reflect...
Times are changing and so is Tokyo Review. We are excited to announce a fresh new team of editors!
It’s been a while
When Tokyo Review was founded eight years ago, its founders had two goals. The first was to elevate the standard of analysis on Japan-related issues for an English-speaking audience. That goal remains...
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-...
How realistic is a “Grand Coalition”?
Faced with losing its majority in both Houses of the Diet, the LDP may need new partners to allow stable governance - with even a coalition with the main opposition party being on the table.
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...
Election 2024: The Winners and Losers
Japan's ruling coalition has lost its majority - with difficult negotiations among potential governing partners on the horizon, who are the winners and losers of this week's election?
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...
Two key elections chart the U.S.-Japan alliance’s future
Japanese and U.S. voters going to the polls this month won't think much about each other - but both choices will be hugely consequential for the future of Japan's security and trading alliances.
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-...
The End of the “Abe Era”?
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 influence th...
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...
LGBT Rights under Ishiba: Status Quo, or New Hope?
New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has been far more positive on LGBT rights than any of his LDP predecessors - but activists are cautious on the prospects for major reforms.
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...
Japan’s General Election is set for October 27
New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has announced his intention to hold a snap general election: here's how that will work and what to expect.
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-...
Who will be Japan’s next Prime Minister?
On September 27, the Liberal Democratic Party will elect a new leader - who will become Japan's next Prime Minister and lead the party into an upcoming election.
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...
Look Who’s Back: The CDP Leadership Race
The Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) is voting for a new leader - but three of the four candidates already led the opposition in the past, raising questions about why the party seems to lack a ne...
