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July 05, 2026
 

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PARENTHOOD

Tujiko Noriko’s album “PON” is dedicated to Ponpon, her late cat, and includes field recordings of her family life in France.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2026
Tujiko Noriko’s new album is a feline tour de force
On tour in Japan this month, the France-based artist talks about channeling her “crazy cat woman” energy into musical creation and finding harmony in dissonance.
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2026
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Seven of the babies were born under conditions of confidentiality, with only a few hospital workers knowing their mothers’ identities.
One year after lifting its long-standing two-child limit, Vietnam is actively encouraging people to have more babies as the country risks getting old before it gets rich.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2026
Vietnam unveils ‘baby bonus’ after scrapping two-child policy
A new population law and regulations coming into effect extend maternity leave from six to seven months for mothers having a second child as well as offer financial help.
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
LGBTQ+ people in Japan face such limited fertility treatment options, they could ultimately be deprived of the right to safely start a family.
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2026
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
Beyond the paperwork and the language barrier, James Benstead says the hardest part about adopting in Japan was the waiting.
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 28, 2026
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Japan does not offer same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits granted to married couples.
Japan’s population decline continues to accelerate despite some modest positive signs, highlighting the need for broader social, economic and cultural changes to raise the birth rate.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2026
A bleak prognosis for Japan’s demographic future
The most recent government statistics show fertility rates hitting record lows — again.
The Kyoto District Court in the city of Kyoto heard a complaint Wednesday from a man who says his estranged wife presented someone else's sperm as his and was able to undergo successful fertility treatment using it without his awareness.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 4, 2026
Man sues hospital after wife gives birth using someone else’s sperm
The woman was sentenced in April 2025 for forging the man’s consent form, but the hospital said it gave adequate explanation and that the man’s claims are incorrect.
Expectant mothers who were exposed to severe heat during their 19th week of pregnancy faced a 16% higher risk of preterm birth than those who were not, a study found.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 4, 2026
Extreme heat raises risk of preterm births, research shows
Findings indicate that women are particularly susceptible to the effects of heat between the 16th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy.
Low income, difficulties meeting a partner and balancing work with raising a child are some of the factors playing a role in Japan's declining fertility rate, the Children and Families Agency said.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 3, 2026
Japan’s births hit new low, but drop less severe than previous years
The 2.2% decrease in the number of births recorded in Japan was a relatively modest drop compared to the year-on-year 5% decline seen over the past several years.
Noninvasive prenatal testing has gained popularity as an alternative to conventional tests due to its lower stress levels for mothers.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2026
More pregnant women in Japan undergo prenatal checkups
Noninvasive prenatal testing has gained popularity as an alternative to conventional tests due to its lower stress levels for mothers.
China’s one-child policy helped create weak domestic consumption, overwork, youth unemployment and demographic decline, fueling the rise of “lying flat” culture — a threat to the country’s long-term economic sustainability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2026
Why have China’s young people become so fed up?
Decades of misguided economic policymaking have left China in a demographic hole that it seems incapable of climbing out of.
Yawata Mayor Shoko Kawata recently announced that she will take maternity leave, making her the first sitting mayor in Japan to do so.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2026
Meet the Japanese mayor seeking to normalize maternity leave in public office
Shoko Kawata discusses balancing pregnancy with her duties — and the reaction that followed her announcing she would take leave before and after childbirth.
Itsunori Onodera, the Liberal Democratic Party's tax chief, on Wednesday presented a draft outline for providing additional benefits for households with children during a meeting of lawmakers.
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2026
Lawmakers eye extra benefits for child-rearing households
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is looking into increasing take-home pay for low- and middle-income workers by adjusting the amount of benefits according to income.
The Children and Families Agency says language should not be a barrier to calling the 189 hotline.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 27, 2026
Built for speed: Inside Japan’s child protection system
In Japan, sources such as schools, neighbors, and the 189 hotline all feed into a child protection system designed to surface potential risks early, even when certainty is low.
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 27, 2026
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan’s low birthrate
A survey has found that many women in rural areas feel constrained by social norms, which could lead to a demographic crisis if left unaddressed.
Shoko Kawata, the 35-year-old mayor of Yawata, speaks to reporters on Thursday in the city.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2026
Mayor in Kyoto Prefecture to take maternity leave in first for Japan
Shoko Kawata, the 35-year-old mayor of Yawata, plans to take her leave later this summer.
Staff members from SOS Children’s Villages Japan explain the organization's short-stay foster care program during a monthly briefing session in the city of Fukuoka in February.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
May 18, 2026
Fukuoka takes lead in short-stay foster care programs
Municipalities across Japan are starting to adopt short-stay programs through which children stay with foster families, allowing them to spend time in home-like settings.
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinjū under her own name. She has since been involved in parents’ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 18, 2026
‘There was no village’: Japan’s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
In a society where asking for help is often difficult, many parents and caregivers are unsure where to turn. Sometimes, it leads to tragedy.
A survey among junior high school students found that the delinquency rate was highest, at 12.2%, among respondents who had experienced parental violence and whose families are not financially comfortable.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2026
Children facing parental violence more likely to turn to delinquency
A group of researchers surveyed students at five junior high schools in the Kansai region between December 2024 and January 2025 for the study.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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