Japan's latest migration reforms open new pathways to permanent residency for foreign trainees while making it easier for authorities to revoke permanent resident status.
Japan is adjusting its economic relationship with China to reduce dependency, driven by rising labour costs, geopolitical concerns and changes in supply chains rather than by an intention to fully decouple economically.
On 8 March 2024, 12 individuals filed a lawsuit in Tokyo and Sapporo District Courts claiming that the requirement for married couples to share a surname, as stipulated in the Civil Code and Family Register Law, violates the 'freedom of marriage' outlined in Japan’s constitution.
Australia powers Japan, literally, supplying more than one third of its energy needs. . For decades, Japanese investment in energy projects and Japan’s energy purchases have helped build Australian prosperity.
Japan's Tourism Strategy has achieved remarkable success, yet the resulting influx of tourists has sparked concerns about overcrowding.
In September 2023, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology nominated Tohoku University as a candidate to be a ‘University for International Research Excellence’ (UIRE). This program is supported by Japan’s 10 trillion yen (US$68.7 billion) University Fund (UF).
Under former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, Japanese agriculture was a target for regulatory reform. There was an especial focus on reforming the organisation of agricultural cooperatives (JA).
Japan’s exchange rate environment made a big turnaround in 2022, when the yen began to depreciate sharply. When it exceeded 145 yen against the US dollar by September 2022, and then 150 yen in October, the Ministry of Finance conducted two rounds of foreign exchange interventions.
In a shifting global landscape, ASEAN remains a centre of global growth in the Indo-Pacific region. But increasing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States over international trade now threaten regional stability and prosperity. The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also raised concerns about strategic goods and commodity shortages, as well as rising energy and resource prices.
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