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April 22, 2025
 

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MARRIAGE

Marriage proposals in Japan look a lot like those in other countries, but there are traditions that are specific to the country that some people still adhere to.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 18, 2025
Voicing intentions and a peek into a traditional Japanese engagement ceremony
While the basics of a marriage proposal are similar to what happens in most countries, an extra ceremony requires specific gifts.
Declining birth rates in China are driven by a myriad of causes, such as a shrinking childbearing-age population, lifestyle changes, the one-child policy’s lasting effects, an oversupply of men and high youth unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025
Why China’s marriage crisis matters
According to China’s 2020 census, 61% of babies are born to women aged 20 to 30. But the number of women in this cohort dropped from 111 million in 2012 to 73 million in 2024.
Plaintiffs and their supporters hold signs reading "unconstitutional" after the Osaka High Court's ruling on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2025
Another Japan court finds same-sex marriage denial unconstitutional
The Osaka High Court's ruling follows similar judgments made by the Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka and Nagoya high courts.
A couple take wedding photos in Qingdao, China, in April last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 23, 2025
Beijing simplifies marriages to encourage Chinese to wed
Couples having children outside of marriage is rare in China, where there is social stigma and fewer protections for such families.
The Kyoto Family Court dismissed a petition a married person filed to have their gender designation changed in the family register.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025
Kyoto court rejects married person's petition for gender-designation change
The petitioner's side immediately appealed the ruling.
There seems to be a preference for similarly educated and similarly earning spouses in modern marriages, reflecting a trend that prioritizes parity over "marrying up."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2025
What really changed the marriage market
The internet connects us with so many potential mates that our puny human brains can’t handle it.
Members of a Liberal Democratic Party panel discuss proposals about allowing spouses to retain their respective surnames, in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2025
Eternal debate over surname law comes to fore again
Since last October’s general election, momentum has picked up for a legislative change to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda addresses a rally calling for the introduction of a system allowing married couples to choose whether to use the same or different family names on Feb. 26 at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2025
Some 44% of Japanese lawmakers back selective dual surname system
The figure far outstrips the 1% who said that the country should maintain its current same surname system.
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
It is the fourth high court ruling in Japan on same-sex marriage, following decisions in Sapporo, Tokyo and Fukuoka.
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Experts are urging the government to create a safer environment where these women can continue living in Japan without fear.
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
"There's nothing happier than having a job for a lifetime. I want to continue my career forever," says Kesa Hatamoto.
A woman fits her wedding dress at a bridal shop in Luliang, northern China's Shanxi province, on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 25, 2025
China adviser pushes to lower legal marriage age to 18 to boost birthrate
The comments comments come ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meeting, where officials are expected to announce measures to offset the country's declining population.
People walk past a banner that reads "no to divorce" outside the Quiapo Church in Manila. The Philippines is one of just two countries — along with Vatican City — where divorce is illegal, and the Catholic Church retains a powerful grip on society and outsize influence on politics.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 11, 2025
Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on
The Philippines is one of just two countries — along with Vatican City — where divorce remains illegal.
The proportion of respondents who said that the surname debate was something they felt they had a personal stake in increased by 2.7 percentage points from the previous survey by the Cabinet Office in 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2025
44% in Japan feel they might be affected by dual-surname debate
The possible introduction of a selective dual-surname system was one of the key issues in last year's election for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Trump started his term on Jan. 20 by issuing an executive order "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism," which declared the government will only recognize two sexes — male and female.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025
LGBTQ+ Americans in crisis as Trump rolls back rights
Nine organizations supporting LGBTQ+ people said they had a surge in use of their crisis services and calls to their helplines on Trump's first day in office.
Defending the rights of transgender and nonbinary people isn’t only about waging legal battles. It’s about more persuasive arguments.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2025
Trump can’t erase trans people with the stroke of his marker
There hasn’t been as much outrage as I had anticipated, but it makes sense. Most Americans, polls show, don’t personally know anyone who identifies as transgender.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an ordinary session of parliament along with his Cabinet ministers on Friday. Ishiba has toned down his stance on legally allowing married couples to have separate surnames.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 28, 2025
Ishiba tones down stance on dual-surname debate
While previously being all in favor of a dual-surname system, the prime minister has recently suggested considering a "compromise" of legally expanding the use of maiden names.
Thai actors Apiwat "Porsch" Apiwatsayree (right) and Sappanyoo "Arm" Panatkool pose for pictures in front of a Thai national flag after registering their same-sex marriage at the Phra Nakhon district office in Bangkok on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 23, 2025
Hundreds to wed as Thai same-sex marriage law comes into force
Thursday's milestone makes Thailand the first Southeast Asian country to allow equal marriage, and the biggest place in Asia to recognize such unions.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito answers questions from reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025
Ruling parties agree to discuss dual surname system
Party leaders stopped short of deciding when to begin discussions on the issue.
Marriage boosts men’s health, but women’s outcomes depend on having an egalitarian partner, with caregiving gaps revealing ongoing gender inequalities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2025
Equitable marriages could save lives (and love)
Husbands live longer than single men. For wives, the calculation is more complex.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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