97 Years Ago Today: On March 18, 1929, construction of the original official residence of the Prime Minister of Japan was completed in Nagatacho, Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Designed by architect Muraji Shimomoto of the Ministry of Finance's Building Division, the two-story Art

23 Years Ago Today: On March 19, 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi publicly expressed unequivocal political support for US invasion of Iraq. Koizumi described it as his "political decision" to back the US position. This stance drew sharp domestic criticism. Public

31 Years Ago Today: On March 20, 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, led by Shoko Asahara, carried out a coordinated terrorist attack by releasing sarin nerve gas on five subway trains across three Tokyo Metro lines during morning rush hour, targeting central

22 Years Ago Today: On March 21, 2004, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi praised the deployment of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to southern Iraq for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, highlighting their contributions in non-combat roles amid the ongoing US-led

129 Years Ago Today: On March 22, 1897, Motosada Zumoto, a former secretary to Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito, launched the first issue of "Japan Times" as editor-in-chief, with Sueji Yamada as president. This marked the founding of Japan's oldest surviving English-language

81 Years Ago Today: On March 23, 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army mobilized the Himeyuri Student Corps (also known as Lily Princesses Student Corps or Princess Lily Corps), conscripting 222 female high school students aged 15-19 and 18 teachers from Okinawa's First Prefectural

39 Years Ago Today: On March 24, 1987, Japanese courts confirmed death sentences for the first time against members of New Left terrorist groups, specifically upholding capital punishment for two radicals involved in the 1970s United Red Army (Rengo Sekigun) and related militant

SNA Report It’s also not insignificant that the sentences were never carried out. All New Left convicts on death row have been left to die of natural causes. This makes the sentences performative, whereby the state can appear strong, while avoiding the politically sensitive consequences.

SNA Report P.S. Note that the image is not a United Red Army incident, but the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bomb from 1974 carried out by the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, though members of the two groups did interact. Cultural memory of the militant past is messy and the incidents blur.

100 Years Ago Today: On March 25, 1926, Japanese anarchist Fumiko Kaneko was sentenced to death on high treason charges alongside her partner, Korean revolutionary Pak Yeol, for an alleged plot to assassinate the emperor and crown prince using bombs. The pair, arrested after the

ARAGHCHI AND ME: Back in 2011, I had some news stories where I sometimes interviewed the Iranian Ambassador in Japan. He was a career diplomat named Abbas Araghchi. Today, he is the Iranian Foreign Minister and one of the most prominent members of the Iranian government. We met

101 Years Ago Today: On March 26, 1925, after a long struggle marked by decades of popular campaigns and repeated failures, the Universal Male Suffrage Bill passed the House of Peers, clearing a major obstacle in Japan's Taisho-era push for democratic reform. The legislation,

8 Years Ago Today: On March 27, 2018, former senior Finance Ministry bureaucrat Nobuhisa Sagawa, a central figure in the Moritomo Gakuen land sale scandal, stonewalled questions during sworn testimony before the Diet, repeatedly dodging inquiries by citing fear of possible future

58 Years Ago Today: On March 28, 1968, radical students at the University of Tokyo, primarily from the medical faculty, forced the cancellation of the university's graduation ceremony through disruptive protests. The action was part of growing campus unrest over issues including

From today's "Japan and the World." Free email newsletter, available by writing to [email protected]

From today's "Japan and the World." Free email newsletter, available by writing to [email protected]

Debito Arudou: The world is living under a rogue regime—or rather, a rogue individual—who is wielding unprecedented power. shingetsunewsagency.com/2026/04/07/vis…

From today's "Japan and the World." Free email newsletter, available by dropping a note to [email protected] #Japan #Exports #Pacifism #Constitution

15K followers on X! The SNA prioritized Twitter for many years in the 2010s, peaking just short of 15K in October 2022, when Elon Musk bought the platform. Since many of our followers were progressives and were antagonized by Musk's behavior, we saw a collapse of several thousand

US CRUDE OIL ARRIVES IN JAPAN: A tanker carrying US crude oil arrived at an offshore jetty in Tokyo Bay for the first time since US attacks on Iran began in late February, marking Japan's initial alternative procurement amid the ongoing crisis. The vessel, procured by oil