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Japan announces it has begun successfully drilling and retrieving deep-sea sediment containing rare earth minerals near the remote island of Minamitorishima in the Pacific Ocean, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals for use in its defense industry and automotive industry.
2026-02-2

Sanae Takaichi is elected as Japan's first female prime minister by the House of Representatives after her party, the Liberal Democratic Party, agreed to form a coalition government with the Japan Innovation Party.
2025-10-21

The Sakurajima volcano in Kyushu, Japan, erupts. Around 120 residents in two nearby towns are ordered to evacuate even though minimal damages are reported.
2022-07-24

Former millionaire Chisako Kakehi (also known as Japan's "Black Widow") is sentenced to death for the murder of 3 men which included a husband.
2017-11-7

The National Diet of Japan passes legislation allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate. The abdication is to take place within three years.
2017-06-9

North Korea launches a missile from a submarine off the port city of Sinpo in the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. This missile, the third sub-based attempt this year, flew about 500 kilometers (311 miles) and landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The first test exploded and the second traveled 30 km (18½ miles).
2016-08-24

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe vows to defend the Senkaku Islands "at all costs" in a speech aimed at the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
2013-02-2

A senior diplomat in charge of relations with Japan at the United States State Department is replaced for allegedly making disparaging remarks about the people of Okinawa.
2011-03-10

Two Greenpeace activists are given suspended sentences in Japan for stealing whale meat.
2010-09-6

Chinese police arrests a suspect for poisoning frozen dumplings for revenge. Those dumplings were exported to Japan and sickened 10 people in 2008.
2010-03-26