Japan in March 2026: the most important developments in politics
Japan's politics in March 2026 were dominated by the war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump asked Japan, South Korea, China and other countries to send ships to keep the strait open. Japan's defense minister said there were no plans to send a ship, and Australia, Britain and Germany also declined. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met Trump in Washington, offering help for the strait within legal limits and securing U.S. support for stability regarding Taiwan. Japanese officials expressed unease at Trump's reference to the attack on Pearl Harbor when discussing the strike on Iran. Tokyo denied a U.S. official's claim that Takaichi had pledged to send Maritime Self-Defense Force ships to the Middle East. On March 19 a group of European countries and Japan condemned Iran's attacks and the closure of the strait in a joint statement. Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was in talks with Japan and would let Japanese vessels pass. Japan confirmed on March 6 that two of its nationals were detained in Iran; a Japanese citizen held since June was released and returned home by March 23.
Relations with China stayed tense. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the future of China-Japan relations depends on Japan's choices, urged Tokyo not to repeat its militarist past and called Taiwan China's internal matter. Japan plans to drop the description of China as its "most important" bilateral relationship, which a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said would harm mutual trust. A man reported to be a member of the Ground Self-Defense Force broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo; Japan called the incident regrettable and said he had planned to kill himself, while China protested and demanded punishment. On March 30 China imposed sanctions on lawmaker Keiji Furuya over his visits to Taiwan.
At home, a court upheld the order to dissolve the Unification Church. The ruling coalition used its supermajority to pass the fiscal 2026 budget in the lower house, and Takaichi said she would not dismiss her education minister, who faces an affair scandal.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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