Overview
- Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed continued flight operations from China’s carrier Liaoning between Okinawa’s main island and Minami‑Daito, the first confirmed activity in that corridor with roughly 100 launches and recoveries over two days.
- Tokyo lodged diplomatic and defense protests after a PLAN J‑15 illuminated a JASDF F‑15 with radar on December 6, and the ministry says scrambles and surveillance continue.
- Three rival bills to revise corporate and organizational political donations entered substantive questioning in the Lower House reform committee, with parties criticizing one another’s proposals and gaps remaining unresolved.
- Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki moved from signaling consent to formally stating support for restarting Tomari Unit 3 in the prefectural assembly, with safety assurances cited as the premise.
- Gifu Prefecture advanced a market‑sounding survey to seek private proposals for three underused public facilities, even as local voices called for the effort to be halted, and quake‑hit Hachinohe reported daily life resuming alongside persistent anxiety.