Overview

• Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura said his party would of course enter discussions if the newly elected LDP leader seeks coalition talks.
• The national Pollution and Other Deleterious Effects Compensation and Settlement Council ruled Nichias responsible for asbestos dispersed from its Hashima plant and ordered compensation to the bereaved family.
• Nagoya Institute of Technology announced a 20% tuition increase from fiscal 2026, raising annual fees to ¥642,960 in the first such move among national universities outside the Tokyo area.
• Education Minister Toshiko Abe said school instruction on the national anthem is not intended to be coercive, addressing debate following an Ishigaki City Council decision.
• A third-party panel set up by Yaizu City concluded that a 2022 suicide of a third-year female middle-school student was caused by bullying.