Japan Timeline for March 2026

Iran Conflict Brings Energy Uncertainty

1

Japan’s three major shipping companies—Nippon Yūsen, Mitsui OSK Lines, and Kawasaki Kisen—report the suspension of their operations in the Strait of Hormuz after US and Israeli air strikes on Iran lead to the start of conflict and Iran’s closure of the strait. Japan Airlines cancels all flights between Haneda and Doha, Qatar, until March 3.

2

Manuscripts of two early unpublished short stories by Ōe Kenzaburō, the winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, are found in the home of Ōe’s former landlord.

3

The government requests that the municipality of Ogasawara conduct a literature survey on the Pacific island of Minamitorishima as part of the process to select a final disposal site for highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The island is state-owned and has no private residents.

4

The Tokyo High Court upholds the decision by the Tokyo District Court to dissolve the Unification Church. The church loses its status as a religious corporation in Japan, and procedures to liquidate its assets begin.

5

Tokyo start-up Space One launches its Kairos No. 3 rocket from its launch site in Kushimoto, Wakayama, but the flight ends in failure.

6

The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare conditionally approves the manufacture and sale of two regenerative medicine products using iPS cells, in a world first. The approved products are ReHeart heart muscle sheets and Amchepry, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

9

Oil prices spike to $119 per barrel as the situation in the Middle East deteriorates, and the Nikkei index falls by 2,892 points in its third-largest one-day drop ever.

10

The government decides to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act to establish JESTA, the Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization, for prescreening of international visitors before they enter Japan. It aims to establish the system during fiscal 2028.

11

Memorial events are held across the tsunami-affected area 15 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Some 23,000 people remain displaced within or outside Fukushima Prefecture due to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

12

Honda announces expected losses of up to ¥690 billion for the fiscal year ending in March, in its first full-year loss since going public. The EV market shrank after US President Donald Trump rolled back policies promoting vehicles that were introduced under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and greatly relaxed environmental regulations. Faced with the need to alter its strategy, Honda has canceled the development of three planned EVs.

14

President Trump calls on Japan, South Korea, China, France, and Britain to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. On March 17, he takes this back, saying, “We don’t need any help.”

Reigning WBC champion Japan loses to Venezuela in Miami in the quarterfinal of the 2026 tournament. This is the first time Japan has failed to reach the semifinal stage.

Japan finishes with four medals (three silvers and one bronze) at the end of the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics. It is the first time it has failed to win a gold since the 2002 games in Salt Lake City.

Japan’s paralympic medalists: Muraoka Momoka, two silvers in alpine skiing (© Reuters); Oguri Daichi, silver in snowboarding (© FIS via Reuters Connect); and Suzuki Takeshi, bronze in alpine skiing (© Reuters).

18

An international research team, including the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, announces that it has discovered a new species of bird in the Tokara Islands, Kagoshima, which it names the Tokara leaf warbler. Phylloscopus tokaraensis is the first bird species in Japan to receive a scientific name since the Okinawa rail in 1981.

The Tokara leaf warbler on Nakanoshima in the Tokara Islands. (Photograph taken by Saitō Takema on June 10, 2017; © Yamashina Institute for Ornithology)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry announces that gasoline prices, as of March 16, rose by ¥29.0 compared with the previous week to a record high of ¥190.80 per liter on average.

Mathematician Hironaka Heisuke dies at the age of 94. The Kyoto University professor emeritus won the prestigious Fields Medal in 1970.

19

Japan joins Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in expressing “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz. They call on Iran to stop its drone and missile attacks and immediately halt its hindrance of commercial shipping.

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae meets with President Trump in Washington. Trump calls on Japan to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Takaichi explains that there are legal limitations on what is possible, and asks for his understanding. The two agree on a second round of Japanese investments in the United States, including the construction of small nuclear plants.

20

Softbank Group Chairman and CEO Son Masayoshi announces plans to construct a large AI data center in Ohio. Initial investment, including external funds, stands at $500 billion (¥80 trillion).

Softbank chief Son Masayoshi, at center, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, at center left, and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, at center right, at the groundbreaking ceremony for a gas-power plant in Ohio. (© Jiji)

21

Kirishima wins his third sumō championship at the spring tournament in Osaka. This helps him to regain his ōzeki status.

Kirishima, at center, with both arms raised at his victory parade in Osaka on March 22, 2026. (© Jiji)

24

Toyota successfully completes its tender offer for Toyota Industries, the founder company of the group. The acquisition cost reached a total of ¥5.9 trillion, meaning it is the largest merger or acquisition between Japanese companies to date. Toyota Industries will be delisted.

25

Uniqlo enters a partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers, under which the team’s home ground will become officially known as Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

Yanai Tadashi, third from left, the chairman and CEO of Fast Retailing, which is Uniqlo’s parent company, takes a commemorative photo together with LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, fourth from left, and others in Los Angeles on March 25, 2026. (© Jiji)

26

The government begins releasing state oil reserves, in the first such release since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Some 8.5 million kiloliters will be released in stages, which is equivalent to 30 days of consumption.

27

Semiconductor chip maker Rohm, Toshiba, and Mitsubishi Electric agree to start discussions on merging their businesses making power chips for EVs and data centers.

Sakamoto Kaori wins the women’s singles gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, in her last event before retirement. Her total score of 238.28 is a new personal best, securing her fourth crown as world champion.

Sakamoto Kaori shows her joy after completing her free skate at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague on March 27, 2026. (© Yuan Tian via Reuters Connect)

30

The Diet enacts a stopgap budget after the government abandons its efforts to pass the fiscal 2026 budget bill before the end of the fiscal year. This is the first use of a stopgap budget since 2015.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae speaks with US President Donald Trump at a summit in Washington. © Reuters.)