Japan Timeline for April 2026

Iran Uncertainty Continues

1

The government introduces a new fine system for traffic violations by cyclists aged 16 and over.

Japan’s men’s soccer team defeats England 1–0 in a friendly. This is its first victory against England in a total of four matches over the years.

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Tokyo. The two leaders discuss the ongoing conflict between US-Israeli forces and Iran, and agree to cooperate on economic security, including diversifying supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals.

3

A Mitsui OSK Lines vessel passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blockaded. This is the first Japanese-affiliated vessel to pass through the strait since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began the conflict.

6

Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, and Princess Aiko visit Futaba, Fukushima, one of the municipalities where the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is based, nearly 15 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.

From left, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, and Princess Aiko offer flowers at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Futaba, Fukushima on April 6, 2026. (© Jiji)

7

A record ¥122.3 trillion budget for fiscal 2026 is enacted in the National Diet. This is the first time for 11 years for the budget to be enacted in April, after the beginning of the fiscal year.

Three workers are killed and one goes missing after the collapse of 40-meter high scaffolding at JFE Steel’s East Japan Works in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. A 400-ton counterweight fell during work to dismantle a crane and hit the scaffolding.

8

Prime Minister Takaichi talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian by telephone, and appeals to him to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

9

At the first meeting of the House of Representatives Commission on the Constitution since the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide election victory in February, the ruling coalition calls for the establishment of a committee to draft constitutional amendments and for the revision of the war-renouncing Article 9.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, released in July 2025, completes its theatrical run. According to Aniplex and Tōhō, its total worldwide box office takings reached ¥117.9 billion; it is the first Japanese film to top ¥100 billion in global revenue. In Japan, the film grossed ¥40.2 billion, ranking second in the all-time ranking behind the ¥40.7 billion for the 2020 release Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.

11

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry announces it will provide up to ¥631.5 billion in further assistance to the semiconductor manufacturer Rapidus. Total state support for the company to date is now over ¥2.3 trillion.

12

At the LDP annual convention in Tokyo, Prime Minister Takaichi says that she hopes that there will be a clear prospect for proposing a constitutional amendment by the time of the next convention.

13

Mayor Shibuya Masaaki of Ogasawara, Tokyo, indicates his acceptance of 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, stating that it is for the central government to decide.

14

The Cabinet Office announces that of people who died unattended deaths in Japan in 2025, in 22,222 of the cases, around 30% of the total, their bodies remained undiscovered for over a week. Of these 17,620, or around 80%, were men.

16

Kyoto prefectural police arrest a man on suspicion of abandoning his 11-year-old son’s body in a mountainous area of Nantan within the prefecture. He admits the charges relating to the boy, who went missing in March.

The number 6 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station resumes commercial operations for the first time in 14 years. It is the company’s first reactor to resume operations after being shut down following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident.

Memorial ceremonies are held around Kumamoto Prefecture 10 years after major earthquakes killed 278 people.

17

Female skater Miura Riku and her male competition partner Kihara Ryūichi, who won the gold medal in the figure skating pairs event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, announce their retirement from competitive skating.

The Japan Meteorological Agency officially adopts the term kokushobi (roughly “severe heat day”) to describe days when the maximum temperature reaches 40° Celsius or higher.

20

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake off northern Honshū causes shaking of 5 upper on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Aomori Prefecture. The JMA and Cabinet Office announce an advisory that there is now a greater risk of a large earthquake occurring in the surrounding area.

21

Prime Minister Takaichi revises the operational guidelines for the Three Principles on Defense Equipment Transfers, which regulate arms exports. She removes rules stating that defense equipment should be within one of five designated categories (rescue, transport, warning, surveillance, and minesweeping), lifting the ban on the export of lethal weapons.

22

Major forest fires break out in Ōtsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.

A helicopter releases water to tackle a blaze in Ōtsuchi on April 26. (© Reuters)

23

The Nikkei index rises above 60,000 for the first time since records began in 1950, reaching a new intraday high of 60,013. This comes just six months after it exceeded 50,000 in October 2025.

24

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry announces that it will release additional oil from reserves from May 1, amid ongoing uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz. It will release 36 million barrels, equivalent to around 20 days’ consumption.

25

Around 120 Japanese athletes who participated in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics parade in central Tokyo.

Athletes gather for a photograph at the Tokyo parade on April 25, 2026. (© Kyōdō Images)

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Figure skaters Miura Riku and Kihara Ryūichi at an April 28 press conference after announcing their retirement earlier in the month. © Jiji.)