Japan Timeline for July 2026

Maglev Line on Track Again

1

The Nuclear Regulation Authority announces that Chūbū Electric Power continued to falsify data after the start of an investigation into problems at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.

2

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, pledging that Japan will invest ¥2 trillion in India.

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, at left, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting on July 2, 2026. (© Sajjad Hussain/AFP)

5

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa 2 probe successfully flies close to the Torifune asteroid, taking pictures of its shape and surface. This information also contributes to investigations into the possibility of deflecting away asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

6

China launches a ballistic missile from a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, heightening tensions with Japan.

Credit card payment processing company Zentōshin files for bankruptcy at the Osaka District Court.

7

Shizuoka Governor Suzuki Yasutomo approves construction of the section of the Linear Chūō Shinkansen maglev line within the prefecture. This resolves a stalemate that began in 2017 when former Governor Kawakatsu Heita blocked construction due to environmental reasons.

Ohtani Shōhei of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first Japanese player to reach 300 career Major League home runs. He is the fifth fastest MLB player to achieve the feat.

9

Further US strikes on Iran lead to a surge in crude oil futures, heightening inflation concerns in Japan, and sparking a sell-off in government bonds that brings the yield on 10-year government paper to 2.900% at one point.

10

A revision to the Act on the Protection of Personal Information is enacted, relaxing regulations on the handling of medical histories and other sensitive personal data to spur on AI development.

11

Wheelchair tennis player Kamiji Yui wins the Wimbledon women’s singles tournament to achieve a Career Golden Slam by winning all four major tournaments and the Paralympics.

Kamiji Yui after winning her first Wimbledon women’s singles tournament on July 11, 2026. (© Reuters/Marko Djurica)

Tonegawa Susumu, who was the first Japanese winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1987, passes away at the age of 86. He was awarded the prize for “his discovery of the genetic principle for generation of antibody diversity.”

Tonegawa Susumu, at left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru in March 1988. (© Jiji)

13

The Diet enacts legislation for creating a new Disaster Management Agency for coordinating disaster preparedness and response. The government plans to launch the agency in November.

Frozen food maker Nichirei announces disruptions to its product distribution due to system failures caused by a cyberattack. Operations partially resume on July 17.

15

Kosagawa Chito wins the Akutagawa Prize for Zonbi kaishūfu (The Zombie Collector) and Asakura Kasumi wins the Naoki Prize for Kengwai (The Excluded).

17

A revision to the Imperial House Law is enacted in the Diet, allowing women in the family to retain their imperial status after marriage and making it possible to adopt male descendants in the male line of branches removed from the family in postwar reforms. The sons of these adoptees would become eligible to succeed as emperor.

A bill imposing criminal penalties for damage to or desecration of the national flag is enacted in the Diet

A revision to the Code of Criminal Procedure is enacted in the Diet, in principle prohibiting prosecutors from appealing decisions to grant a retrial.

21

Japan records temperatures of 40.3° Celsius in Tajimi, Gifu, 40.1° in Toyota, Aichi, and 40.0° in Gujō, Gifu, for the first official kokushobi since the Japan Meteorological Agency officially introduced the term for “severe heat days” when the maximum temperature is 40° or higher.

23

The Japan Football Association announces that Ōiwa Gō will be the next manager of the men’s national team, taking over from Moriyasu Hajime in March 2027.

Acclaimed mystery author Higashino Keigo, who won the Naoki Prize for The Devotion of Suspect X, dies of cancer at the age of 68.

Higashino Keigo in January 2006. (© Jiji)

24

The US administration under Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on 60 countries and regions, including a 12.5% tariff on Japan.

26

UNESCO decides to register the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara as a World Heritage site. The inscription of the Nara Prefecture site brings Japan’s total number to 27.

Ukrainian wrestler Aonishiki wins the Nagoya Grand Sumō Tournament, his third overall. The result will see him rise from the sekiwake ranking to ōzeki in the next tournament.

Aonishiki holds the Emperor’s Cup after winning the Nagoya Grand Sumō Tournament. (© Jiji)

28

A major earthquake brings violent shaking with a maximum of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in the municipalities of Uki and Hikawa in Kumamoto Prefecture. Large-scale damage included an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kashima and a chimney collapse at the Nippon Paper Industries mill in Yatsushiro.

30

Prime Minister Takaichi announces plans to reduce the consumption tax on food products from 8% to 1% for a period of two years starting in April 2027. Cash benefits are intended to cover the remaining 1% for low- and middle-income households, with the aim of bringing the tax to effectively zero. This would be the first reduction in the consumption tax since it was introduced in 1989.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: A collapsed chimney at the Nippon Paper Industries mill in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto. © Jiji.)