Japanese higher court rules in favor of marriage equality
The ruling adds pressure on the Japanese parliament to legalize same-sex marriages. Japan remains the only country in the G7 that has not legalized marriage equality.
Japan
This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from Japan — covering advances in health, technology, environment, community resilience, and public policy. Each entry highlights real progress and the people and systems behind it.
Japan approves first abortion pill
Japan’s first abortion pill won approval in 2023, and clinical trials there showed 93% of participants had a complete abortion within 24 hours using the two-pill combination. Until that vote, Japan had been one of the last developed nations offering only surgical options, including a method the World Health Organization calls obsolete. The ministry took the unusual step of opening a public comment period before deciding, drawing strong responses from doctors and advocates who had pushed for years. The approval is historic, though spousal consent requirements still shape who can actually access care. As reproductive rights contract in some countries and expand in others, Japan’s shift is a reminder that progress is uneven, hard-won, and worth celebrating wherever it lands.
In a world first, Japenese scientists use artificial DNA to kill cancer cells
Artificial DNA that turns cancer’s own biology against itself marks a genuine conceptual leap in oncology. Japanese researchers at the University of Tokyo engineered synthetic molecules that lie dormant until they detect a chemical cancer cells overproduce — then restructure themselves into a signal the immune system reads as a threat, destroying the tumor from within. Early tests spanned multiple cancer types, suggesting broad potential. This kind of precision — working with the body’s existing defenses rather than overwhelming them — is exactly the direction cancer medicine has been reaching toward, and this research moves that goal meaningfully closer.
Nintendo announces it will recognize same-sex partnerships even though Japan doesn’t
The Japanese video game company Nintendo has announced that it will extend marriage benefits to employees who are in same-sex partnerships.
Japan withdraws funding for major coal projects in Indonesia and Bangladesh, effectively canceling them
Two planned coal-fired power plants, one in Indonesia and the other in Bangladesh, have had their funding withdrawn by the Japanese government, as part of Tokyo’s decision to no longer bankroll coal projects in either country.
Japan successfully tests giant turbine that generates renewable energy using deep ocean currents
During future tests, developer IHI Corp is hoping to generate two megawatts, with the hopes of kicking off commercial operations in the 2030s, Bloomberg reports.
Fastest carbon dioxide catcher heralds new age for direct air capture
The Tokyo Metropolitan University team’s new technology promises unprecedented performance and robustness in direct air capture systems.
First-of-a-kind blood test paves way for early Parkinson’s diagnosis
A simple blood test that could catch Parkinson’s disease before symptoms take hold is now closer to reality. Researchers at Kobe University developed an assay that reads changes in enzyme activity in a blood sample, achieving 85 to 88 percent accuracy in both human and rat models. Because treatments like levodopa and exercise work better early in the disease’s progression, earlier detection could meaningfully change what’s possible for patients. With Parkinson’s cases more than doubling globally over the past 25 years, affordable, scalable screening tools like this one could reshape how the world responds to the fastest-growing neurological disorder.
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fall 5.1% in 2020/21 to record low
In April 2021, Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter raised its climate goal, pledging to trim emissions by 46 percent from 2013 levels by 2030 instead of its previous target of 26 percent.
Tokyo schools drop controversial dress code on hair and underwear color
Other rules being cut include the practice of punishing students with a form of house arrest, and ambiguous language in the guidelines on what is considered “typical of high school students.”