Overview
- Cabinet officials disclosed a March 4 notice urging prefectures and municipalities to adopt groundwater ordinances and revise filing forms to record the nationality of extractors.
- Local governments were shown model ordinance language, and an LDP forum was told the recommendations could inform mid‑year economic policy guidance.
- A separate government package would be the first major revision of the 2022 Economic Security Promotion Law, with cabinet approval targeted next week to support strategic private overseas projects such as fuel hubs and satellite communications through tools including JBIC’s subordinated investments.
- At the 15‑year mark since the 2011 disaster, affected municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima report many dispatched staff and support programs will end or shrink at March’s close, as TEPCO notes over 25% of its roughly 28,000 group employees joined after the accident, highlighting succession challenges.
- A concert promoter filed suit in Tokyo seeking about ¥23 million from an alleged ticket scalper and fee refunds from the resale platform, while the Israeli military ordered civilians in southern Lebanon to move north from Hezbollah activity zones.