Overview
- A government plan disclosed Friday would scrap the non‑combat “five‑category” cap and allow exports of completed weapons with only after‑the‑fact notice to Parliament, with ruling‑party security leaders to review it next week and guidance slated for revision in April.
- An MOL‑linked LNG carrier, the Panama‑flag SOHAR LNG, passed through the Strait of Hormuz in what the company said Friday was likely the first Japan‑related transit since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, and the crew are safe.
- Economy minister Ryosei Akazawa told the Upper House budget panel Friday that Japan can meet oil and naphtha needs through stock releases and alternate sourcing while checking for supply bottlenecks to protect medicines and medical devices.
- Best Amenity said Wednesday it acquired the assets of the bankrupt Hana‑no‑Tsuyu brewery in Kurume and will reopen the site as a mixed‑use complex with brewing, a small hotel, and a restaurant.
- In Nagano, Suwa Maternity Clinic’s director Hachihiro Nezu said Thursday he will retire in March 2027, end deliveries, and close infertility services, with outpatient care to continue under his obstetrician daughter.