Overview
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the first leaders’ meeting between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and five Central Asian presidents will be held in Tokyo on December 19–20.
- Takaichi closed her first extraordinary Diet session with high approval ratings, though her Taiwan-related answers drew criticism inside the LDP and raised diplomatic concerns.
- The government set ¥264.7 billion for Okinawa promotion in the fiscal 2026 draft budget, falling short of the prefecture’s request for the fifth consecutive year.
- Hakodate announced four months of household basic water-fee waivers and ¥30,000 payments to each resident‑tax‑exempt household, funded by national support grants and subject to a supplementary budget proposal on December 24.
- Miyazaki police reported an arrest in the December 4 gas-station robbery in Nobeoka, while Hokkaido and Aichi police are investigating an SNS-based investment fraud in Iwamizawa and a fatal truck collision in Chita.