Overview
- Japan’s Defense Ministry reported a suspected North Korean ballistic missile fell outside the country’s exclusive economic zone with no damage confirmed.
- At a Defense University graduation, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to revise key security strategy documents by year’s end and to strengthen deterrence.
- TEPCO stopped power transmission from Kashiwazaki–Kariwa Unit 6 to investigate a leak alarm, holding the reactor at about 20% output and delaying its planned March 18 commercial start.
- JR East implemented an average 7.1% fare increase, the first significant rise since the 1987 privatization, with larger jumps on high-traffic metropolitan routes.
- Leaders of three parties asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara to ensure the safety of crews on roughly 45 Japan-linked ships being held in the Persian Gulf.