Overview
- Fukui Governor Tatsuharu Sugimoto decided to step down after a staff member’s sexual-harassment report, with a Nov. 25 prefectural press conference set to explain the decision.
- Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa submitted a resignation letter to the city council speaker after criticism over meeting a married subordinate at a hotel, calling it a hard decision on his social media.
- Gifu Hashima police arrested care-home director Ritsuyo Otsuka, 72, on suspicion of assaulting residents; authorities say she admitted the charges and a caregiver was arrested earlier in the same case.
- Protesters in Sapporo on Nov. 24 opposed a defense buildup and criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statement that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a “survival-threatening crisis” allowing collective self‑defence.
- Makubetsu’s town council will begin YouTube live streams of plenary sessions from Nov. 27 with recorded videos available on demand, and Shohei Ohtani confirmed he will play for Japan in the March 2026 WBC.