Imperial Succession Overhaul: Japan’s Cabinet approved a bill to revise the Imperial House Law to keep the male/paternal-line succession while tackling shrinking numbers, including allowing adoption of eligible males from former branch families and letting women retain imperial status after marrying commoners. FX Watch: The yen slid to the lower 162 per dollar range in Tokyo, near multi-decade lows, as markets weigh the interest-rate gap and Japan’s readiness to intervene. China Maritime Friction: Japan lodged a protest after China installed a mobile offshore drilling rig in the East China Sea near the median line, urging talks on joint development under a 2008 framework. Defense-Alliance Drills: Japan’s GSDF said expanded V-22 Osprey training with U.S. Marines will improve disaster response on remote islands as regional tensions rise. Economic Security Clash: China added 20 Japanese entities to export controls and another 20 to a watch list over dual-use items, framing it as opposition to Japan’s remilitarization. AI Policy Pressure: Japan’s AI Basic Plan revision drew thousands of public comments, with many suspected to be AI-generated, especially around proposed personal-data rules. Human Rights Case: A Thai court sentenced a woman to seven and a half years for trafficking her 12-year-old daughter into sexual exploitation in Tokyo.