The Liberal Democratic Party is on track for an overwhelming landslide victory in Japan’s Lower House election, NHK projections show. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/japan-2026-lower-house-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #ldp #jip #yoshihikonoda #cra #dpp #sanseito #jcp #reiwashinsengumi #teammirai
The conservative grip is slipping in Fukui Prefecture ahead of Sunday's Lower House vote, following a recent gubernatorial election that left major fractures within the LDP. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/06/japan/politics/lower-house-election-fukui-conservatives/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #fukui #ldp #cra #sanseito
Several parties are taking a hard-line stance in relation to foreign residents in Japan ahead of the country’s general election, including by proposing population caps. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/05/japan/politics/foreigner-measures-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #diet #expats #immigration #livinginjapan #nationality #foreignworkers #nipponishinnokai #sanseito #cra #2026lowerhouseelection
The new opposition centrist force that was supposed to upend Japan’s political calculus isn’t gaining any ground. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/how-unpredictable-is-the-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #cdp #komeito #cra #dpp #sanseito #jip #china #us #indopacific #eastasia #senkakus #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #nipponishinnokai #diet
The Japanese parties that best navigate the shortened campaign period will cement their place in the new political landscape. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/cheat-sheet-for-japans-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cra #jip #2026lowerhouseelection #sanseito #dpp #diet
Japan’s Feb. 8 snap election will test whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the LDP can rebuild a Lower House majority by reclaiming conservative and independent voters as it faces a fragmented opposition. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/03/japan/conservative-voters-returning-to-ldp/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cdpj #komeito #cra #jip #dpp #sanseito #sokagakkai #rengo #shinzoabe
Electoral candidates in a Hokkaido district are braving the cold to get their messages out before the Feb. 8 election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/politics/hokkaido-4-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #ldp #sanseito #cdp #komeito #hokkaido #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #nuclearenergy #energy #restarts
Japan’s Feb. 8 snap election is less about short-term politics than a pivotal choice among competing coalition paths that will determine whether the country can adapt its domestic politics to shifting voter behavior. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/03/japan/where-japan-goes-from-here/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #jip #cdp #komeito #cra #dpp #sanseito #china #unitedstates #indopacific #eastasia #senkakuislands #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection
For the fourth time, two candidates in Tokyo with the surname Suzuki will be fighting for a seat in parliament, this time in the Feb. 8 Lower House election. But a party change could give a needed edge to one of them. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/01/japan/politics/reportage-tokyo-10th-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cra #komeito #cdp #sanseito #dpp #jcp #tokyo #sokagakkai #2026lowerhouseelection
Japan's social media is abuzz with politics as users air their thoughts on topics ranging from money scandals, immigration and security. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/31/japan/politics/lower-house-social-media-buzz/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cra #nipponishinnokai #dpp #sanseito #2026lowerhouseelection #socialmedia
While pledging to reduce the social security burden on working generations in the lead-up to the Feb. 8 general election, political parties continue to struggle with how to make the system financially sustainable. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/30/japan/politics/lower-house-social-security/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #elderly #welfare #2026lowerhouseelection #ldp #cra #sanseito #dpp #socialwelfare
Sanseito aims to realize its policy goals by positioning itself as an ally to a popular prime minister while targeting her left-leaning party colleagues at the ballot box. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/29/japan/politics/sanseito-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanseito #soheikamiya #sanaetakaichi #shigeruishiba #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection
Two opinion polls released this week suggest the Liberal Democratic Party may secure a standalone majority even without the aid of its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, in the Feb. 8 Lower House vote. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/29/japan/politics/ldp-election-majority/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cra #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #nipponishinnokai #sanseito
The political parties joining forces to form the the Centrist Reform Alliance are neither centrist nor true reformers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/27/japan/japans-new-centrist-reform-alliance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #centristreformalliance #cra #komeito #cdp #ldp #sanaetakaichi #tetsuosaito #dpj #yurikokoike #partyofhope #jip #sanseito #rengo #sokagakkai #dpp
As Japan heads into another general election, it is becoming increasingly uncertain whether conservative voters will make a return to the Liberal Democratic Party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/27/japan/politics/conservative-voters/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cra #sanseito #nipponishinnokai #dpp #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #soheikamiya #fumitakefujita
The Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) — a new party formed by the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito — announced its basic policies and party platform on Monday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/19/japan/politics/cra-policies-security-energy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #2026lowerhouseelection #komeito #cdp #junazumi #tetsuosaito #henoko #futenma #okinawa #sanaetakaichi #sanseito
Takaichi is weighing a snap election to win enough seats to govern without coalition constraints but risks repeating Ishiba’s failure if she misreads voter priorities and coalition politics. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/13/world/why-a-japan-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #sanaetakaichi #liberaldemocraticparty #ldp #japaninnovationparty #jip #democraticpartyforthepeople #sanseito #shinzoabe #komeito #yurikokoike #partyofhope #shigeruishiba #snapelections
Long seen as fringe groups, ultranationalists like Taikosha now say that mainstream politicians are stealing their ideas. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/13/japan/politics/ultranationalists-japan-politics/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #sanseito #taikosha
Japan should cut Upper House seats and expand the Lower House to 550 single-seat districts to end voter disparity and consolidate the 47 prefectures into nine regional blocks to make government more efficient. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/05/japan/right-sizing-the-diet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #jip #komeito #sanseito #japanesecommunistparty #constitutionaldemocraticpartyofjapan #democraticpartyforthepeople #sanaetakaichi
Japanese political parties are boosting spending on online outreach, with upstart Sanseito marking a fourteenfold jump in expenditures for Google advertisements in 2024. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/28/japan/politics/political-parties-online-outreach/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2025upperhouseelection #sanseito #ldp #cdp #internet #google