Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister, forming a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party to focus on defense, economic reforms and international diplomacy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/24/takaichi-heads-into-the-breach/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #sanaetakaichi #ldp #japaninnovationparty #komeito #shigeruishiba #fumiokishida #toshimitsumotegi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #minorukihara #ryoseiakazawa #satsukikatayama #kimionoda #sanseito #shinzoabe
Newly appointed farm minister Norikazu Suzuki has hinted of a potential rethink of a policy to increase rice production advocated by the administration of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/24/japan/society/farm-minister-rice/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #agriculture #rice #norikazusuzuki #shinjirokoizumi #shigeruishiba #sanaetakaichi
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s picks for Japan’s new defense, foreign and economic security ministers are not your typical stodgy line-up. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/22/japan/politics/new-foreign-defense-ministers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #defense #cabinet #toshimitsumotegi #shinjirokoizumi #kimionoda #economicsecurity #foreignministry #defenseministry #sanaetakaichi
Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet picks reflect her strategy of balancing political alliances, rewarding loyal supporters, managing factional politics and bringing in fresh faces to navigate Japan's evolving political landscape. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/22/japan/takaichi-cabinet-picks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #komeito #cabinet #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #ryoseiakazawa #minorukihara #satsukikatayama
With early shipments of rice from the 2025 harvest having reached the market, attention is turning to supply, demand and prices amid uncertainty over how this summer's weather will affect yields. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/17/japan/new-rice-crop-competition/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #agriculture #shinjirokoizumi #maff
The average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan in the week through Sunday fell ¥6 from the previous week to ¥4,205 per 5 kilograms, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/10/japan/rice-price-fall/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #shinjirokoizumi #agriculture #supermarkets
Sanae Takaichi is set to become Japan's first female prime minister as the ruling LDP turns to her conservative leadership to restore stability amid internal division, economic pressure and strained U.S. relations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/05/japan/is-takaichi-japans-thatcher-or-truss/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi
A split of moderate votes in the first round and the support of a party kingmaker helped propel Sanae Takaichi to a historic victory in the LDP’s presidential race. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/05/japan/politics/vote-flow-ldp/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #taroaso #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi
The Liberal Democratic Party is electing a new president on Saturday to unify the divided party and, in all likelihood, steer a minority government as Japan’s next prime minister. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/04/japan/politics/ldp-election-voting/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi
The ruling LDP faces a critical election with candidates offering little change, struggling to regain traditional support and confronting a political landscape that has shifted dramatically in recent years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/02/japan/ldp-not-likely-to-change-with-new-leader/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #yoshimasahayashi #takayukikobayashi #toshimitsumotegi
The Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated Japanese politics for most of the postwar era, is in danger of crumbling. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/02/japan/politics/japan-ruling-party-ldp-in-danger/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #farmers #agriculture #rurallife #rice #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #sanseito
For Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election on Saturday could prove to be a turning point. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/02/japan/politics/komeito-ldp-candidates/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi #ldp #komeito #tetsuosaito #nipponishinnokai #dpp
Foreign policy experience aside, the next prime minister will have to deal with the U.S. president’s “quirks” in the practice of diplomacy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/01/japan/trump-effect-on-the-ldp-race/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #defense #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #toshimitsumotegi #yoshimasahayashi #takayukikobayashi #budgets #china #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump
As the Liberal Democratic Party gears up for Saturday’s presidential vote, two candidates are going head-to-head for the top spot in media polls. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/japan/politics/whos-leading-ldp-race/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #yoshimasahayashi #takayukikobayashi #toshimitsumotegi
Only two of the five candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election own stock despite a government push for more people to invest in Japan’s stock market. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/01/markets/ldp-candidates-stocks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #ldp #stocks #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #toshimitsumotegi #yoshimasahayashi #takayukikobayashi #shigeruishiba
As the Liberal Democratic Party gears up to vote for a new leader on Oct. 4, why is Shinjuro Koizumi toning down his rhetoric on reform? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/30/japan/politics/shinjiro-koizumi-reformist-peacemaker/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #shigeruishiba
As Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party shifts left, influenced by liberal powerbrokers, its conservative wing weakens, internal rifts widen and weak leadership contenders risk fracturing the party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/30/japan/the-last-ldp-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #takayukikobayashi #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #diet #yoshimasahayashi #cdp #dpp #sanseito #nipponishinnokai
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the go-to problem solver in Japan's political center, might be facing his biggest challenge yet: convincing colleagues in the ruling party that he is best suited to lead them. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/29/japan/politics/ldp-hayashi-profile/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi #fumiokishida #yoshihidesuga #taroaso #shigeruishiba
On defense and foreign policy, the five candidates vying to be the LDP's next president largely align. But the nuanced differences they do have could mean significantly distinct policies depending on who is elected. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/28/japan/politics/ldp-leadership-race-candidates-foreign-defense-policies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #defense #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #toshimitsumotegi #yoshimasahayashi #takayukikobayashi #budgets #china #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is running for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency, has apologized over a member of his campaign team soliciting favorable online comments about him from supporters. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/26/japan/politics/koizumi-apologizes-over-campaign-team-requesting-favorable-online-comments/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shinjirokoizumi #ldp #socialmedia