Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is calling a snap election to seek a popular mandate for her leadership, but faces major challenges from opposition turnout machines and possible weak coordination within her own coalition. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/20/japan/takaichi-election-announcement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #komeito #jip #cdp
England’s contested 1,100-year anniversary passed with little public interest, reflecting a broadly unbothered national identity, even as a small but vocal far-right English nationalism gains visibility. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/19/world/being-properly-english/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #uk #england #tommyrobinson #donaldtrump #nigelfarage #mikenesbitt #georgeorwell #johnmajor #rishisunak #labour #tories #reformuk #conservativeparty #ulsterunionistparty #maga #englishdefenceleague
A proposed ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes may sound populist but would do little to improve affordability and would likely reduce home construction. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/19/world/make-housing-more-affordable/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #homes #useconomy #donaldtrump
South Korea’s current turmoil shows how lingering authoritarian institutions continue to tempt presidents into abusing executive power, leaving civil society and the courts as the primary checks on overreach. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/19/world/yoon-suk-yeol-and-power-abuse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #southkorea #yoonsukyeol #nationalassembly #moonjaein #leejaemyung #rohtaewoo #leemyungbak #parkgeunhye #rohmoohyun #martiallaw
Japan has so far taken an “innovation-first” approach to AI governance, avoiding stringent rules or penalties that could stifle adoption or experimentation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/19/japan/japan-worlds-next-ai-leader/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #japaneseeconomy #ai #artificialintelligence #tech
Autonomies: **For Daniel Colson (1943-2026)**
https://autonomies.org/2026/01/for-daniel-colson-1943-2026/
From Freedom News, an obituary for the anarchist Daniel Colson (11/01/2026) by David Berry, followed by a translation of a lecture by him entitled, “Proudhon and the contemporary relevance of anarchism”. A singular and generous thinker of anarchism, his work … Continue reading →
#Commentary #Anarchism #DanielColson #PierreJosephProudhon
Japan's opposition politics remain fragmented as Komeito and the CDP merge to form a new party, despite policy divides and a history of electoral struggles. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/18/japan/japans-rare-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #komeitolowerhouse #komeito #cdp #centristreformalliance #cra #tetsuosaito #yoshihikonoda #sokagakkai #ccp #aeon #china #shinzoabe #fumiokishida #shigeruishiba #jip
BTS’s comeback has been overshadowed by dating rumors, exposing the clash between K-pop’s obsessive superfan culture and the artists’ right to love freely as the industry expands globally. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/world/allowing-k-pop-stars-to-love/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #kpop #southkorea #bts #aespa #winkook #hybe #smentertainment #hyuna #tripleh #cube #kpopdemonhunters
Beijing isn’t issuing idle threats. Countries ready to defy it must find alternative rare-earth sources. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/18/japan/china-export-controls/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #china #chinajapanrelations #rareearths #trade #defense
You have three minutes to escape the perpetual underclass – geohot
https://geohot.github.io//blog/jekyll/update/2026/01/17/three-minutes.html
#HackerNews #You #have #three #minutes #to #escape #the #perpetual #underclass #– #geohot
geohot #escape #underclass #tech #innovation #social #commentary
The stable and predictable postwar era of the past 80 years may finally be drawing to a close. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/japan/postwar-wwii-era-finally-closing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan
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Amid a surge in arrivals of both migrants and tourists, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made rethinking the agenda around foreign nationals one of her top priorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/japan/japan-right-on-immigration-approach/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #foreignworkers #immigration #sanaetakaichi
Amid a surge in arrivals of both migrants and tourists, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made rethinking the agenda around foreign nationals one of her top priorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/japan/japan-right-on-immigration-approach/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #foreignworkers #immigration #sanaetakaichi
Despite being branded anti-feminist by media elites, Japan’s first female prime minister Sanae Takaichi exposes the blind spots and hypocrisy of academic feminism. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/japan/takaichis-success-and-feminisms-failures/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #feminism #women039sissues #sanaetakaichi #satsukikatayama #ldp #childabuse #childporn #caregiving #genderequality
Putin’s willingness to be pushed around has its limits, and it is entirely possible that Donald Trump's administration will prove pushy enough to find out what those limits are. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/16/world/putins-silence-on-venezuela/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #vladimirputin #nicolasmaduro #venezuela #russia #us #donaldtrump #russiaukrainewar #defense
New Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call a February snap election to capitalize on record popularity and youth support before her political honeymoon ends. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/15/japan/japans-leader-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #diet
Iran’s protests erupted as the collapsing rial, soaring inflation and austerity reforms collided with years of sanctions and corruption, leaving households squeezed. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/13/world/economics-behind-irans-protests/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #iran #us #donaldtrump #alikhamenei #middleeast
The U.S. seizure of Venezuela’s leader shows that Washington is not retreating into a tidy world of spheres of influence but is instead using raw power to challenge rivals and weaken the rules-based order. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/13/world/us-sphere-of-influence-is-big/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #venezuela #nicolasmaduro #us #russia #china #taiwan #ukraine #donroedoctrine #monroedoctrine #vladimirputin #latinamerica
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
Japan has roughly 12 years to overhaul its postwar strategy, military posture and political mindset to preserve its autonomy and deter China as U.S. reliability fades and regional power balances shift. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/13/world/japan-cant-afford-strategic-confusion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #defense #china #sdf #xijinping #donaldtrump #sanaetakaichi