Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito on Sunday signaled their resolve to keep their fledgling party together following a devastating election defeat that could force their resignations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/cra-cdp-lose/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #cdp #komeito #yoshihikonoda #tetsuosaito #2026lowerhouseelection
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has energized voters and strengthened the LDP ahead of a snap election, but her inexperience and ties to the Shinzo Abe faction pose risks for governance and public trust. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/editorials/2026/02/06/takaichi-ldp-poised-for-big-win/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #editorials #sanaetakaichi #ldp #jip #cra #cdp #komeito #shinzoabe #shigeruishiba #upperhouse #lowerhouse #2026lowerhouseelection
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday dismissed the party's past electoral cooperation with its former coalition partner, Komeito, as "nonsense." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/05/japan/politics/japan-aso-blasts-komeito/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #taroaso #ldp #komeito #cra #osaka
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
Koichi Hagiuda, an LDP executive who is running in the Tokyo No. 24 constituency, is seeking to fully re-emerge from the party's high-profile slush fund scandal with an election victory. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/04/japan/politics/lower-house-election-tokyo-koichi-hagiuda/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #koichihagiuda #ldp #politicalfunds #tokyo #komeito #hachioji
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
Despite being coalition partners, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party are facing off against each other in all 19 single-seat constituencies of Osaka Prefecture in Sunday’s general election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/politics/japan-lower-house-election-osaka-ldp-jip/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #osaka #ldp #jip #komeito
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
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
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has fended off criticism over her goals for Japan’s Feb. 8 snap election, arguing that the ruling coalition’s razor-thin majority in the Lower House made it difficult to pass bills. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/26/japan/politics/jnpc-debate-takaichi-noda/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #cra #nipponishinnokai #komeito #cdp #sanaetakaichi #yoshihikonoda #2026lowerhouseelection
Voter reactions varied to candidates of the new Centrist Reform Alliance as they stumped for the Feb. 8 election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/25/japan/politics/japan-new-centrist-party-voter-reaction/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #2026lowerhouseelection #yoshihikonoda #cdp #komeito
Prime Minister Takaichi is advancing a more assertive security agenda, but insufficiently refined strategic signaling risks diplomatic friction and undermining the coherence and credibility of its foreign policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/22/japan/takaichis-strengths-and-strategic-signaling/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #apec #southkorea #china #ldp #komeito #jip #taiwan #nuclearweapons #freeandopenindopacific #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #defense
The Centrist Reform Alliance, Japan's new political party, will start with over 160 House of Representatives lawmakers and is set to hold its inaugural meeting on Thursday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/21/japan/politics/cra-160-members/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #nipponishinnokai #ldp #dpp #komeito #sanaetakaichi
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
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
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
Ruling and opposition parties clashed during a Sunday debate, a day ahead of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s widely expected announcement of a February snap election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/18/japan/politics/japan-political-parties-tug-of-war/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #lowerhouse #ldp #jip #komeito #cdp #centristreformalliance #diet #sanaetakaichi
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition CDP, is likely to be the prime minister candidate of the Centrist Reform Alliance, the new party jointly formed by the CDP and Komeito. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/17/japan/politics/noda-pm-candidate-centrist-reform-alliance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #yoshihikonoda #cra #cdp #komeito #ldp #diet #lowerhouse #sanaetakaichi #nipponishin