A ceremony has been held to mark the relocation of two statues of Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of the 2025 World Exposition, near the Tower of the Sun monument, the symbol of the 1970 expo. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/22/japan/myaku-myaku-statues-relocation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #myakumyaku #osaka #2025osakaexpo #hirofumiyoshimura
Japan Innovation Party leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has indicated a possibility of returning to national politics. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/17/japan/politics/osaka-yoshimura-national-politics/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #jip #osaka #2026lowerhouseelection #ldp
Members of the Japan Innovation Party have voted not to hold a leadership election despite the party's sluggish results in the Feb. 8 parliamentary election, allowing Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura to remain its leader. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/16/japan/politics/yoshimura-jip-leader-remain/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #jip #ldp #osaka
After months of hesitation, the Japan Innovation Party is set to join Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet, tightening coalition ties and signaling a shift to shared responsibility. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/12/japan/politics/jip-cabinet-minister/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishin #sanaetakaichi #hirofumiyoshimura #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection
Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura says he has agreed to a request from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a member of his party join her Cabinet. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/10/japan/politics/jip-join-cabinet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #sanaetakaichi #nipponishinnokai #osaka #2026lowerhouseelection
The Liberal Democratic Party winning so many seats in the Lower House election on Sunday throws the role of its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, into doubt. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/jip-election-results-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #hirofumiyoshimura #osaka #ldp
After his reelection as Osaka governor, Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura now faces the uphill task of pushing for a referendum for a plan to restructure Osaka’s wards into those similar to Tokyo’s. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/media/osaka-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #media #nipponishnnokai #osaka #hirofumiyoshimura
The Japan Innovation Party hopes voters in the Feb. 8 Lower House election will see their being on the inside of government as a sign of strength, but the party has long had trouble expanding beyond its Osaka base. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/28/japan/politics/nippon-ishin-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #hirofumiyoshimura #osaka #seijimaehara #fumitakefujita #2026lowerhouseelection
The leaders of the ruling LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are expected to jointly deliver their first campaign speeches for the Feb. 8 Lower House election, in Tokyo on Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/24/japan/politics/ldp-jip-campaign-speeches-tuesday/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #hirofumiyoshimura #ldp #nipponishinnokai #2026lowerhouseelection #diet
Major political parties other than the Japan Innovation Party are expected to not participate in the upcoming double election for the governor of Osaka Prefecture and the mayor of Osaka, the prefecture's capital. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/18/japan/politics/osaka-double-election-candidates/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #osaka #hirofumiyoshimura #hideyukiyokoyama #jip
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned Friday morning to call a snap gubernatorial and mayoral election in the hope of winning local support for a third referendum on merging the city’s wards. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/16/japan/politics/osaka-referendum/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #osaka #nipponishinnokai #hirofumiyoshimura
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Tuesday that he might step down to hold a gubernatatorial election in hopes of seeking a mandate over whether to hold a third referendum on his party’s Osaka merger plan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/13/japan/politics/osaka-governor-mayor-backup-capital/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #osaka #hirofumiyoshimura #hideyukiyokoyama #decentralization
Several municipalities in Japan are giving Osaka a run for its money in the race toward winning the designation as the country’s secondary capital. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/09/japan/politics/back-up-capital-cities/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #disasterpreparedness #cities #nipponishinnokai #osaka #ldp #hirofumiyoshimura #fukuoka #kumamoto #saitama #nagoya
Recent remarks of senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Japan Innovation Party coalition have put the topic of a snap election back into focus. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/08/japan/politics/diet-dissolution-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #sanaetakaichi #hirofumiyoshimura #koichihagiuda
The Liberal Democratic Party’s recent tax agreement with an opposition party raises questions about how Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will balance ties with her party’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/25/japan/politics/dpp-ldp-jip-coalition/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #dpp #jip #sanaetakaichi #yuichirotamaki #hirofumiyoshimura
With parliament set to close on Wednesday, the ruling coalition agreed this week to hold off discussions on a bill reducing Lower House seats by 10% until next year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/16/japan/politics/ldp-jip-bill-put-off/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #ldp #hirofumiyoshimura #dpp #cdp #komeito #diet #lowerhouse
With just days left in the current Diet session, a key ruling-bloc bill to reduce the number of Lower House seats by 10% faces an uncertain future. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/12/japan/politics/ldp-ishin-seat-reducing-bill-uncertain/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #ldp #hirofumiyoshimura #dpp #cdp #komeito #sanaetakaichi
After a bumpy negotiation process, the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, submitted a bill that would cut at least 45 Lower House seats by the end of next year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/05/japan/politics/seat-reduction-bill-submitted/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #katsunobukato #hirofumiyoshimura #ldp #nipponishinnokai #diet #lowerhouse
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura agreed to submit a bill during the current parliamentary session that will reduce the number of Lower House seats by 10%. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/01/japan/politics/seats-reduction-ldp-jip-agreement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #lowerhouse #diet #hirofumiyoshimura #komeito #koichihagiuda
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, have agreed to submit a bill that creates a framework for reducing Lower House seats during the ongoing session of parliament. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/21/japan/politics/ldp-ishin-seat-reduction-bill/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #lowerhouse #diet #sanaetakaichi #katsunobukato #hirofumiyoshimura