Lawmaker Kei Sato, who was at the scene of the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, appeared at the trial of the suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, as a witness Wednesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/30/japan/crime-legal/japan-pm-abe-shooting-trial-witness-testimony/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #keisato #shinzoabe #tetsuyayamagami #japanesecourts #nara

Japan’s top security adviser Keiichi Ichikawa is set to play a leading role in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s foreign policy strategy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/30/japan/politics/national-security-adviser-change/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #keiichiichikawa #sanaetakaichi #defense #shinzoabe #shigeruishiba

Sanae Takaichi’s first meeting with Donald Trump mirrored Shinzo Abe’s charm-based diplomacy, earning her praise, strong poll numbers, and a positive start for her new government. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/29/trump-flattery-will-get-takaichi-everywhere/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #us #usjapanrelations #shinzoabe #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump

Forging a bond similar to that of her predecessor with the leader of Japan's key security partner could help Takaichi bolster a weak political position at home and navigate Trump's erratic decision-making, analysts say. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/29/japan/politics/abe-bonds-takaichi-trump-gifts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #shinzoabe #defense #usjapanrelations #golf

Tetsuya Yamagami — the man accused of the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — has pleaded guilty to the crime. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/28/japan/crime-legal/yamagami-first-trial-hearing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesecourts #shinzoabe #nara #tetsuyayamagami

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was holding her first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with trade and security issues on the agenda, as Japan’s new leader looks to cultivate ties with her counterpart. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/28/japan/politics/trump-takaichi-us-japan-summit/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #usjapanrelations #shinzoabe #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #usmilitary #defense #trade #tariffs #investments #budgets #ldp

U.S. President Donald Trump was bound for Tokyo on Monday, where he is set to meet the emperor in the evening and new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday for a summit that will focus on trade and defense spending. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/27/japan/politics/trump-takaichi-japan-arrives/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #usjapanrelations #shinzoabe #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #usmilitary #defense #trade #tariffs #investments #budgets #ldp

More than three years after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the trial of the man accused of the crime is set to begin following a lengthy psychiatric evaluation and pretrial proceedings. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/27/japan/crime-legal/yamagami-trial-preview/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #shinzoabe #tetsuyayamagami #unificationchurch #japanesecourts #nara

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

The mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man indicted over the 2022 killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in Nara, will testify in court as a defense witness. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/22/japan/crime-legal/abe-killer-mother-testify/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #shinzoabe #japanesecourts #nara #guns

Minoru Kihara, the “cool-headed” spokesman of Japan’s new prime minister, has many things in common with his new boss. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/politics/who-is-minoru-kihara/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #minorukihara #sanaetakaichi #ldp #shinzoabe #yoshihidesuga #fumiokishida #hirokazumatsuno #shigeruishiba #yoshimasahayashi #kumamoto #taiwan

Japan seems hot again, but its already-embattled presumptive leader can’t be lulled that the freeze is really over. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/13/japan/japans-economic-recovery-amid-signs-of-weakness/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #abenomics #shinzoabe #boj #japaneseeconomy #inflation

There is debate over how Sanae Takaichi’s economic approach as the presumptive prime minister will differ from Shinzo Abe’s Abenomics amid challenges like inflation and a weak parliamentary position. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/10/japan/should-it-be-called-the-takaichi-trade/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #abenomics #shinzoabe #boj #monetarypolicy #japaneseeconomy #inflation

In an unusual move, ruling coalition junior partner Komeito has only said it will continue talking with the Liberal Democratic Party about remaining in the coalition following Sanae Takaichi becoming LDP president. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/politics/soka-gakkai-takaichi-komeito/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sokagakkai #sanaetakaichi #tetsuosaito #makotonishida #shinzoabe #natsuoyamaguchi

Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will know his fate in January 2026, when the Nara District Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on the case against him. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/03/japan/crime-legal/abe-shooter-ruling-date/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #tetsuyayamagami #shinzoabe #japanesecourts

Former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura had asked to resume kickbacks of revenues from fundraising parties to faction members, a party faction's ex-accountant has testified. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/26/japan/politics/shimomura-kickback-restart/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hakubunshimomura #ldp #shinzoabe

Central bankers are starting to fear that the political storm surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve — which U.S. President Donald Trump wants to shape to his liking — may engulf them too. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/25/markets/world-central-bankers-fear-fed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #us #federalreserve #jeromepowell #banking #globaleconomy #boj #europeancentralbank #shinzoabe #masaakishirakawa#haruhikokuroda

Some LDP lawmakers — mainly onetime members of the now-defunct faction once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — are calling for the party to more actively advertise its conservative policies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/17/japan/politics/ldp-members-conservative-policies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #2025upperhouseelection #shinzoabe#sanaetakaichi

As Japan marked 80 years since its surrender in World War II, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed remorse at a memorial service in a notable break from his recent predecessors. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/15/japan/politics/end-of-ww2/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #wwii #shigeruishiba#emperornaruhito #empressmasako #shinzoabe #yoshihidesuga#fumiokishida #yoshihikonoda

Ahead of Upper House elections, the Japanese prime minister’s inability to charm Donald Trump stands in stark contrast to his late rival, Shinzo Abe. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/07/18/japan/trade-deal-could-be-ishibas-last-mistake/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #shigeruishiba #donaldtrump #shinzoabe #ldp #komeito #tariffs #2025upperhouseelection