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
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
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
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday welcomed the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages by the militant group Hamas. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/14/japan/israeli-hostages-release-welcome/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #yoshimasahayashi #gaza #israel #hamas
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
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 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
Japan's government has announced the resumption of economic sanctions against Iran, after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on the country over its nuclear development. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/30/japan/politics/sanction-iran-resume/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #iran #un #yoshimasahayashi
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
There needs to be a backup capital in Japan that can take over Tokyo's functions in an emergency, Yoshimasa Hayashi, a candidate in the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election, said in a recent interview. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/26/japan/politics/hayashi-interview-tokyo-backup/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #yoshimasahayashi #ldp #tokyo #nipponishinnokai #osaka #taxes #inflation #earthquakes #disasterpreparedness
All five Liberal Democratic Party candidates have taken a hard-line stance on immigration-related issues. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/26/japan/politics/foreigners-policy-ldp-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #foreignworkers #immigration #shigeruishiba #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi
LDP leadership candidates are courting conservative opposition parties as factions realign and policy shifts unfold ahead of the Oct. 4 vote. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/26/japan/ldp-hopefuls-go-on-speed-dating/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi #dpp #cdp #nipponishinnokai #komeito
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi has the lead in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race when it comes to support from fellow lawmakers in the party, a survey shows. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/26/japan/politics/koizumi-leads-in-support-from-ldp-lawmakers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #shinjirokoizumi #sanaetakaichi #yoshimasahayashi #toshimitsumotegi #takayukikobayashi #surveys