After the Liberal Democratic Party won the most seats for a single party in postwar history, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might be at the beginning of an enduring administration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/sanae-takaichi-long-reign/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection

After a crushing debut defeat, Japan’s Centrist Reform Alliance faces a long road back to relevance — starting with a change in leadership. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/cra-long-recovery/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #cra #yoshihikonoda #diet

Female representation in the body has fallen by a notch to its second-highest level despite a record number of 313 women having run in Sunday’s election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/female-candidates-election-takaichi/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #dpp #cra #2026lowerhouseelection

Takaichi’s big victory might not be a mandate for big spending with fiscal hawks in the LDP and the bond market keeping a lid on stimulus spending. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/09/economy/nagata-takaichi-fiscal-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ldp #sanaetakaichi #yen #bonds #japaneseeconomy #economicindicators #2026lowerhouseelection #consumptiontax

The LDP's Lower House electoral triumph stunned even the most optimistic observers. But the result is less a master stroke of the party than a success of its indisputable architect: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi herself. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/sanae-takaichi-ldp-lower-house-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection #diet

More than 40% of voters who responded to an exit poll during Sunday’s Lower House election want the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party to continue to govern Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/exit-poll/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #nipponishinnokai #ldp #socialmedia #sanaetakaichi #cra #dpp #ai

Japanese workers’ real wages fell in every month of 2025, underscoring the persistence of inflation and bolstering the case for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to continue down a more expansionary fiscal path. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/09/economy/real-wages-drop/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #sanaetakaichi #japaneseeconomy #wages #inflation #2026lowerhouseelection #ldp #boj

For traditional opposition parties, the results of Sunday's election were a doomsday signal. For Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, it was an invitation to lead Japan as she sees fit. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/japan/takaichi-victory-takeaways/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #2026lowerhouseelection

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide election victory holds a foreign-policy lesson for American observers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/09/japan/takaichi-us-foreign-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #2026lowerhouseelection #usjapanrelations

Nikkei 225 hit a record after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's big win on Sunday, with the benchmark index up more than 5% in the first 30 minutes of trade on Monday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/09/markets/nikkei-takaichi-record/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #sanaetakaichi #diet #ldp #tse #nikkei #stocks #2026lowerhouseelection

The Liberal Democratic Party is on track for an overwhelming landslide victory in Japan’s Lower House election, NHK projections show. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/japan-2026-lower-house-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #ldp #jip #yoshihikonoda #cra #dpp #sanseito #jcp #reiwashinsengumi #teammirai

Japan will continue to push for a restart of a program for former residents of Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands to visit the graves of their ancestors there, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/japan-rally-northern-territories-return/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #disputedislands #northernterritories #hokkaido #sanaetakaichi

Voters headed to the polls for a Lower House election seen as a referendum on the country’s leadership, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi saying she will step down if the ruling coalition fails to snag a majority. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/voters-head-to-polls/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cra #nipponishin

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged Saturday to make Japan "more prosperous and safer," including through tougher immigration screening, in a final appeal to voters on the eve of snap elections. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/07/japan/politics/takaichi-final-appeal-voters/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #ldp #immigration #2026lowerhouseelection

Momentum for political reform in Japan is faltering, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sidesteps the topic in her campaigning for Sunday's Lower House election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/07/japan/politics/political-reform-stalls-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #sanaetakaichi #diet #cra #2026lowerhouseelection

A landslide win for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at Sunday's election may be the best outcome for bonds and the yen, analysts say. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/07/takaichi-big-win-bonds-yen/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #ldp #sanaetakaichi #yen #bonds #japaneseeconomy #economicindicators #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

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has shied away from the topics of a proposed consumption tax cut and her alleged ties to the controversial religious group Unification Church. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/06/japan/politics/takaichi-silence-tax-church/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #ldp #taxes #consumptiontax #food

Rising food prices are a big issue for Prime Minister Sanae ahead of a national election on Feb. 8 that will make or break her government. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/06/economy/food-cost-rise-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #consumptiontax #food #2026lowerhouseelection #japaneseeconomy #inflation #economicindicators #sanaetakaichi

U.S. President Donald Trump has again broken with tradition, offering his “total endorsement” of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Sunday’s election and announcing the pair's planned meeting in Washington on March 19. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/06/japan/politics/trump-takaichi-endorsement/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #china #xijinping #us #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #ldp