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
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
The Japanese parties that best navigate the shortened campaign period will cement their place in the new political landscape. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/04/japan/cheat-sheet-for-japans-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #cra #jip #2026lowerhouseelection #sanseito #dpp #diet
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Takaichi is weighing a snap election to win enough seats to govern without coalition constraints but risks repeating Ishiba’s failure if she misreads voter priorities and coalition politics. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/13/world/why-a-japan-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #sanaetakaichi #liberaldemocraticparty #ldp #japaninnovationparty #jip #democraticpartyforthepeople #sanseito #shinzoabe #komeito #yurikokoike #partyofhope #shigeruishiba #snapelections
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is believed to be eyeing a snap election as early as next month, with the co-leader of the LDP's ruling coalition partner saying her thinking on the matter had "shifted to a new stage." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/11/japan/politics/japan-takaichi-snap-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #diet #ldp #nipponishinnokai #diet #lowerhouse #dpp #chinajapanrelations #jip #osakaishinnokai
Japan enters 2026 with rare political stability under Prime Minister Takaichi, but her durability will depend on managing a fragile coalition, navigating U.S. pressure and delivering long-term economic solutions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/07/japan/takaichis-2026-political-landscape/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #jip #donaldtrump #usdefense #indopacific #japaneseeconomy
A difference of approach by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party when it comes to constitutional revision — the latter is hawkish — might be causing delay to such a move by the coalition partners. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/japan/politics/ruling-bloc-constitutional-revision/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #jip #constitution #diet #sdf
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
Japan's Foreign Ministry will set up by the end of March next year a new office tasked with mediating peace between third countries, sources said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/japan/politics/foreign-ministry-peace-office/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #foreignministry #gaza #ldp #jip
Japan should cut Upper House seats and expand the Lower House to 550 single-seat districts to end voter disparity and consolidate the 47 prefectures into nine regional blocks to make government more efficient. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/05/japan/right-sizing-the-diet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #ldp #jip #komeito #sanseito #japanesecommunistparty #constitutionaldemocraticpartyofjapan #democraticpartyforthepeople #sanaetakaichi
The government and ruling parties have begun discussions on correcting what they say is an imbalance in tax revenues favoring Tokyo, which has led to widening regional disparities in administrative services. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/04/japan/tax-revenue-gap-regions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #taxes #ldp #jip #tokyometropolitangovernment #yurikokoike