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

Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito on Sunday signaled their resolve to keep their fledgling party together following a devastating election defeat that could force their resignations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/cra-cdp-lose/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #cra #cdp #komeito #yoshihikonoda #tetsuosaito #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

Snow blanketed swaths of Tokyo on Sunday, as a powerful winter pressure pattern tightened its grip over the country. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/japan-heavy-snow-election-day/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #snow #tokyo #2026lowerhouseelection

Japan’s elections are known for eccentric candidates, but the familiar array of oddballs was absent this time around. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/politics/election-oddball-candidates/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #hideyoshihashiba #takashitachibana #gaasyy

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

Tokyo and the Pacific side of Japan braced for snow Saturday, as weather officials said a winter pressure pattern was expected to hit the areas along the Sea of Japan coast particularly hard overnight and into Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/07/japan/snow-japan-tokyo/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #snow #tokyo #2026lowerhouseelection

Whatever the outcome of Sunday’s Lower House election, the race will be remembered for having witnessed the full-blown debut of "AI slop" in Japanese politics. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/07/japan/politics/ai-fake-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #chatgpt #ai #fakenews #democracy #tech #chatbots #misinformation #2026lowerhouseelection

Hikaru Fujita, who is running for a seat in Japan's powerful Upper House as a candidate for the governing Liberal Democratic Party, is testing the country's patriarchal system with two words: "I'm pregnant." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/07/japan/politics/upending-japan-politics-pregnant/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #women039sissues #pregnancy #2026lowerhouseelection