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October 01, 2025
 

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Gabriele Ninivaggi
In his second bid for the presidency, farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi has toned down his rhetoric, avoiding controversial proposals for social and labor reform and pledging instead to carry on the work of previous administrations.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 30, 2025
Why Koizumi is toning down his calls for reform
The political scion's unsuccessful bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency last year may be influencing his shift in strategy this time.
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 25, 2025
Will a Lower House election follow LDP’s leadership vote? Maybe not this time
Dissolving the Lower House to call a snap general election soon after the appointment of a new party leader is convention, but the current situation seems more complicated.
Veteran lawmaker Sanae Takaichi outlines her policy platform at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday as she makes another bid for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2025
Takaichi works to soften her image in LDP presidential bid
A long-time conservative champion, the former economic security minister had long worked to present herself as the poster child of the more hawkish wing of the LDP.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi announces his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidency in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2025
In LDP leadership bid, Kobayashi touts ‘moderate’ stance as selling point
Kobayashi pledged to make Japan a tech powerhouse again, boost defense spending and push through a generational change in the LDP if elected party chief.
Sanae Takaichi speaks before a runoff election at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election on Sept. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. She has yet to go public about a potential entry into the race this year.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2025
LDP to pick next party leader through 'full-scale vote'
Campaigning for the presidency will kick off on Sept. 22, with a final vote on Oct. 4.
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday became the first to enter the race to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2025
Race to become next LDP president kicks off again
One presidential hopeful has announced his bid following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to step down just a year after taking over as chief of the ruling party.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his decision to step down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2025
Ishiba to quit as prime minister amid LDP discontent
The move comes amid growing calls from within the LDP for the prime minister to step aside after a poor showing in July’s Upper House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the India-Japan Economic Forum in Tokyo on Friday, Aug. 29
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 4, 2025
Darkest hour for Ishiba amid pressure to quit and executive resignations
An offer by the secretary-general to resign after the party’s poor performance in a recent election has prompted Ishiba's LDP leadership team to call time on the administration.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2025
LDP secretary-general offers to step down over Upper House election losses
Hiroshi Moriyama says he will entrust his future to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is party president.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
At Tokyo summit, India and Japan outline path forward for the coming decade
The leaders of the two countries outlined multiple areas of cooperation, including tech, the environment and health.
Liberal Democratic Party's election panel chair Ichiro Aisawa speaks at a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 27, 2025
Lawmakers must come clean on stance over possible Ishiba ouster, LDP panel says
LDP party executives have put pressure on lawmakers to take a clear stance on the issue.
For Suzunobu, a small rice specialty shop in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, distribution delays have resulted in it struggling to sell stockpiled rice secured from the government, owner Toyozo Nishijima said.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2025
Rice woes weigh down Koizumi's first three months as farm minister
Early forecasts have also indicated that the relatively poor rice harvest this year will drive the price of the staple back up.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 24, 2025
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
In the two countries' first joint document in 17 years, the leaders agreed to work together "to advance future-oriented and mutually beneficial common interests."
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. The former prime minister has signaled he’s ready to take his conciliatory approach to the government to new heights, hinting that the time for clashes with the Liberal Democratic Party is over.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
CDP softens stance toward LDP in bid to bolster political center
“Right-wing populism has grown too strong,” CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda said. “Unless the center gains more strength, Japanese politics won’t improve.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to the media after a meeting in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2025
Ishiba says Japan considering role in security guarantees for Ukraine
The “coalition of the willing,” which groups 30 nations backing Ukraine that includes Japan, has been working for months to craft a comprehensive package of security guarantees.
Setsuko Kawai, who lost her mother and two younger brothers in the March 1945 bombing, has fought for recognition of the victims.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2025
Civilian air raid survivors fight for recognition 80 years after war's end
After drafting a bill to provide concrete relief to survivors this spring, a bipartisan group of lawmakers failed to submit it to parliament days before the session’s closure.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party's plenary meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2025
LDP panel to decide whether to hold party poll that could oust Ishiba
The prime minister, who has long shown a strong appetite to stay in government, has said he will remain despite calls for him to resign.
Police officers ask a man to evacuate from an empty beach following a tsunami warning, in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2025
Japan on edge but prepared for tsunami after huge Kamchatka earthquake
Tsunami waves measuring up to 1.3 meters were observed off the Pacific coast of Japan, with authorities urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, flanked by LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left) and LDP Vice President Yoshihide Suga, speaks at a meeting of party lawmakers and executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2025
At LDP’s post-election meeting, calls intensify for Ishiba’s resignation
The prime minister apologized to his fellow party members over the loss of its majority in the Upper House, but remains determined to stay on.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, walks past a poster after meeting with party executives at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2025
Political turmoil continues as Ishiba’s fate hangs in the balance
While there are demands for the ruling party's leadership to resign, the weakening of past factional ties makes it hard for those opposing the prime minister to join forces.
Japanese team detects gradual seafloor caving near Nankai Trough
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Prime Minister's Office on Sept. 1 during an anti-disaster drill simulating an earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
Japan sees 40% surge in chronic bowel disease cases over eight years
Japanese researchers estimated that as of 2023, there were 316,900 people in Japan with ulcerative colitis and 95,700 with Crohn’s disease.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Osaka Expo visitors exceed breakeven point
The Osaka Expo in Osaka on Sept. 13. The daily number of visitors to the expo has topped 200,000 since mid-September as its Oct. 13 closing approaches.
Onosato’s fifth title cements preeminent position in Japan’s national sport
Onosato's victory at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament gave him his fifth Emperor’s Cup at the age of 25.
Japan faces fresh energy challenge as it seeks to expand power-hungry data centers
Data storage tapes at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center facility in Berkeley, California. Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water, and that will only rise as generative artificial intelligence takes off in earnest.
Architecture art exhibition highlights unsung industry artists
Yuanhui Li's illustration is one of the awardees in the student category of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators' annual award for artists.
On defense and foreign policy, LDP candidates largely align — except where they don’t
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates in Nagoya on Friday
Can Japan crack the China code in table tennis?
Tomokazu Harimoto waits for China's Wang Chuqin to serve during the men's singles final at the WTT Champions Yokohama 2025 tournament on Aug. 11.
Auberge Eaufeu brings French flair to a quiet village in Ishikawa
Chef Shota Itoi’s innovative take on modern French cuisine at Auberge Eaufeu elevates the produce of rural Ishikawa Prefecture.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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