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October 19, 2025
 

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The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai have agreed to form a coalition, paving the way for the country's first female prime minister, Kyodo reports.
JAPAN / Politics
LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai to form coalition government, report says
The ruling party's Sanae Takaichi, and Hirofumi Yoshimura, head of the smaller right-leaning group, are set to formalize their alliance on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Tributes pour in for former PM Murayama after his death
Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, which succeeded Murayam's Japan Socialist Party, told reporters that Murayama was "like a guardian angel."
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Japan's fractured politics could ensnarl Takaichi's economic plans
Sanae Takaichi may have found the political support she needs to become Japan's next prime minister — but the new cross-party alliances come with risks.
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi (third from right) and LDP executives hold talks with Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Fumitake Fujita (third from left) and Nippon Ishin executives at the Diet building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2025
Nippon Ishin edges closer toward forming coalition with LDP
By Himari Semans
The Osaka-based party has decided to no longer take part in policy talks with its opposition peers on forming an alliance against the ruling party.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, who leads Nippon Ishin no Kai, says a "definite condition" for forming a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party is to reduce the number of parliamentary members.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 17, 2025
Coalition with LDP could give Nippon Ishin chance to advocate its pet projects
By Eric Johnston
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, who leads Nippon Ishin, said a "definite condition" for forming a coalition with the LDP was reducing the number of parliamentary members.
Past visits by top Japanese leaders to Yasukuni Shrine, which also honors convicted war criminals, have infuriated China and South Korea, and no prime minister has visited since 2013.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2025
Takaichi sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine but will not visit
By Kyoko Hasegawa
Top Japanese leaders visiting the shrine also honoring convicted war criminals have infuriated China and South Korea in the past, and no prime minister has visited since 2013.
Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama speaks during an interview in Tokyo in March 2007.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2025
Former PM Tomiichi Murayama dies at age 101
By Eric Johnston
Murayama, who delivered a key statement apologizing for Japan’s World War II aggression, died on Friday in his native Oita.
Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi (second from right) and Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Fumitake Fujita (second from left) meet in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2025
LDP and Nippon Ishin fine-tuning deal to form coalition
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
While the two sides have a similar policy agenda, they also share an ideological likeness that lowers the bar for a potential tie-up.
Rengo's head Tomoko Yoshino speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2025
As they wrestle for power, Japan’s political parties must remember their base
By Eric Johnston
Electoral fortunes are shaped — or undone — by parliamentary alignments, social and religious groups, and representation from industries and labor.
Crowds attend a Sanseito rally in the city of Saitama during the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2025
Doctrine forms the core of Sanseito’s strategy, with some caveats
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Its adherence to doctrine makes it resemble older parties with strong organizational structures and voting blocs rather than smaller populist ones.
Nippon Ishin no Kai leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2025
Coalition talks could bring Takaichi closer to being PM
By Kanako Takahara and Himari Semans
If the LDP and Nippon Ishin agree to link up, they will only be two votes short of a majority in the Lower House.
The lawmaker that secures a majority of votes in the Lower House will become prime minister. If no one gets a majority, the two top contenders will enter a runoff in which the person with the highest number of votes gets elected.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 14, 2025
Could an opposition candidate become Japan's next prime minister?
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
With the CDP, DPP and Nippon Ishin no Kai still far apart when it comes to their key policies and political objectives, it's unclear if they can field a unified candidate.
LDP head Sanae Takaichi attends an LDP meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 14, 2025
A frustrated LDP weighs its options now that Komeito is out
By Himari Semans
Having Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stay on at the helm and delaying the prime ministerial vote entirely were floated as ideas to buy time.
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 14, 2025
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
By Eric Johnston
With Komeito’s exit from the ruling coalition, there is now no guarantee LDP chief Sanae Takaichi will be voted prime minister when parliament convenes.
Outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters inside the Japan Pavilion at the Osaka Expo on Sept. 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2025
As Osaka Expo comes to an end, so too does 'expo diplomacy' for Ishiba
The Osaka Expo was "a precious opportunity of diplomacy" for Japan, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2025
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
By Jesse Johnson
Japanese diplomacy has landed in a precarious position following the exit of Komeito from the LDP-led ruling bloc as a spate of summits and meetings loom at the end of this month.
Maki Takubo
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2025
Thirty people enter Ito Municipal Assembly race over controversial mayor
If the assembly passes a fresh no-confidence motion in its first assembly session, Takubo will lose her post of mayor under the local autonomy law.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after leaving the ruling coalition earlier in the day.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2025
After ruling bloc collapses, LDP and opposition scramble to find needed votes for PM
By Eric Johnston
New LDP President Sanae Takaichi faces a higher hurdle in finding the votes needed to become Japan’s next leader as opposition forces discuss a unified candidate.
Nihon Hidankyo co-chair Terumi Tanaka speaks to reporters during an event held in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2025
Hidankyo and others hold event 80 years after atomic bombings
Outside the venue, attendees spoke with those who experienced the massive U.S. bombing of Tokyo in March 1945.
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi enters party headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 11, 2025
Why Japan's coalition collapsed — and what's next
In an upcoming vote in parliament, all parties are expected to put forward their leaders in a first round of voting, with LDP chief Sanae Takaichi likely bound for a runoff.
Ichiro Ozawa (left), leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (center) and Takenori Kanzaki, leader of Komeito, hold hands ahead of a three-party summit toward forming a coalition government, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo in October 1999.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 11, 2025
LDP-Komeito coalition marked by twists and turns over 26 years
The two parties have been in a mutually dependent relationship centered on electoral cooperation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers remarks at a memorial service for Self-Defense Forces personnel who died in the line of duty, on Saturday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
Ishiba attends memorial for fallen SDF members
The prime minister pledged to "do everything we can to protect the lives and the peace of the people of Japan."
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters at the Diet in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
After ruling bloc breakup, CDP and Komeito eye unified PM candidate
The move comes as the Democratic Party for the People appears no longer willing to hold coalition talks with the LDP, putting new ruling party chief Sanae Takaichi in a tough spot.

Why I chose Japanese citizenship over permanent residency
Jon Heese (second left) takes part in a 2024 New Year's nihonshu barrel opening ceremony.
Tokyo ordered to pay damages to South Asian woman over police response
The Tokyo High Court held that, “even taking the woman’s consent into account” for sharing her personal information, the officers breached their duty of care and acted unlawfully.
Former PM Tomiichi Murayama dies at age 101
Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama speaks during an interview in Tokyo in March 2007.
Japan's fractured politics could ensnarl Takaichi's economic plans
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, attends a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
Tokyo's best Sunday roasts and all their trimmings
Swan & Lion's Sunday roast, which is drenched in a red wine gravy, is part of a three-course meal.
What does Jimbocho think of its unexpected ‘cool’ status?
Tokyo's Jimbocho neighborhood is a haven for book lovers, its rows of secondhand bookstores spilling over with printed materials.
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
Chloe Zhao’s "Hamnet"
New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Masanori Murakami became the first MLB player from Japan when he made his debut with the Giants on Sept 1, 1964.
As they wrestle for power, Japan’s political parties must remember their base
Rengo's head Tomoko Yoshino speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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