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LDP

Sanae Takaichi, newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 5, 2025
Takaichi's win to support Japanese stocks but weigh on yen and bonds
Bank stocks will likely struggle on expectations rate hikes will be pushed back, while domestic demand and small-cap shares may get a "significant tailwind," experts say.
Newly elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi is applauded after winning the party's leadership election in Tokyo on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 5, 2025
Will Sanae Takaichi be Japan’s Thatcher — or its Truss?
Takaichi is comfortably the most conservative choice the party could have made, if not the most right-leaning leader in recent history.
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, holds a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2025
Takaichi poised to become Japan's first female PM after winning LDP poll
Takaichi earned 185 votes against Koizumi’s 156 in a runoff after none of the five candidates in the party leadership race secured a majority in the first round of voting.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on July 20.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
CDP doesn’t rule out cooperation with LDP
Noda’s comments come as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party prepares to elect a new leader, who will need opposition support in order to govern.
Officials of the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and Nippon Ishin no Kai hold talks on the tuition-free program for high schoolers at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2025
Ruling bloc and Nippon Ishin affirm foreigners' tuition-free ineligibility
Whether foreign students are eligible for the program will be decided on the basis of their respective residence status.
Yoshitami Kameoka, elected to the Lower House for the first time in 2005, served in posts including state minister for post-disaster reconstruction.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
Ex-LDP lawmaker Kameoka pleads not guilty over cash distribution
Kameoka, elected to the Lower House for the first time in 2005, served in posts including state minister for post-disaster reconstruction.
A Lower House plenary session in November 2024. The next leader of the Liberal Democratic Party will need to make tough political compromises given the party needs opposition support to pass bills.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 3, 2025
Host of tough compromises on policy issues await next LDP president
Just how much the ruling party needs to compromise will depend on which opposition party it intends to work closer with for any given issue, and the level of that cooperation.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
What’s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics
Sanseito’s slogan is "Japanese First,” and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
An extraordinary session of the parliament to elect the next prime minister is expected to be convened on Oct. 15.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2025
Parliament expected to elect new prime minister on Oct. 15
After being elected, the new prime minister will form the Cabinet later in the day.
Sanae Takaichi, a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race, says Taiwan is an extremely important partner and a valued friend for Japan.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2025
Takaichi hopes for dialogue with Chinese leaders over Taiwan
The former economic security minister also indicated her intention to increase Japan's defense spending and sought to continuously review its defense strategy and capabilities.
Haruo Tsukamoto, a rank-and-file member of the Liberal Democratic Party and a rice farmer in Ibaraki Prefecture, questions if the party still stands for people like him.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2025
The party that ruled Japan for decades is in danger of crumbling
Long-time supporters are questioning if the Liberal Democratic Party still stands for them even as populist and far-right challengers make inroads.
Komeito head Tetsuo Saito says his party cannot form a coalition government with any party that doesn’t align itself with its moderate conservative policies.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2025
LDP presidential election could be turning point for Komeito
After Saturday’s vote, the junior coalition partner will have to adjust to a new LDP, one whose values might differ from its own.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (left), former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (center) and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrive at a news conference for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 23. The three are the front-runners ahead of Saturday's vote.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 2, 2025
No matter who wins the LDP presidential race, prospects for change are dismal
The key for the LDP is whether the once-proud party can win back its traditional supporters who have abandoned it in recent elections and shifted to opposition parties.
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (right) reacts as former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Liberal Democratic Party Presidential Election Candidate Debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, on Sept. 24. Koizumi and Takaichi remain head-to-head in the race, media polls show.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2025
Koizumi and Takaichi continue to lead in LDP presidential race, polls show
With Koizumi leading in one poll, and Takaichi leading in another, the winner of the election on Saturday is anyone’s guess.
The ruling and opposition parties hold talks at the parliament building on Sept. 5 over a proposal to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 1, 2025
Ruling-opposition talks on gasoline tax cut stall ahead of LDP election
The slowdown is widely attributed to the political lull caused by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election slated for Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in February. The next prime minister faces the dual challenge of managing a volatile U.S. relationship under Trump while addressing trade and national security concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 1, 2025
Could the Trump factor be a wild card in the LDP race?
The ability to handle the Americans has been a core element of the prime minister’s portfolio.
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi poses with supporters at Hie Shrine in Tokyo on Sept. 22.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 1, 2025
Can Takaichi win back conservative voters? Maybe not.
The conservative champion has been trying to soften her image to reach more moderate voters — the party’s largest support base.
Only two of the five candidates of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election — Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (center) and former policy chief Toshimitsu Motegi (second from left) — own stock.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2025
Japan’s would-be leaders ignore call to invest in stocks
Only two of the five candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election own stock, compared with five out of nine in last year's leadership race.
Nippon Ishin leader Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters at party headquarters in Osaka on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2025
Nippon Ishin draws up outline for secondary capital plan
The team defined the secondary capital as an economic center comparable to the Tokyo area that can function as the capital in the event that Tokyo becomes unable to do so.
Hirofumi Ryu (center) of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Takashi Endo (left) of Nippon Ishin no Kai and Motohisa Furukawa of the Democratic Party for the People meet in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2025
Opposition parties unlikely to cooperate in vote to select prime minister
The winner of the LDP election is now expected to be elected prime minister, although the LDP-Komeito coalition lacks majorities in both chambers of parliament.

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