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August 19, 2025
 

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LDP

Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025
Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices
“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
Muneo Suzuki speaks in Sapporo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025
Prodigal Hokkaido son returns to campaign trail for last run in Upper House election
Muneo Suzuki's personality and past actions make him a divisive political figure, but he's teaming up with the Liberal Democratic Party for one final run.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a campaign speech in Yokohama on July 6.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2025
Ishiba faces bad poll numbers with Upper House vote only days away
Losing a majority in the Upper House would pile pressure on Ishiba to resign and kickstart efforts by the ruling coalition to find an opposition party to join it.
Only two months into his role as agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi has become the face of a risky political bet by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025
Japan’s ‘rice minister’ is ruling party’s biggest election gamble
Shinjiro Koizumi’s reformist drive is testing the loyalty of Japan's rural population — the LDP’s most dependable voter bloc.
An aerial view from north of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. Opposition parties are divided over whether Japan should utilize nuclear power while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a proponent of it, has avoided explicitly mentioning its stance in its campaign pledges.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 15, 2025
Energy policy debate falls dormant in Upper House election despite growing risk
Rising tensions in the Middle East have fueled concerns the Strait of Hormuz may be closed, dealing a blow to Japan's energy security.
The Sanseito party, led by Sohei Kamiya, is surging in the polls with anti-immigration talk, but its rise is likely just a short-lived protest vote rather than the start of lasting right-wing populism.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 15, 2025
Japan’s right-wing fringe is no MAGA or reform movement
The Sanseito party is surging in polls with anti-immigration talk, but its rise is likely just a short-lived protest vote rather than the start of lasting right-wing populism.
Then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Tokyo in December 2023 where he addressed the political fundraising scandal and announced plans to replace several implicated ministers.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2025
Cost of living trumps corruption as Japan heads to the polls
A recent NHK poll asked that question to prospective voters, and the majority answered “measures to deal with rising prices” and “social security and the declining birthrate.”
People listen as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (not pictured) speaks on Sunday in Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2025
Ruling parties could lose majority in Upper House election, poll suggests
A Mainichi Shimbun poll shows the ruling coalition might end up falling short of the 50 seats they need to maintain their majority in the Upper House of parliament.
The Bank of Japan may face pressure to avoid rate hikes if opposition parties gain traction in the upcoming Upper House election.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 14, 2025
Upper House election could further hamper BOJ's drive to raise rates
Surveys suggest Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition may lose its majority, and empowered opposition parties could pressure the central bank to avoid rate hikes.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yosuke Tsuruho speaks during a news conference at the Wakayama Prefectural Government office in the city of Wakayama on Wednesday
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2025
LDP lawmaker to quit as parliamentary committee chief over Noto quake gaffe
According to a senior official of the ruling LDP, Yosuke Tsuruho is poised to step down as chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors.
Hiroshi Moriyama (left), secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party and also head of a suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers promoting Japan-China friendship, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2025
China to resume Japanese beef imports
China banned Japanese beef imports after the outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan in 2001.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2025
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Growing uncertainty over whether the ruling coalition can retain its majority in the Upper House has given strength to a number of possible outcomes of the election.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi waves to the audience at his stump speech on Wednesday in the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2025
Prominent political speakers step up for candidates ahead of July 20 election
Party heavyweights are drawing crowds and grabbing headlines with an intensity that sometimes sparked criticism from within their own parties.
The JS Suzunami, a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer, docks off Manila for a port call last month. The Japanese government plans to spend about ¥43 trillion in the fiscal 2023-27 period to drastically strengthen defense capabilities.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2025
Parties divided on defense spending increase
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ask Japan and other Asian allies to increase their defense spending.
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sound bites such as “Japanese First” and “revision of preferential treatment for foreigners" illustrate a worrisome trend, they said in a statement.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yosuke Tsuruho speaks during a news conference at the Wakayama Prefectural Government office in the city of Wakayama on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2025
Japanese lawmaker under fire over Noto quake gaffe
Ruling party lawmaker Yosuke Tsuruho apologized and said, "I lacked consideration for the disaster-hit areas."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (background center) talks with local farmers in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday. The candidates of the Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are set to go head-to-head for the seat there.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 9, 2025
Districts with single contested seat hold promise of success in Upper House vote
Both the ruling and opposition parties are directing a large part of their election campaign efforts to seats in such constituencies.
Political parties have pledged to reduce social security premiums and raise salaries for medical and nursing care workers in their campaigning for the upcoming Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
Premiums and wages at heart of social security debate ahead of Upper House vote
Social security premiums in Japan grew from ¥26.7 trillion in fiscal 2000 to ¥40.7 trillion in fiscal 2022.
Nippon Ishin no Kai chief and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura smiles at voters in Osaka's Chuo Ward on July 3 as campaigning for the House of Councilors election officially begins.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka
One senior Nippon Ishin no Kai official said the party leader's goal of six seats in the July 20 election can't happen without two seats from Osaka.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2025
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
In their campaign promises, parties are offering different solutions to problems caused by the record number here to visit, work and invest in real estate.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
Two Japanese nationals shot dead in Manila
Commuters cross the street through traffic in Manila.
Osaka fire kills two firefighters and leaves four injured
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire in the Dotonbori district in the city of Osaka on Monday.
Trump’s peace-deal demands leave Ukraine's Zelenskyy with only bad options
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint news conference with the European Commission president in Brussels on Sunday.
Japan watches nervously as Trump ramps up pressure on Zelenskyy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes part in an online meeting focused on Ukraine, with leaders from the "coalition of the willing," a group of nations that have pledged support for Kyiv against Russian aggression, late Sunday.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
Top MLB prospect Rintaro Sasaki is committed to doing it 'the hard way'
Rintaro Sasaki hits a home run during a game against Duke at Stanford's Sunken Diamond on March 16.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
In a region more associated with art, Keirin Hotel 10 takes a decidedly more athletic approach to attracting tourists.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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