Tag - shinjiro-koizumi

 
 

SHINJIRO KOIZUMI

Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, poses in the party leader's office after the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 5, 2025
How Takaichi won the LDP’s leadership race
A split of moderate votes in the first round and the support of an LDP kingmaker helped propel the former economic security minister to a historic victory.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Shinjiro Koizumi (center), Sanae Takaichi (right), and Yoshimasa Hayashi speak at a news conference for candidates taking part in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in Tokyo on Sept. 23.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2025
Is this the LDP’s last presidential election?
The five LDP presidential candidates — three conservatives and two liberals — are competing to offer the most uninspiring platform.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi touts his own "experience and achievement" during the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election candidate debate at Nihon Kisha Club in Tokyo on September 24.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 29, 2025
Japan’s ‘Mr. 119’ might be facing his biggest challenge yet
Time is running out for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi to convince colleagues in the Liberal Democratic Party that he is best suited to lead them.
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates in Nagoya on Friday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 28, 2025
On defense and foreign policy, LDP candidates largely align — except where they don’t
From nuanced differences in how to bolster Japan’s defenses to the importance of relations with the U.S., each candidate’s views could result in significantly different policies.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi denies he was involved in requests for favorable online comments to be made about him.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025
Koizumi apologizes over campaign's soliciting of favorable online comments
A member of the farm minister's campaign team asked supporters to post comments favorable to him on an online video.
Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on Sept. 16. All five candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race demonstrated a tougher stance on foreign tourists and nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025
LDP presidential hopefuls take hard-line stance on immigration
Unruly tourists, visa overstayers and increasing land purchases by foreign nationals were some of the issues spotlighted during debates.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said his ministry did not intend to grant a cultivation license for a prized grape variety without consulting producers.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025
LDP leadership contender Koizumi seeks to quash criticism over prized grapes
Koizumi said his farm ministry did not intend to grant an overseas cultivation license for Shine Muscat grapes without consulting producers.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (left), former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (center) and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrive for a news conference with other candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025
Koizumi leads in support among LDP lawmakers, survey shows
With about a quarter of all LDP lawmakers having not decided who to back in the party's presidential election, the race is still fluid.
Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidates attend a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 26, 2025
'Speed dating' — with an LDP twist
It feels like one of the speed dating events that used to be on Japanese television years ago, where the candidates court prospective partners one after the other.
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (left), former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrive to attend the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates joint press conference at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 25, 2025
Newcomer or veteran? LDP faces two choices for new party chief
Whoever wins the Oct. 4 leadership race must be able to work with senior members while also showing the public that the LDP is serious about reform.

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