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November 10, 2025
 

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TAKAYUKI KOBAYASHI

Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi has changed course on some economic issues.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 24, 2025
LDP presidential candidates get closer to opposition on some economic issues
They have to make more compromises as the ruling coalition no longer has the majority.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, ex-LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi pose for group photos before a Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates' debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2025
LDP presidential hopefuls failing to stand out on policy
During a two-hour debate Wednesday, each candidate's policy stance seemed to overlap with one another's, making it hard for anyone to stand out.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi addresses a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, alongside candidates vying to become the Liberal Democratic Party's next president. The ruling party’s leadership race officially kicked off on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 24, 2025
An identity crisis is haunting Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party
Dismal performances have the LDP clinging to power as a minority in both houses of parliament, and in search of its fifth leader in as many years
The candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race at a joint news conference on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2025
LDP candidates focus on reform as presidential vote approaches
Losing two national elections in the past year has made reform a top concern for the party.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pose after delivering speeches at the kickoff of campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Monday. The five lawmakers are running to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as LDP president.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2025
LDP race commences with mix of youth and experience
Whoever wins faces the task of rebuilding public trust in the 70-year-old LDP at a time of low public approval ratings as smaller opposition parties resonate with many voters.
(Clockwise from top left) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi; former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and former minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 22, 2025
Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
Here is a brief outline of the backgrounds and policies of the five candidates vying to lead the ruling party, and ultimately, the country.
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrives for a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday to talk about entering the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2025
LDP presidential race to officially start on Monday
It will be the first LDP presidential election since the party and its coalition partner, Komeito, lost their combined majority in both chambers of the country's parliament.
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.
Candidates take part in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race in September 2024 at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, including many of the contenders for next month’s contest. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2025
LDP candidates through a 'Japanese conservative' lens
The three key elements of Japanese conservatism are preserving national identity and traditions, sustaining the imperial succession and affirming the Self-Defense Forces’ role.
Polls suggest a head-to-head contest in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential race, but powerbrokers may sideline veteran contenders to engineer a youth-versus-youth showdown that could reshape both the party and Japan’s political landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2025
Whiteboarding the LDP election
As I whiteboard the election scenarios, Koizumi vs. Takaichi is the most obvious race.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his intention to resign during a news conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Sept. 7. The Japanese leader decided to step down following weeks of calls for his departure in the aftermath of a second national election setback. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2025
Can anyone save the fracturing Liberal Democratic Party?
This is shaping up to be an even less predictable race than the last one, when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pulled off a surprise victory.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 15, 2025
Koizumi and Takaichi seen running ahead in race for LDP member votes
In last year's LDP leadership election, Takaichi secured the highest number of party member votes at 109.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi speaks in Tokyo on Thursday. He is attempting to become Liberal Democratic Party president for the second time.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 12, 2025
Will a more conservative leader emerge from the LDP presidential election?
Conservative members of the party are looking to elect such a leader, but there is a possibility that their votes might be split between two presidential hopefuls.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi has become the second person to announce his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic Party's upcoming presidential election.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2025
LDP’s Kobayashi announces he will run in the party leadership race
The former economic security minister is the second person to throw his hat into the ring, after former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi.
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi announces he will run in the race for president of the Liberal Democratic Party at a news conference on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2025
Motegi calls for ‘new coalition’ in bid for LDP presidency
The former party secretary-general sees welcoming a new coalition member — possibly the Democratic Party for the People or Nippon Ishin no Kai — as the way forward.
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.
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.
Shigeru Ishiba, prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends the party's plenary meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 8. Ishiba took further criticism from his own party Friday, following a dismal result in an Upper House election last month that has weakened his mandate and triggered some internal momentum to replace him as leader.Bloomberg
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 25, 2025
No end in sight for LDP drama over Ishiba, whose fate is still up in the air
It remains to be seen whether those within the party seeking the prime minister’s removal can rally enough support to force a presidential election.
Tsunami threat passes following magnitude 6.9 quake off Iwate
A tsunami advisory was issued for Iwate Prefecture on Sunday evening following a strong earthquake. The advisory was later called off, after waves measuring 20 centimeters were recorded in some areas.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Takaichi plans pay cuts for herself and her ministers
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi chats with her Cabinet members in parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Mother of Thai girl forced into sex work in Tokyo detained in Taiwan
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
Cleanliness gets competitive at Tokyo’s Spogomi world cup
On Oct. 29, teams from 33 qualifying countries scoured the streets of Shibuya for all manners of trash as part of the Spogomi litter-picking competition.
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
After a peripatetic childhood around the world, teacher and artist Jon Homewood ended up coming to Japan in 2012 for a professional opportunity.
Yokozuna duo Onosato and Hoshoryu poised for another clash of titans
Yokozuna duo Onosato (right) and Hoshoryu clash for the title on the final day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 28 at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
A 40-year wait for ‘Mishima’ ends at TIFF
Made at a time when Japan was still grappling with Yukio Mishima’s legacy, Paul Schrader’s biopic “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” was blocked from screening in the country for decades.

Podcast

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

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
By Yukana Inoue

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Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
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