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Newly elected Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Junya Ogawa elected leader of Centrist Reform Alliance
The former CDP lawmaker pledged to strengthen the CRA¡¯s internal structure as the party reels from its election defeat.
JAPAN / Politics / First person
Looking at politics from a different perspective
Three campaigns in 15 months showed how fragile support can be ¡ª and how national power begins far from Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Takaichi may visit South Korea in March
The leaders of Japan and South Korea are expected to confirm the stable development of bilateral relations, which have been improving.
Junya Ogawa (left) and Takeshi Shina, Lower House lawmakers for the Centrist Reform Alliance, filed their candidacies Thursday for Friday's party leadership election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Ex-CDP's Takeshi Shina and Junya Ogawa enter race to lead CRA
A vote to elect the new opposition party's leaders will be held at a general meeting of its lawmakers on Friday, after its former co-leaders stepped down following election losses.
Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks at a news conference on Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 12, 2026
Why coalition partner JIP is now set to take a Cabinet post
By Himari Semans
A JIP member is expected to take up a ministerial post sometime later this year.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leader Yoshihiko Noda (right) speaks at the party's plenary assembly in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 11, 2026
CRA soul-searching begins with vote to elect new leader
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
After its disastrous defeat on Sunday, the fledgling Centrist Reform Alliance is hoping a new face at the top will help it find its bearings.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura (left) meet in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
Yoshimura agrees to JIP presence in Takaichi Cabinet
By Eric Johnston
It is not clear what position might be offered to the junior partner of the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, poses with his supporters during an election campaign event on the first day of campaigning for the Feb. 8 snap election, in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 27.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 10, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s big win leaves opposition dividing unequal shares of the pie
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Right-leaning parties and those with fresh ideas gained some ground, while those seen as touting the ¡®same-old¡¯ politics saw their fortunes decline.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
After stunning win, Takaichi looks to suspend food tax and revise Constitution
By Eric Johnston
Suspending the consumption tax on food items and revising the Constitution will take time, which may prove challenging for a prime minister who often speaks of moving with urgency.
The resounding victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election has sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her strategy of putting the onus on Chinese President Xi Jinping to reengage with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2026
Landslide election victory lets Takaichi confront China on her terms
By Jesse Johnson
Undeterred by Beijing¡¯s economic retaliation for Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Taiwan remarks, voters endorsed the prime minister¡¯s unyielding stance on China.
After the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s landslide victory in Sunday¡¯s House of Representatives election, the United States plans to boost security and economic cooperation with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
U.S. plans to boost security and economic cooperation with Japan after LDP win
The result strengthens Takaichi's political foundation, a U.S. official said, making it easier to advance talks on 91²Ö¿â investment in and loans to the United States.
Posts referring to constitutional revision rose more than tenfold, from about 16,000 on Jan. 27 ¡ª the day the campaign officially began ¡ª to roughly 182,000 on the final day on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
Social media posts on Constitution and national security surged ahead of election
Debate on those policies intensified following media polls¡¯ prediction of a strong win for the LDP-JIP coalition.
Taro Aso, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party and a former prime minister, is the oldest winner in Sunday's Lower House election at 85 years old.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
91²Ö¿â Lower House grows younger as the average age of election winners falls
The average age of winners in Sunday's election was 54.7 years old.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 9, 2026
Uncertainty clouds JIP's role in ruling coalition following LDP's election win
By Eric Johnston
With the Liberal Democratic Party winning so many seats, the prime minister may begin to disregard its junior coalition partner's views, one political scientist says.
Sanae Takaichi, prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, at the party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 9, 2026
Is Takaichi on course for a long-term reign?
By Kanako Takahara
The resounding win for the Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday¡¯s Lower House election might be the start of an enduring administration for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, stands next to LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and party Election Strategy Chief Keiji Furuya, placing a red paper rose on the name of an elected candidate at LDP headquarters in Tokyo during the Lower House election on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 9, 2026
It¡¯s Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Japan, as PM¡¯s persona powers LDP to electoral success
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Sunday¡¯s electoral triumph by the Liberal Democratic Party is less a master stroke of the party than a success of its indisputable architect: Takaichi herself.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito during a news conference on Monday in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 9, 2026
The long road to recovery after the CRA¡¯s election loss
By Himari Semans
The new party must find new leadership after a crushing debut defeat.
Hikaru Fujita (second from left) greets people in the city of Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, on Feb. 3.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
With 68 seats, record-high female representation in Lower House slips slightly
By Yukana Inoue
The women account for 14.6% of all elected Lower House lawmakers, after female candidates secured a record 73 seats the 2024 general election.
Election officials work at a ballot counting center on Sunday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
Exit poll shows over 40% of voters want LDP-JIP bloc to continue ruling
The backing far outpaced support for any other alternative arrangement.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito speak during a live TV program Sunday in Tokyo following the party's defeat in the Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
CRA's Noda and Saito hint at resignations after electoral drubbing
By Himari Semans
The Centrist Reform Alliance¡¯s poor performance in Sunday¡¯s Lower House election could force co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to resign.
Ken Hirata, a former vice governor of Nagasaki Prefecture, has won the gubernatorial election in the southwestern prefecture, defeating incumbent Gov. Kengo Oishi.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
Former vice governor defeats incumbent in Nagasaki election
Hirata won 287,134 votes, slightly more than the 280,346 votes garnered by Oishi.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2026
LDP secures two-thirds supermajority in Lower House election victory
By Kanako Takahara, Francis Tang and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Results early Monday showed the LDP had won 316 seats, giving it a higher proportion of representatives in the body than any other party in postwar Japan.
On a board for election posters in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in June 2024, duplicates of one featuring a female kickboxer who is not running in the gubernatorial race take up half of all the spots.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 8, 2026
Where have 91²Ö¿â oddball candidates gone?
By Kanako Takahara
Japan has a history of candidates who are less interested in being elected, but instead hope to get their own messages out to the public through campaigning.

Germany considers joining GCAP fighter project with Japan, U.K. and Italy
A concept model of the Global Air Combat Program fighter jet on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International Japan conference in Chiba last May
Struggling Nissan forecasts $4.2 billion full-year net loss
Nissan intends to reduce the number of its vehicle production plants from 17 to 10 by March 2028, and is targeting 20,000 job cuts worldwide by that date.
Why Asia can¡¯t undo decades of falling fertility rates
Singapore¡¯s stalled birthrate reflects a broader pattern across wealthy Asian economies where higher living standards, shifting values and gender imbalances have made low fertility persistent and resistant to quick policy fixes.
Why we¡¯ll never see a yokozuna in the Super Bowl
Wrestlers from Onoe stable with Fujitsu Frontiers cornerback Al-Rilwan Adeyemi (front) at the Rice Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Jan. 3, 2017
Yen strengthens decisively after strong showing by LDP boosts confidence
The yen has strengthened decisively since the Liberal Democratic Party gained a supermajority in the Lower House.
Japanese skier hits back at trolls and brings attention to online abuse at Olympics
Freestyle skier Kokone Kondo skis during a training session in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 4.
Inside Yokohama¡¯s ¡®quit your job¡¯ bar, where drinks and advice are free
At the new Tenshoku Sodan Bar, owner Shota Umemoto (right) and recruiting staff from Yokohama-based LIA Group serve up cocktails and career advice in equal measure.
Landslide election victory lets Takaichi confront China on her terms
The resounding victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election has sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her strategy of putting the onus on Chinese President Xi Jinping to reengage with Japan.
Is Takaichi on course for a long-term reign?
Sanae Takaichi, prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, at the party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday
Against the grain: Japanese wine aged in local barrels
At Buryu Winery, owner Keiji Yamaguchi (left) and assistant winemaker Kaede Narita created a cedar-infused red wine by fermenting it in a 1,000 liter "kioke" cedar tub.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Experts say emotional bonds with AI are often shaped by prior experiences ¡ª or disappointments ¡ª in human relationships.
Love, engineered in the age of AI
By Elizabeth Beattie

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