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April 13, 2026
 

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2025 UPPER HOUSE ELECTION

Over 20% of major cities in Japan banned voters from taking photos at polling stations during July's House of Councilors election, according to a Jiji Press survey.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2025
Over a fifth of major Japanese cities banned polling station photos in July vote
Of 52 major cities polled, 23% banned photography at polling stations, while 60% asked voters to refrain from taking photos and 17% allowed photography.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya during an interview in September. Kamiya's party, which surprised many with its gains in this year's Upper House Election, increased its spending on online outreach by fourteenfold in 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2025
Japan political parties boost spending on online outreach
Sanseito, which significantly expanded its seats in the July election for the Upper House, paid a total of ?37 million in advertising fees to Google Japan in 2024.
Lawyers hold a sign saying the July Upper House election was ruled to be in an unconstitutional state, in the city of Hiroshima on Tuesday, following a ruling by the Hiroshima High Court on vote disparity.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2025
Hiroshima High Court finds Upper House poll held in unconstitutional state
The latest ruling was the 11th to find that the election with a maximum vote value gap of 3.13 times was conducted under unconstitutional conditions.
Lawyers who filed a lawsuit over the July Upper House election hold up a sign saying ¡°state of unconstitutionality¡± Tuesday in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, following a ruling by the Hiroshima High Court¡¯s Matsue branch.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 5, 2025
Another court finds July Upper House poll held in unconstitutional state
The Matsue branch of the Hiroshima High Court ruled that the July election was held in a ¡°state of unconstitutionality¡± due to vote-value disparities of up to 3.13 times.
Lawyer Hidetoshi Masunaga (front, left) and others seeking the invalidation of the July Upper House election walk to the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2025
Court finds July poll was held in an unconstitutional state
A group of lawyers sought the invalidation of the Upper House election.
Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2025
91²Ö¿â far-right party courts Trump allies and vows not to get 'wacky'
Sanseito has set up an international arm to court Trump's allies, betting that conservative recognition will help it shake up staid Japanese politics.
The CDP head Yoshihiko Noda (front row, third from right) , newly-elected Secretary-General Jun Azumi (front row, third from left) and other executives gather in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2025
Noda appoints new leadership team members to help bolster CDP's base
CDP party leader Yoshihiko Noda chose new team members whose views sometimes differ from his to help reinforce the party¡¯s base and show "a united party front."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba holds a news conference on Sunday in Tokyo where he announced his resignation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2025
The Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s internal coup is complete
Ishiba came into the prime ministership last year with the odds already stacked against him. The LDP was a fractured party with waning public support.
Candidates for Japan¡¯s ruling Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s presidential election stand together on stage before a debate in Tokyo in September 2024. Pictured are future Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Sanae Takaichi, Shinjiro Koizumi and others.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 9, 2025
Ishiba¡¯s resignation triggers a battle for the soul of the LDP
To become the next prime minister, the new LDP leader will also need to secure enough support from one or two of the other larger conservative opposition parties.
Shigeru Ishiba¡¯s brief, tumultuous prime ministership weakened Japan¡¯s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, alienated conservatives and left the party scrambling to find a new leader capable of restoring credibility.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 9, 2025
Japan deserves far better leadership than this
While the country is mostly back where it was a year ago, the LDP is in a much weaker position.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his decision to step down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2025
Ishiba to quit as prime minister amid LDP discontent
The move comes amid growing calls from within the LDP for the prime minister to step aside after a poor showing in July¡¯s Upper House election.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted an urgent proposal on Friday calling for the government to strengthen measures aimed at preventing foreign interference in Japan's elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
LDP calls for blocking foreign interference in elections
"If foreign interference is left unchecked, it could pose a serious and immediate threat to the foundations of democracy," an LDP proposal said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama attend the LDP¡¯s plenary meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 8. Once dominant, the ruling party is now struggling to maintain control amid calls for Ishiba to step down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2025
Dragging on the LDP¡¯s political drama does little for Japan
From dominance to doubt, the ruling party struggles to maintain control.
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.
Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 21. Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases, but some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2025
Tomoko Yoshino's next move in focus as end of second term as Rengo chief nears
Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases. But some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
Voters look at posters of candidates for an Upper House election outside a polling station in Tokyo on July 20. The young abandoned the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for other conservative and newer parties in the recent poll.?REUTERS
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2025
What is a ¡®Japanese conservative¡¯ in this day and age?
My view is that younger voters saw the LDP as a group of elderly, self-absorbed elitists who were out of touch with the issues that mattered to them.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks to reporters on Friday at party headquarters.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 29, 2025
Pressure builds on LDP's Moriyama to take the fall for election drubbing
It is customary in Japan for a party's secretary-general to quit after a poor showing at the polls.
Shinji Ishimaru, leader of The Path to Rebirth, announces resignation during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 27, 2025
Shinji Ishimaru, ex-mayor of Akitakata, steps down as leader of political group
The Path to Rebirth, led by Ishimaru, fielded candidates for elections for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the House of Councilors earlier this year, but none were successful.
Six executives of a pachinko parlor operator were arrested for allegedly promising to pay some 60 people in exchange for voting for a candidate in the July 20 Upper House election.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2025
Six arrested on suspicion of vote buying in July's Upper House election
The arrestees are suspected of promising to pay ?3,000 or ?4,000 to each of some 60 people in exchange for voting for a candidate in the July 20 Upper House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech at a dinner during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development on Thursday in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2025
LDP mulls pushing back deadline for review of Upper House election
The delay is mainly due to Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba's schedule of diplomatic events.
Japanese researchers look at 800-year-old books and trees for signs of extreme solar events
A drawing of Fujiwara no Teika, known as a courtier, <i>waka</i> poet and scholar of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods
Debt-laden Japan should review spending on gender equality, survey finds
A woman holds a handheld fan bearing the image of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi&#039;s wedding photo, during an election campaign event in Tokyo on Feb. 7.
Jehovah's Witnesses followers sue Japanese government
According to court records, the plaintiffs include the Japanese branch of Jehovah&#039;s Witnesses in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Chinese payment apps raise questions in Japan
Alipay has been mentioned by legislators in discussions about the use of foreign payment apps in Japan.
At Ueno Station, ¡®Freedom¡¯ restored
¡°Freedom,¡± a mural in JR Ueno Station, created in 1951, has been repaired three times, most recently in 2025.
Where Tokyo goes to sweat and soak
As Tokyo&#039;s public bathhouses age, many are embracing more contemporary aesthetics to stay relevant for a younger class of customer.
At Ueno Station, ¡®Freedom¡¯ restored
¡°Freedom,¡± a mural in JR Ueno Station, created in 1951, has been repaired three times, most recently in 2025.
Inside Iizukatei, a 200-year-old home turned boutique hotel in Tochigi
Recognized as a tangible cultural property in 2003, the former residence of the Iizuka family is now a boutique hotel in Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture.
Tokyo¡¯s sake calendar is filled to the brim
The recently concluded Sake Park invited younger brewers to make sake more approachable for attendees in their 20s and 30s.
Japan¡¯s tighter immigration controls yielding results
An immigration control passport stamp issued in Japan. A surge in arrivals from overseas has coincided with a tightening of immigration controls under a government initiative aimed at reducing overstayers.

Podcast

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

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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