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Tag - fumio-kishida

 
 

FUMIO KISHIDA

Then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York in September 2024. Kishida is set to visit the Philippines this week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2026
Takaichi entrusts ex-PM Kishida with letter to Philippine president
Amid lingering tensions in the Middle East, Takaichi hopes to speed up work on beefing up 91²Ö¿â cooperation with the Philippines in the fields of energy and other matters.
Japan¡¯s role as a steadfast U.S. partner is reflected in its Indian Ocean support for Afghanistan?related naval operations and its reconstruction work in Iraq during the U.S.-led interventions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2026
Tell the U.S. that Japan is America¡¯s indispensable ally
Japan in recent decades has proven itself to be a reliable U.S. ally, ready to assist when needed without being overly obtrusive.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting in Tokyo last week. Lower court rulings against a man who attacked him in 2023 are set to be finalized after being upheld by the Supreme Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2026
Top court upholds 10-year sentence for man who attacked Kishida in 2023
Lower court rulings had sentencing the 27-year-old for attacking the then prime minister with an explosive during an election campaign event the city of Wakayama.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s executives in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2026
Are disbanded LDP factions staging a comeback?
Former members of the disbanded factions have been meeting informally since the party¡¯s landslide victory in the Feb. 8 Lower House election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s landslide win gives her power but risks internal strife unless she builds alliances and new party structures to manage rivals within the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s ranks.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2026
The trouble with winning big for Takaichi and the LDP
Landslide victories in Japanese politics can conceal fragility within the ruling party.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi meets with his Swiss counterpart, Martin Pfister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Japan should revitalize the OECD as a hub for middle powers, moving beyond the Group of Seven and Bretton Woods.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2026
After Davos, middle powers matter more than ever
Japan is well placed to act as a custodian of cooperation among countries that still depend on functioning markets but can no longer rely on a single guarantor.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda (left) and his Komeito counterpart, Tetsuo Saito, announce their coalition's new name, the Centrist Reform Alliance, at a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2026
Komeito and CDP form new party, but doubts linger over political viability
The new party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, has an uninspired name and logo, suggesting a rushed and unconvincing partnership.
Since leaving office, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) has been openly critical of his successor, Sanae Takaichi.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2025
Critics within LDP hold fire on popular chief Takaichi
Few dare to openly criticize the prime minister, but this may change once her approval ratings decline.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions from lawmakers at the Diet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2025
Domestic issues dominate prime minister's strong Diet debut
It was a solid performance that was, not surprisingly given her minority government and the new coalition that she heads, short on details.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2025
How is Takaichi doing after a week at the helm?
The Japanese public's reaction to her first week as prime minister has been overwhelmingly positive.
Emperor Naruhito officially swears in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2025
Sanae Takaichi stands tall and heads into the breach
Her Cabinet includes several rivals from the presidential campaign. It is an attempt to smooth over ill and a smart move.
Minoru Kihara (second from left) attends a Lower House plenary session on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2025
Who is Minoru Kihara, Takaichi¡¯s new 'cool-headed' spokesman?
The former defense minister has many things in common with Japan¡¯s first female prime minister.
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 Osaka High Court in Osaka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2025
10-year sentence upheld over 2023 attack on Kishida
Presiding Judge Kyoji Ishikawa rejected the defense's claim that Ryuji Kimura had no intention to kill.
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.
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday about his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2025
Hayashi pledges to carry on Ishiba and Kishida¡¯s work if elected LDP president
The chief cabinet secretary, who served under both prime ministers, says he will follow their lead as well as add initiatives of his own.
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announces he will run in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2025
Hayashi throws hat in the ring for LDP leadership race
The chief cabinet secretary is seen as a counterbalance to the more right-leaning former economic security ministers Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi.
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.

Longform

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Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.

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