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Tag - shinzo-abe

 
 

SHINZO ABE

Sanae Takaichi¡¯s economic strategy seeks to break Japan¡¯s stagnation by boosting investment and demand despite high debt, a theory that remains promising but uncertain according to some experts.
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2026
Struggling to understand Sanaenomics? A new book helps.
Takaichi argues the solution is investment ¡ª with Aida proposing a "high-pressure economy" where demand outstrips supply and the government breaks the deadlock.
An offering sent by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for the spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 21, 2026
Takaichi risks China's wrath with offering to Yasukuni Shrine
The prime minister's offering of a sacred tree was made on the first day of a traditional spring festival.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
Finance Ministry discloses last set of Moritomo papers
Since last April, the ministry has disclosed a total of about 140,000 pages deemed closely related to the document-tampering scandal.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 9, a day after her party's landslide Lower House election victory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2026
Memo to Takaichi: Reject the temptations of populism
The year 2026 has crystallized a geopolitical landscape defined by nationalist leadership.
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.
Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki presents his credentials to King Charles at Buckingham Palace in May. Japanese diplomats like the ambassador are using social media, humor and local culture to win hearts and project soft power in ways traditional diplomacy cannot.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2026
Paddington, pints and the art of modern diplomacy
"48 times the Japanese ambassador made us proud to be British,¡± gushes one typical headline.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi must steer Japan between pressure from China and an unpredictable United States by bolstering defense, diversifying partnerships and asserting strategic autonomy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2026
Keeping the Chinese ¡®tiger¡¯ and U.S. ¡®wolf¡¯ at bay
Often mischaracterized by detractors as a radical nationalist, Takaichi represents a center-right continuity of the "Abe line."
Sanae Takaichi and her ruling party's election victory strengthens Japan¡¯s stability and its role in regional and global diplomacy amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2026
Stability as strategy: Japan¡¯s moment for global leadership
Rising anti-China sentiment may have contributed to Takaichi¡¯s strong mandate.
Claims by China that Japan is returning to militarism are misleading because legal and institutional constraints make such a shift unlikely and current defense reforms reflect practical responses to changing regional threats.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2026
Debunking the myth of Japanese militarism
It is necessary to be clear on this point: Japan in 2026 is not the Japan of 1936.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at her ruling party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the Lower House election.
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2026
After another historic victory, Takaichi takes command
Not only is she the country's first female prime minister and a symbol of a new Japan, her career also marks a break from traditional politics.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other LDP leaders celebrate at the Diet after the dissolution of the House of Representatives on Jan. 23, days after calling for a snap election.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2026
Takaichi and the LDP appear poised for a big win
Takaichi¡¯s performance has surprised most observers. Not only did she take office with sky-high approval ratings, but she has maintained them since October.
A protester rallies in Nara on Jan. 21 against the life sentence handed down to Tetsuya Yamagami for fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 4, 2026
Assassin of Shinzo Abe files appeal against life sentence
Tetsuya Yamagami reportedly agreed to appeal after strong persuasion from his lawyers.
Sanseito supporters listen as the party¡¯s leader, Sohei Kamiya, speaks at an election campaign event in Tokyo on Jan. 27, the first day of official campaigning for the Feb. 8 snap election.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 3, 2026
Has Takaichi secured a win? Conservative voters are returning to the LDP.
Takaichi¡¯s confidence in calling an election just four months into her tenure as Japan¡¯s leader comes from high public approval and a general fragmentation in the opposition ranks.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Nara on Jan. 13. Once a central diplomatic actor, Japan is increasingly absent as global power rivalries intensify.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2026
The cost of silence: Japan¡¯s diminishing relevance
This diplomatic fade is more than a temporary slump. Japan is experiencing a crisis of international relevance at precisely the moment when the rules-based order is fracturing.
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.
The perpetrator behind the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022 was motivated by his belief that Abe had ties with the controversial Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2026
Rescue for victims of religious parents still lacking in Japan
An expert emphasized the importance of continuing to review support systems for such victims, amid lackluster progress in aid and awareness activities.
Outside the Nara District Court in the city of Nara ahead of the sentencing of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man behind the July 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2026
Shinzo Abe¡¯s assassin gets life sentence
The sentence meted out to Tetsuya Yamagami, who shot the former prime minister in Nara in July 2022, brings an end to the trial for a murder that shocked Japan.
News reporters gather in front of the Nara District Court on Oct. 28, when the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, opened.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2026
Shinzo Abe¡¯s assassin faces verdict
One of the key points in the trial is how the judges will weigh on Tetsuya Yamagami¡¯s troubled upbringing and motivations for fatally shooting the former prime minister.
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.

Longform

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

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