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July 12, 2026
 

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KOMEITO

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
The Centrist Reform Alliance’s poor performance in Sunday’s Lower House election could force co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to resign.
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.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a speech in the city of Osaka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
LDP election cooperation with Komeito during 26-year tie-up ‘nonsense,’ says Aso
While the parties were in an alliance, the LDP had asked supporters to cast proportional representation votes for Komeito in exchange for Komeito supporters backing LDP candidates.
Centrist Reform Alliance candidate in Hyogo’s No. 8 district, Yoshie Hirokawa (center), stands on the stage after pitching her candidacy to Komeito’s supporters in the Sonoda district of Amagasaki together with members of Hyogo Prefectural Assembly and Amagasaki City Assembly.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2026
Where will Komeito’s votes go? The answer might come from this Hyogo district
Amagasaki is now a heated battleground as campaign teams rush to woo supporters of the ruling party’s former coalition partner.
Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, the nation’s largest opposition party, greets supporters during a campaign event in Osaka on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2026
Is this election really unpredictable?
Despite media uncertainty, opposition weaknesses and recent polls suggest Takaichi and the LDP are likely headed for a strong victory.
Voters listen to a stump speech in the city of Hachioji, in western Tokyo, on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 4, 2026
LDP executive seeks to leave slush fund scandal behind
Koichi Hagiuda was among the five leading figures of the now-defunct LDP faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which was at the center of the scandal.
CRA candidate Kureha Otsuki’s campaign van. Blizzards and cold weather in Hokkaido’s 4th district has made campaigning in Otaru, a popular tourist attraction, difficult.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 3, 2026
Fiery campaigns in freezing weather: Inside Hokkaido’s No. 4 district race
Old rivals go head to head amid cold temperatures as both candidates keep a wary eye on a looming newcomer.
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.
Supporters of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attend an election campaign event in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 3, 2026
Where will Japan’s democracy go from here?
Many question the rationale for the snap election with some critics claiming that it is an election without a “just cause.”
A poster board in the Osaka No. 5 district in the city of Osaka. Candidates from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are competing against each other in all single-seat constituencies in Osaka Prefecture in Sunday's Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2026
In Osaka, LDP faces off against JIP despite being allies
Roughly 66,000 people who voted for Komeito in the last Lower House election are seen as kingmakers in the Osaka No. 5 district.
The Centrist Reform Alliance’s Yosuke Suzuki speaks to his supporters in Otsuka, Toshima Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 1, 2026
A tale of two Suzukis: Lower House election sets up fourth duel between Tokyo candidates
The Liberal Democratic Party’s Hayato Suzuki has been beating the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s Yosuke Suzuki since 2017, but new party backing could turn the tables.
Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito, co-chairs of the new Centrist Reform Alliance, shake hands at the party's founding convention in Tokyo on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 27, 2026
Japan’s new ‘Centrist Reform Alliance’ is a misnomer
The Centrist Reform Alliance is asking voters to embrace a brand label rather than a fully formed policy platform and a partnership of convenience.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures during the Panel Discussion by the Leaders of 7 Parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2026
Takaichi fends off criticism over snap election goal
The prime minister argues that the ruling coalition’s razor-thin majority in the Lower House made it difficult to pass crucial bills.
Voters listen to a stump speech by a prospective candidate from the Centrist Reform Alliance in Yokohama on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 25, 2026
Voters show mixed reactions to new centrist party’s stump speeches
The new party, formed by two oppositions forces, took to the streets in an effort to get its policies across to voters ahead of the Feb. 8 election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump review an honor guard ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on Oct. 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 22, 2026
Takaichi’s strengths and the need for ‘strategic signaling’
The challenge facing Japanese diplomacy lies in strategic signaling: how to communicate intentions and capabilities in an increasingly unstable international environment.
Officials of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito show the posters for the new Centrist Reform Alliance party at the parliament building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
Centrist Reform Alliance to be launched with over 160 Lower House lawmakers
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said 144 of its 148 lawmakers in the Lower House will join the new party ahead of the Feb. 8 general election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday, where she explained her plans to dissolve parliament ahead of a snap election on Feb. 8.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 20, 2026
Prime Minister Takaichi’s gambit: A test of leadership
Takaichi is seeking a fresh start, setting the conditions for her administration to lead the country effectively with a direct mandate from the people.
CDP Secretary-General Jun Azumi (left) and his Komeito counterpart, Makoto Nishida, announce the CRA's policies in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2026
CRA unveils platform adopting Komeito line on security and nuclear energy
The party outlined its position on security legislation and nuclear energy and pledged to permanently scrap the consumption tax on food.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2026
Parties clash as they brace for a February snap election
The LDP framed dissolving the Lower House as a chance for voters to judge the new coalition and the administration’s policies.
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.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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