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July 10, 2026
 

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LDP

Itsunori Onodera, a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that U.S. tariffs were "a real mess" after President Donald Trump raised levies following a Supreme Court ruling that his earlier tariffs were illegal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 22, 2026
LDP tax chief calls U.S. tariff situation ‘messy’
Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister who currently serves as chair of the party’s tax research group, ruled out Japan seeking to renegotiate its trade deal with the U.S.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Cabinet meeting on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2026
LDP considers mandatory reporting by foreign agents in Japan
As part of counterintelligence efforts, more countries are banning visitors to important government facilities from carrying mobile phones or entering with electric vehicles.
Itsunori Onodera, chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on Security greets members of the grouping at party headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2026
LDP OKs draft proposal for lifting ban on lethal arms exports
The LDP plans to finalize the proposal soon and submit it to the government, which will aim to revise the defense equipment transfer guidelines in spring at the earliest.
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.
An electronic quotation board displays the foreign exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Feb. 9.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2026
Takaichi’s next challenge: a stronger yen
Takaichi’s mandate and her vision promise stability and consistency in economic policymaking, with a focus on restoring growth. A stronger yen will help achieve those objectives.
Taro Aso, head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Aso faction, enters a meeting on Thursday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2026
LDP’s Aso faction grows to record 60 members
The Aso faction is the only one remaining in the party, after all other factions disbanded in the wake of a high-profile slush fund scandal.
The Liberal Democratic Party's newly elected Lower House lawmakers attend a workshop by party Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (standing) and other executives on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2026
LDP busy educating dozens of Lower House rookies
The party leadership fears that a gaffe made by any of the 66 newcomers to the all-important lower chamber of parliament may deal a blow to the Takaichi administration.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is applauded after being reelected as prime minister in the Lower House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2026
Takaichi heads into parliament with key agenda points in mind
Passing the budget, setting up an intelligence agency, and cutting the consumption tax are all top priorities for Sanae Takaichi, who was reelected as prime minister.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party executive meeting at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2026
Time for Takaichi to tackle Japan’s political taboos
How Takaichi spends her political capital will define her prime ministership, and she may very well be in a position to finally tackle some unresolved voting issues.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi credited his endorsement with the LDP's success in the Feb. 8 Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
Trump claims credit for LDP’s election victory
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi credited his endorsement with the party’s success in the election for the lower chamber of parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 9
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2026
As parliament reconvenes, Takaichi faces a balancing act
The upcoming budget debate is a test of whether the prime minister can balance her promise to work with the opposition with the need to move quickly to get it approved.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters as he leaves the Osaka Prefectural Government office Monday evening.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
JIP head Hirofumi Yoshimura hints at possible return to national politics
Osaka’s governor told JIP executives that he might eye national politics if an Osaka metropolis plan for regional administrative reorganization is approved.
Lawmakers leave a plenary session of the Lower House on Jan. 23 following its dissolution for a snap election. A proposal to reduce the number of seats in the chamber may be put on hold following the landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Feb. 8 election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
Momentum for Lower House seat cut stalls after LDP’s election win
The Japan Innovation Party had demanded a reduction in the size of the Lower House as a prerequisite for joining the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition.
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.
Sanae Takaichi’s historic win reflects Japan’s longstanding conservatism and practical policy priorities, but claims that she represents an extreme rightward shift or ultraconservative agenda are exaggerated.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 16, 2026
Sanae Takaichi is not who you think she is
Judge Takaichi for who she is. Watch what she says, and more importantly, what she actually does.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks at an executive meeting of the Japan Innovation Party in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
Osaka Gov. Yoshimura to remain JIP leader
In a poll, 619 JIP lawmakers and local assembly members voted against holding an election, compared with 102 who voted in favor.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Feb. 9
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
LDP retains high approval rating post election, Nikkei poll shows
While the Liberal Democratic Party’s high approval ratings continued after its Feb. 8 election win, support for the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito stayed sluggish.
Junya Ogawa, the new head of the Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after winning the party's leadership election.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
CRA to study joining national congress on consumption tax cut
Shinji Inoue, deputy secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he wants “as many parties as possible” to join the national congress.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2026
Takaichi still wants budget to pass parliament before fiscal 2026
In order to speed up deliberations, the Liberal Democratic Party may shorten the time for questions from lawmakers in the ruling coalition.
Nobuyasu Nikai, the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate for the October 2024 Lower House election, shakes hands with supporters in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / First person
Feb 13, 2026
Looking at politics from a different perspective
Three campaigns in 15 months showed how fragile support can be — and how national power begins far from Tokyo.
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.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
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.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

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