The coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party is said to have secured more than 316 out of the 465 seats at stake in the Lower House. Just four months ago, Sanae Takaichi, a 64-year-old veteran ...

For a long time, Japan’s political system was treated as a success story in comparison with other democratic states. During the 2010s, while Western democracies were engulfed by a populist surge ...

One aspect of the result merits closer analytical attention: the voting behavior of younger citizens. Pre-election surveys showed Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s approval rating reaching as high as 90 ...

Japan entered 2026 facing a breakdown of its long-standing LDP-dominated governance model. A fragmented coalition and weakened bureaucratic authority characterise Japan’s current constrained political ...

The last two elections proved the LDP had fallen out of favor with Japan’s voters, and Takaichi is betting that she can repair that erosion of confidence in her party. The 2024 Lower House election ...

Among the many issues that helped propel Sanae Takaichi to power as Japan’s first female prime minister this fall, perhaps none is more politically charged or more important to Japan’s long-term ...

Japan’s February 2026 snap election reflects a political system increasingly shaped by tactical dissolutions rather than policy performance. While Takaichi’s high approval ratings explain their timing ...

Hikaru Fujita, who’s running in Sunday’s parliamentary election, is a standout in a country where expectant mothers rarely enter national politics. By Javier C. Hernández and Kiuko Notoya Reporting ...