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 ...

Japan enters 2026 confronting a convergence of political, economic and demographic pressures that mark a decisive shift in its post-war governance model. The 2024 Lower House and 2025 Upper House ...

The February 2026 lower house election in Japan resulted in a landslide victory for the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP secured 316 of the 465 contested seats, achieving a ...

In the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election held on 4 October 2025, Sanae Takaichi defied widespread expectations by defeating Shinjiro Koizumi, who had been considered the frontrunner ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...