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August 11, 2026
 

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Michael MacArthur Bosack

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Michael MacArthur Bosack
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 7, 2026
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Debate on the consumption tax debate has become a test of party cohesion for the LDP under the prime minister¡¯s leadership.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attend a joint news conference in Andong, South Korea, in May.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2026
Have Tokyo and Seoul overcome their on-again, off-again dynamic?
This week offered two different images of Japan-South Korea relations, with a poll seeing improved public attitudes, while Seoul lodged a protest over Tokyo¡¯s defense white paper.
With the parliamentary session over, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi now finds herself under pressure to do something about the rising cost of living.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s popularity slide exposes deeper governing challenges
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s drop raises the question of whether it is from the normal growing pains of a new administration or if it indicates deeper structural problems.
While the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been cautious about deploying the Self-Defense Forces to conflict zones, renewed fighting could increase pressure for Japan to support post-conflict efforts, including humanitarian aid, demining and monitoring operations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2026
What the renewed Iran war means for Japan
The uncertain trajectory of the U.S. war with Iran will complicate the work of officials now shaping the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s future defense policies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a parliamentary meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 25, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s smear video scandal shows Â鶹´«Ã½ digital campaign rules are behind the curve
A scandal involving alleged AI-generated attack videos has exposed gaps in Â鶹´«Ã½ laws governing online election campaigns.
A resident of a village isolated by the Noto earthquake expresses his gratitude as he heads to a Self-Defense Forces rescue helicopter, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, 2024.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 17, 2026
¡®Poor kids join the SDF¡¯ remark reflects deeper debate over Â鶹´«Ã½ military
The statement by a CDP lawmaker exposed a widening gap between public support for the SDF and the political debates that continue to shape Â鶹´«Ã½ civil-military relations.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a party leaders' debate at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on May 20. A pledge to cut the consumption tax on food products is quickly becoming a policy headache for the prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2026
Consumption tax cut is quickly turning into a headache for Takaichi
Translating the pledge from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration into policy has proven more complicated than many lawmakers anticipated.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), delivers a question during a House of Representatives plenary session on May 25. Making the DPP a coalition member would make it easier for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (above left) to drive forward her legislative agenda.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2026
The LDP wants another coalition partner. Will it happen?
The Liberal Democratic Party floated the idea of inviting the Democratic Party for the People to join the ruling bloc.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Cabinet Committee meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 27, 2026
How the intel bill showed Â鶹´«Ã½ new political reality
The debate surrounding the National Intelligence Council Law revealed less about Â鶹´«Ã½ intelligence system than the current contours of the country¡¯s new political reality.
Katsunobu Kato, chairman of the National Power Research Group, addresses the group's inaugural meeting held at the parliamentary building in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2026
What will the LDP¡¯s new National Power Research Group become?
The group¡¯s scale and participation by party heavy hitters would¡¯ve been unusual even for former factions, let alone for policy research.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi leads one of the largest blocs in the Liberal Democratic Party and wields significant influence over intraparty dynamics, helping offset one of Sanae Takaichi¡¯s perceived weaknesses: party management.
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2026
How a rival became one of Takaichi¡¯s most trusted allies
Foreign ministers usually don¡¯t command much authority. Toshimitsu Motegi is different.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and her Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, visit the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Canberra on May 4.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 11, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s Golden Week diplomacy: a cheat sheet
The prime minister¡¯s administration used the lull in domestic politics to advance its ¡°Free and Open Indo-Pacific¡± strategy across Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia.
A policeman stands guard at an entrance to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on March 25. A man was apprehended in Tokyo March 24 after he trespassed onto the grounds of the embassy.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 6, 2026
Japan-China tensions have no visible off-ramp
Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing over the installation of structures in the East China Sea, marking the latest in a series of incidents between the two Asian rivals.
Despite Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s sustained high approval ratings after more than six months in office, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party she leads continues to suffer losses in local elections.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2026
The LDP is losing local elections. Should Takaichi be worried?
Even as the prime minister enjoys high approval ratings, her party has been suffering a string of local electoral defeats.
China may be pushed into an uncomfortable reactive stance by the Iran war, but over time it retains a steadier position to outmaneuver Washington.
COMMENTARY / World / Perspectives
Apr 20, 2026
Is Xi feeling stronger than Trump?
In the U.S.-China great power competition, the American president¡¯s handling of the Iran war may have given a strategic edge to Beijing.
Chairperson Hiroyuki Nagahama (center rear) and others attend a House of Councilors constitutional review committee hearing at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2026
Four things to understand in Â鶹´«Ã½ constitutional debate
Â鶹´«Ã½ legislature started debate on constitutional amendment as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to have a proposal ready in a year.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks during a news conference in the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 15, 2026
Where will the Centrist Reform Alliance¡¯s soul-searching take it?
The party¡¯s internal study has confirmed what many political observers had already concluded ¡ª the attempt to fuse the CDP and Komeito faced structural flaws from the start.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at the Lower House plenary session on Thursday as the bill to upgrade the nation¡¯s intelligence framework was put to debate.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 6, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ much-needed intel debate could cost Takaichi political points
While the Liberal Democratic Party will not likely face major obstacles in the intelligence debate, it still could weigh down Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration.
Â鶹´«Ã½ tonal shift about China is likely less a dramatic shift in Tokyo¡¯s approach to Beijing, and more of a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ change of China¡¯s description is not a ¡®significant shift¡¯
Tokyo¡¯s adjusted phrasing is likely more a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama during a plenary session of the House of Councilors in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2026
Takaichi prepares provisional budget as the nature of debate shifts
The development has provided ammunition for the opposition to accuse the Takaichi administration for political mismanagement.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.

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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Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
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