Inside Japanese politics

10 April 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who will address a joint session of the U.S. Congress on April 11, poses for a portrait after an interview with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on April 4. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
As Japan prepares to commemorate Abe's assassination on July 8, intense scrutiny continues over ties between his party and the Unification Church. (Source photos by Getty and AP)
Unification Church and politics

Japan's Unification Church scandal lingers a year after Abe death

4 things to know about the group's enduring links to the LDP and their impact

6 July 2023
Participants march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade, celebrating advances in LGBTQ rights and calling for marriage equality, in Tokyo on April 23. 
Gender

Japan passes controversial LGBT law: 5 things to know

Sexual minorities and critics say legal framework has no teeth

16 June 2023
Economics professor and longtime Bank of Japan policy board member Kazuo Ueda, left, is set to succeed Haruhiko Kuroda as BOJ chief in April. 
The Big Story

Kazuo Ueda: Next BOJ chief inherits world's toughest central bank job

'Nonideological' pragmatist tasked with unwinding controversial legacy of predecessor Kuroda

16 February 2023
Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party has been the party leader for more than 20 years.
Inside Japanese politics

Japan Communist Party in turmoil as calls emerge for new leadership

Leader Shii faces fresh challenges as party struggles to gain traction

30 January 2023
The assassination of Shinzo Abe in July exposed an intricate maze of links between the former Unification Church and Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The Big Story

Strings pulled: Dissecting Japan's Unification Church problem

LDP scandal exposes religion's potential role in gender policy and LGBTQ rights

7 September 2022
The death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has left his ruling party faction scrambling to find a successor.
Shinzo Abe

Abe's house of cards: Death leaves largest party faction in limbo

Japan's most powerful political bloc could shift to collective leadership

14 July 2022
Nobuyuki Baba, a native of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, is a main architect of the Japan's Innovation Party's strategy. (Source photos by Tomoki Mera and Jiji) 
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's Ishin party seeks to shake up status quo in July election

From Osaka, leader Nobuyuki Baba calls for radical overhaul of politics, economy

19 March 2022
Tatsuo Fukuda, center, comes from a family that has already produced two prime ministers: his late grandfather Takeo, left, and his father Yasuo. (Source photos by AP, Kyodo, Jiji and Keiichiro Sato) 
Inside Japanese politics

Tatsuo Fukuda, Japan's rising political scion, under pressure

Third generation of family expected to follow footsteps of father, grandfather

23 January 2022
Kenta Izumi is described as a balanced leader who does everything well but does not particularly shine in any one field.
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's new opposition leader Izumi faces tough balancing act

CDP struggles with identity crisis after poor showing in lower house election

16 January 2022
Previous LDP leadership elections taught Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara that being a former elite bureaucrat well-versed in policy issues does not make one a strong candidate to be prime minister.
Inside Japanese politics

Seiji Kihara: The policy guru behind Japan Prime Minister Kishida

Inspired by Margaret Thatcher, the protege also takes cues from Yoshihide Suga

15 January 2022
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, whose sole previous experience at the top of government was as education minister, has described himself as "neither a rightist nor leftist, but a neutralist."
Inside Japanese politics

How unknown Hirokazu Matsuno became PM Kishida's right-hand man

Lawmaker who wanted to be a film director now leads Japan's bureaucracy

29 December 2021
Takashi Shimada, right, is recognized as a key political insider and a vital part of the new administration. (Photo by Kai Fujii)
Inside Japanese politics

Kishida's right-hand man shows new leadership style in Japan

Career insider Takashi Shimada helps PM tear down walls and bridge gaps

14 November 2021
Tomoko Yoshino was elected the first female president of Japan's largest labor union Rengo.
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's largest union hopes for momentum with first female leader

General elections will be a test, but weak opposition bloc a headache for Rengo

10 October 2021
From left, Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida, and Shinzo Abe (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Inside Japanese politics

Kishida's 'new capitalism' raises economic reform setback fears

New Japanese prime minister considers hiking tax on investment income

5 October 2021
Japan's next prime minister should focus on structural reforms. From left, Taro Kono, Fumio Kishida, Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Noda hope to win the job. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
Comment

Japan's 100th prime minister must bring big ideas for nation's future

Communication and clarity are needed to inspire public participation in politics

28 September 2021
Haruhiko Kuroda, front, has held Japan's monetary policy steady for more than eight years. It will be up to the next prime minister to replace him. Leading contenders are, from left, Taro Kono, Fumio Kishida and Sanae Takaichi. (Source photos by Nikkei, AFP/Jiji and Kyodo)
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's LDP race throws wrench into post-Kuroda BOJ preparations

Markets wait for indication from next administration on monetary policy stance

14 September 2021
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has decided not to run in the LDP's presidential election, citing the need to focus on combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inside Japanese politics

Three moments that put Japan PM Suga on road to resignation

Poor timing, mistakes with COVID and mayoral race sealed his political fate

3 September 2021
Taro Kono, left, Japan's regulatory reform minister and minister in charge of vaccinations, and Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary-general of the LDP, ranked a close first and second as favorable candidates for the LDP president in the Nikkei poll. Neither has made clear whether he will run. (Photos by Yumi Kotani and Kosuke Imamura) 
Inside Japanese politics

Japan public favors Kono and Ishiba in LDP race: poll

Almost 70% want Prime Minister Suga to step down by end of his term

30 August 2021
Fumio Kishida, former head of the LDP's policy body, announces his candidacy for the party leadership on Thursday.
Inside Japanese politics

Gloves off: Kishida vows to replace Japan kingmaker Nikai if elected

Perennial LDP contender sheds 'docile' image with proposal to limit leadership terms

27 August 2021
Taro Kono, left, has a shot to replace current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, but his lack of a power base and maverick policies could get in his way. (Source photos by Rie Ishii and AFP/Jiji) 
Inside Japanese politics

Time is tight for Kono and his goal to shift political landscape

COVID vaccinations test maverick lawmaker's leadership as he vies for PM post

15 August 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is closely watching the Yokohama mayoral election that Hachiro Okonogi, a former Suga cabinet member, has entered, taking a surprising stand. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Kyodo/AP)
Inside Japanese politics

Yokohama election tests Japan's casino push amid COVID headwind

Fierce mayoral race pits incumbent against raft of candidates opposing resort

7 August 2021
Can Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga escape a post-Olympics curse that has felled past three prime ministers?(Source photos by Uichiro Kasai and Reuters) 
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's 'post-Olympics' curse looms large for embattled Suga

Prime ministers have stepped down each time Japan hosted Games

31 July 2021
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi, right, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Komeito, a member of the ruling coalition, is hurrying to build a direct relationship with the prime minister's office.
Inside Japanese politics

Japan's political parties lose sway under stronger prime ministers

LDP and Komeito see influence ebb as decision-making grows more centralized

24 July 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has leveraged institutional overhauls of the office to his advantage, despite a weakening in the nation's top-down form of decision-making.
Inside Japanese politics

Prime ministers in Japan stronger than ever 20 years after reforms

COVID reveals cracks in top-down policymaking, but 'kantei' still the main force

18 July 2021
Almost a year after U.S. President Joe Biden, left, won his election, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will face voters in his country. (Source photos by Uichiro Kasai and Reuters) 
Comment

In politics, there are no 'strange' defeats. They happen for a reason

Japanese Prime Minister Suga eyes snap election in September

17 June 2021
Yoshihide Suga wanted to discuss the possibility of the U.S. returning to the TPP when he met Joe Biden in April.
Inside Japanese politics

Japan cautiously explores possibility of US returning to TPP

Experts say trade pact can anchor Biden's Asia-Pacific strategy

15 May 2021
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi decided to dissolve the House of Representatives in 2005 in order to realize his reform of postal privatization. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Kyodo)
Inside Japanese politics

20 years after Koizumi: How Japanese politics were restructured

PM managed tight inner-circle rivalries fortifying strong central leadership

16 April 2021
Japan says Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, will meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington after the Japanese entourage is fully vaccinated.
International relations

Suga to face make-or-break moment during Biden summit

Pitfalls abound as Japan's PM travels to Washington for April 16 meeting

5 April 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has given key posts to Taro Kono, second from right, and Shinjiro Koizumi, far right. Potential rivals for the ruling party leadership Fumio Kishida, far left, and Shigeru Ishiba are struggling to build a challenge. (Source photos by Rie Ishii, Kento Awashima, Yumi Kotani, Uichiro Kasai and Reuters) 
Politics

Suga's LDP rivals struggle to make ground in Japan election year

PM giving preferential treatment to Kono, Koizumi to maintain grip on party

25 March 2021