Shigeru Ishiba

Oct. 21 (UPI) — Sanae Takaichi was elected prime minister of Japan on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to lead the country.

Japan’s House of Representatives announced in a statement that Takaichi had been “chosen by open ballot” during a plenary session on Tuesday.

Takaichi, the Liberal Democratic Party president, will be Japan’s 104th prime minister. The Japan Times reported that she received 237 votes to Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda‘s 149.

The vote was held after the cabinet of now-former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned en masse Tuesday morning.

“To all citizens, I express my deepest gratitude for your understanding and cooperation, and I ask for your continued strong support for the next cabinet and new prime minister as they face domestic and international challenges ahead,” Ishiba said in a statement announcing the end of his coalition government.

Takaichi’s election was made nearly certain after her LDP agreed to form a new coalition government with the Japan Innovation Party on Monday night.

“We will work to realize policies that overcome domestic and international challenges, protect the livelihoods of the people and the peace of the nation and strongly advance Japan forward,” the LDP said Tuesday in a statement.

Ishiba announced his resignation in early September to prevent a split of his LDP following recent election defeats. Takaichi was then made the party leader.

Oct. 15 (UPI) — The Japanese Diet is scheduled to vote on the nation’s next prime minister on Tuesday, which has political parties angling to gain support for their preferred candidates.

Sanae Takaichi is the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and is its choice to become Japan’s next prime minister, but opposition parties might block her path, according to NHK World.

The LDP has asked the opposition Japan Innovation Party to join its political coalition and support Takaichi’s candidacy to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The JIP would replace the Komeito party, which last week announced its withdrawal from the ruling coalition.

LDP members hold 196 of 465 seats in Japan’s House of Representatives and 100 of 248 seats in the House of Councillors [sic], which is the most of any political party.

While it holds more seats in the Japanese Diet than any other political party, it does not control of majority and seeks additional support to solidify Takaichi’s candidacy.

The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan also seeks support from the JIP and the Democratic Party for the People to promote a viable candidate capable of winning the Diet’s vote over Takaichi.

Despite the opposition to her candidacy to become prime minister, Takaichi told supporters she “will never give up” in her quest to win the election, which typically goes to the leader of the ruling party, China Daily reported.

The leaders of Japan’s various political parties have several meetings scheduled on Wednesday to potentially build support coalitions that could result in Takaichi or other candidates to replace Ishiba as Japan’s prime minister.

DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki is among those who might derail Takaichi’s effort to become prime minister.

If Takaichi should become Japan’s next prime minister, she would be the nation’s first woman to hold the position, according to CNBC.

Oct. 4 (UPI) — Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative, is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister after being elected by her Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday.

The 64-year-old former economic security minister defeated four other candidates to lead the LDP after two rounds of voting. She has served as party president this year.

If elected by both houses of the parliament later this month, she will replace Shigeru Ishiba, who announced last month he would resign after being in office for less than one year. Ishiba is a member of the LDP.

In the past two elections, the party became the minority among representatives and councillors in parliament, which is known as the Diet.

Takaichi has 32 years of political experience, including serving Nara, which is in Japan’s main island of Honshu, in the lower house. She was the economics minister from 2022 to 2024.

In a runoff, Takaichi defeated Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old agricultural minister seen as the favorite going into Saturday’s election. She received 149 lawmaker votes and 36 LDP chapter votes, ahead of Koizumi’s 145 votes from lawmakers and 11 from the prefectural chapters.

Other candidates were Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi .

“I’m feeling how tough it’s going to be from here on, rather than feeling happy,” Takaichi said after her election. “We won’t be able to rebuild the party if I don’t get everyone’s help, from all generations. I will scrap my work-life balance and work and work and work and work and work.”

Takachi wants to broaden her support, saying “everyone, and of all generations” — including election rivals — need to help mend the divided party.

Takachi is a protege of Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister assassinated in 2022.

She is vowing to bring back an economic vision known as Abenomics, which includes high fiscal spending and cheap borrowing. Japan currently has a sluggish economy of high inflation and stagnant wages.

In addition, she has to contend with a tariff deal worked out with U.S. President Donald Trump that includes a 15% duty on its exports in exchange for a commitment of $550 million in the U.S. economy.

She must work out how to spend that money, including investments, loans and loan guarantees.

Takaichi was the only candidate to consider renegotiating the deal, saying “we must speak out firmly.”

Tkaichi, who is more conservative than the other candidates, is a former TV host.

“I think she’s in a good position to regain the right-wing voters, but at the expense of wider popular appeal, if they go into a national election,” Professor Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo, told the BBC.

She is a member of the “hardline” faction of the LDP, whose support has imploded “because it lost touch with its right-wing DNA,” Kingston said.

But he noted Takaichi won’t have much success “healing the internal party rift.”

Takachi is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, who became Britain’s first female prime minister in 1979.

“She calls herself Japan’s Margaret Thatcher,” Kingstone said. “In terms of fiscal discipline, she’s anything but Thatcher. But like Thatcher she’s not much of a healer. I don’t think she’s done much to empower women.”

Takachi has opposed legislation that allows women to keep their maiden names after marriage. Also, she is opposed to same sex marriage, which is not a national law in Japan.

Sept. 20 (UPI) — Shinjiro Koizumi seeks the presidency of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, which would enable him to become the nation’s youngest prime minister if he wins.

Koizumi, 44, is Japan’s minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and is the second to declare his candidacy for the party’s leadership role, according to The Chosun Daily.

“I am challenging the presidential election to rebuild the LDP into a party that realizes the safety and security demanded by the people,” Koizumi said during a press conference on Saturday.

“My role is to break through the conventional wisdom of economic management from the deflation era and build a new approach suited for the era of inflation,” he added, as reported by The Japan Times.

Koizumi wants to raise the average annual wage for Japanese workers by a million yen by the 2030 fiscal year and ensure pay increases stay ahead of inflation.

To do that, he wants to enact a supplementary budget for the 2025 fiscal year that would counteract inflation.

He also wants to eliminate the provisional gas tax as quickly as possible.

Koizumi sought the top post within the LDP a year ago but lost to current Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Ishiba on Sept. 7 announced his intention to resign as Japan’s prime minister.

Former Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae previously announced her candidacy to become the LDP’s president.

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (UPI) — The defense chiefs of South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Monday to discuss cooperation across a range of issues, including North Korea‘s growing nuclear and missile threats.

The meeting between South Korea’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his counterpart, Gen Nakatani, marked the first visit by a Japanese defense minister to Seoul since 2015. Nakatani is in town to attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual security forum that runs from Monday to Wednesday.

The ministers “reaffirmed their firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to continue South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” they announced in a joint statement.

“They also emphasized the need to jointly address the deepening of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia,” the statement added.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and missiles to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs in return.

The meeting comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing last week to attend a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Kim stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the display of military might in Tiananmen Square, the first time the three leaders have been seen together publicly.

The appearance was viewed by many analysts as a major diplomatic win for Kim in his efforts to further cement North Korea’s status as a de facto nuclear state.

Ahn and Nakatani stressed the importance of promoting bilateral security ties and three-way cooperation with the United States amid a “rapidly changing security environment,” their joint statement said.

The defense chiefs agreed to boost mutual visits and personnel exchanges while seeking opportunities for high-tech defense cooperation.

“In particular, they agreed to explore future-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation opportunities in cutting-edge science and technology fields such as AI, unmanned systems and space,” the statement said.

Seoul and Tokyo have seen their historically frosty relations thaw in recent years. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met last month and called for closer cooperation on trade and security issues.

Ishiba, however, announced his resignation on Sunday, raising questions about the future of Tokyo’s diplomatic relationship with Seoul.

South Korea’s presidential office said Monday that it planned to “continue positive relations going forward” with Japan, news agency Yonhap reported.

Sept. 7 (UPI) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation Sunday to avoid a split of his Liberal Democratic Party after recent election defeats.

“Today, I have decided resign from the position of President of Liberal Democratic Party,” Ishiba posted in a brief message on social media.

Ishiba, in a news conference carried by public broadcaster NHK, said he had decided to resign from the post now that negotiations with the administration of President Donald Trump over tariffs had ended.

“I thought a decisive division within the party could be created if the issue of an extraordinary presidential election continued to develop. That is not what I wanted,” Ishiba said in the news conference.

“I hope people will fully understand as I will continue fulfilling my duties during my remaining time in office.”

Ishiba instructed LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama to begin preparations for a leadership election in line with party rules, according to NHK.

The announcement followed a bruising summer election in which Ishiba’s LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the upper house of parliament.

Projections ahead of the vote had warned the coalition was at risk of falling short, and final results confirmed the parties captured only 47 seats, three shy of the 50 needed to maintain control.

The setback deepened the LDP’s political troubles after earlier losses in the lower house, fueling speculation about Ishiba’s hold on power. NHK noted the results left the ruling party struggling to pass legislation without opposition support, raising the prospect of gridlock.

Ishiba, a former defense minister who became prime minister in 2024, had campaigned on strengthening Japan’s security posture and managing rising costs of living. But his government’s popularity waned amid economic pressures, and party heavyweights pressed him to step aside to clear the way for new leadership.

The resignation was heralded as a smart move to bolster party unity by members of Ishiba’s own party while Saito Tetsuo, the chief representative of coalition partner Komeito, called the announcement regrettable.

“I am deeply disappointed by this announcement of resignation. However, I understand it as an unavoidable decision to bring an early end to the confusion within the Liberal Democratic Party,” Tetsuo said in a post on social media.

“In order to minimize the political vacuum, and also to realize the promised tax cuts and benefits, I call on the Liberal Democratic Party to respond swiftly.”

Noda Yoshihiko, the head of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, also expressed concern about the country operating in a political vacuum while inflation grips Japan, NHK reported.

With Ishiba’s departure, the LDP will quickly move to initiate its formal leadership selection process. Under party rules, aspiring candidates must secure at least 20 endorsements from fellow LDP members in the Diet, the national legislature, to qualify.

The election will involve both LDP lawmakers and rank-and-file party members across Japan. If no single candidate achieves a majority in the first round, a run-off between the top two vote-getters will be held, this time giving equal weight to lawmakers and one vote per prefectural branch.

Once a new party president is chosen, the Diet will convene to endorse the next prime minister. Although the LDP has lost its majority in both chambers, its dominance in the lower house ensures that its nominee can secure the post.

Yet the absence of a decisive majority sets the stage for political instability, forcing the new leader to rely on cross-party cooperation to pass legislation or consider calling a general election for a fresh mandate.

Aug. 25 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, meeting for the first time Monday, described their admiration for each other and pledged cooperation in trade and defense.

Trump shook the South Korean leader’s hand as he arrived at the White House. Lee took office in June after a snap election and Trump was back in office in January.

Yoon Suk Yeol was removed as president in April, arrested and jailed after being impeached in 2024 for a failed attempt to declare martial law.

Trump said there is a better relationship with Lee than with the former leader during a session with reporters before meeting privately.

“You’ve had a lot of leaders, I’ve gone through a lot of leaders in South Korea,” Trump said. “You know, it’s been quick. You’ll be there for a long time.

“The various leaders that I’ve dealt with, they were not approaching it properly, in my opinion, having to do with North Korea, but I think your approach is a much better one.”

Lee noted it was different when Joe Biden was U.S. President from 2021-2025.

“But during the short hiatus where you were out of office, North Korea developed further its nuclear and missile capabilities, and that led to a deterioration of the situation,” Lee said.

Trump, speaking wither reporters, said the two nations have common interests.

“We’re going to get [along] together great because we really sort of need each other,” Trump said. “We love what they do. We love their products. We love their ships. And they love what we have.

“We were dealing with them on Alaska,” Trump said about investing in a liquefied natural gas project. “You need oil and we have it.”

He said oil is probably what South Korea needs the most.

In April, when Trump imposed tariffs on foreign-made goods, South Korea was hit with a 25% reciprocal tariff. It was paused for 90 days and subsequently lowered to 15% after renegotiations in July. Most U.S. trading partners have been imposed with at least a 10% baseline fee.

The United States had a $66 billion goods trade deficit with the Asian country in 2024, a 28.5% increase over 2023.

On July 30, Trump said on Truth Social that “South Korea will give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President.”

South Korea also announced a $150 billion proposal, dubbed “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again,” in an effort to revive U.S. shipbuilding.

Lee, noting the Dow Jones Industrial Index is at a record high, said: “I hope Korea can be a part of that renaissance.”

He even praised the Oval Office decor, saying it is “bright and beautiful and it has the dignity of America.” Trump has added several gold touches to the office.

Trump had a different tone about South Korea earlier in the day, posting on Truth Social: “WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House.”

Trump said in the meeting with Lee that he was referring to raids on churches and on a U.S. military base by the South Korean government. Describing it as “intel,” he said they “probably shouldn’t have done.”

“We didn’t directly investigate the U.S base, we investigated the South Korea unit within the base. I will explain it to you more in detail later,” he told Trump.

Lee said a special counsel team is “conducting a fact-finding” investigation into the matter.

Trump said he is sure they will “work it out.”

Lee arrived in the U.S. capital after he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo, and said he learned more about negotiations between the United States and Japan, as well as getting tips on Trump’s negotiation style.

Currently, the U.S. has 28,000 troops stationed in the nation.

Trump said he would like for South Korea to give the U.S. ownership of land where the United States has built “a massive military base”.

Lee has been worried about threats from North Korea.

During their Oval Office meeting, Lee said he hoped Trump can work on establishing peace in the Korean Peninsula.

“I think you are the first president to have so much interest in the world’s peace issues and actually made achievements,” Lee said. “So, I hope you would make peace on the Korean Peninsula, which remains the only separated country in the world, and meet with [North Korea’s leader] Kim Jong Un.”

Lee jokingly said that a Trump tower should be built in North Korea, “so I can go play golf in Pyongyang, as well.”

Trump spoke about how he met with Kim at the border, the Demilitarized Zone, on June 30, 2018.

“Love going to DMZ,” Trump said about Kim, praising the dictator.

Aug. 15 (UPI) — In an address at the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for remorse over Japan’s actions during World War II.

“Eighty years have now passed since the war ended,” Ishiba said in a speech Friday that Japanese prime ministers deliver each year at the memorial. “Today, generations with no firsthand experience of war make up the great majority. We must never again repeat the horrors of war.”

“We must never again lose our way,” he added. “We must now take deeply into our hearts once again our remorse and also the lessons learned from that war.”

His predecessors Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida hadn’t mentioned the word “remorse” when they delivered the prime minister’s address annually since Abe first left out the word from his speech in 2013.

A tradition of including a recommendation of remorse had started with former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who in 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, said in his address that he had “feelings of deep remorse” concerning Japanese past bellicosity.

He further offered an apology for Japan’s past “colonial rule and aggression.”

Murayama’s 1995 address has since been viewed as an impactful speech known as “The Murayama Statement.” Successive prime ministers had continued to mention remorse until Abe’s 2013 presentation.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito also spoke during the ceremony Friday, and he too included the word and a need for repentance.

“Looking back on the long period of post-war peace, reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never again be repeated,” he said.

Aug. 11 (UPI) — At least two people may be dead and scores of others still missing after landslides and flooding hit southwest Japan after torrential rain.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged Japanese citizens on Monday to be vigilant and said Japan’s government was “committed to implementing disaster response measures.”

The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a warning of extreme rainfall to residents in Kumamoto and Nagasaki prefectures as it stretched across a wide swath of the archipelago nation.

Rescuers continue the search for the missing with scores of emergency reports.

Water submerged homes and rivers rose over banks as Japanese officials advised tens of thousands in six of Japan’s 47 prefectures to evacuate to safer areas.

“Due to the heavy rain so far, the ground has become loose in some areas, so please continue to be on high alert for landslides, rising river levels and flooding,” JMA officials said earlier in the day.

A Japanese weather official said “there is a real threat to people’s lives” as the agency issued landslide warnings for nine prefectures, including Kumamoto where nearly 2 feet of rain fell in a 24-hour period.

According to the weather office, it was record rainfall for the area.

“I have never experienced rain like this,” Yoichi Tachihara, a JMA official, said during a press briefing.

Officials added that over a foot of rain — or about 370 millimeters — fell in about six hours through Monday in Tamana, Kumamoto, which was nearly double the level of precipitation for the city for the entire month.

“Take the best action to protect your life immediately and with maximum caution,” Japan’s Office of Disaster Management posted Sunday on social media.

Meanwhile, Japanese railway operator JR Kyushu had suspected all bullet trains but resumed operations later in the day.

The record rainfall and flooding to Nippon’s south arrived a few short weeks after a separate record-breaking earthquake in eastern Russia led to a volcanic eruption and tsunami warnings for the Japanese island and in many other global outposts.

July 20 (UPI) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who assumed office in October 2024, could face mounting political pressure as his ruling coalition is projected to lose its majority during elections for the House of Councilors on Sunday.

Ishiba acknowledged Sunday night to public broadcaster NHK that it would be difficult for the ruling coalition, an alliance of his Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party, to secure the 50 seats in the House of Councilors election to maintain a majority.

Before the election, the LDP-Komeito coalition together held 66 of 125 seats up for grabs this cycle, but exit polls conducted by NHK with other national news outlets showed they are expected to only win somewhere between 32 and 51 seats in the upper house.

“The situation is severe, and we must accept it humbly and sincerely,” Ishiba said in remarks to NHK. He added that his party has a “responsibility” to fulfill the promises it made to voters, including raising wages more than inflation and measures to combat population decline.

The country’s national legislature, called the Diet, is comprised of two houses: the House of Councilors, and the more powerful lower house, called the House of Representatives, which is responsible for selecting the prime minister.

Ishiba became Japan’s prime minister last fall after winning the ruling LDP’s internal leadership election, replacing Fumio Kishida, who stepped down amid declining approval and scandal ties.

Because the LDP held a majority in the lower house of parliament at the time, through its longstanding coalition with the Komeito party, Ishiba’s victory secured his elevation to the country’s top office.

Days after taking power, he called a snap general election in October 2024 in an effort to strengthen his mandate. Instead, voters handed his party a historic defeat: the LDP-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the lower chamber for the first time in over a decade, forcing Ishiba to lead a fragile minority government.

Now, Ishiba’s leadership is facing another major test in Sunday’s upper house election, where exit polls suggest the ruling coalition is also on track to lose control of the legislature’s second chamber, which would make it difficult for the government to pass legislation.

Under Japanese law, a minority government can continue to rule as long as it avoids a no-confidence vote in the House of Representatives and because Japan’s opposition is often fragmented, it could be hard to oust a weakened ruling party. Still, it could lead to the possibility that Ishiba may choose to resign less than a year after becoming prime minister.

Masataka Furuya, chairman of the Central Election Management Committee, released a statement before voting Sunday, encouraging the public to participate in the voting process. As of 7:30 p.m. local time, the nationwide voter turnout rote for the election was 29.9%, lower than the previous election three years ago.

The back-to-back losses reflect growing voter dissatisfaction with the LDP under Ishiba, driven by economic stagnation, public frustration over immigration policy, and fatigue with the party’s decades-long grip on power.

“We hope that all voters will fully understand the significance of this regular election of the House of Councilors, actively participate in the voting, and exercise their precious vote with care,” the office of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a statement Sunday.

“We also ask that those involved in the voting and counting of the elections take strict and fair action and take the utmost care in managing and executing the elections.”

July 8 (UPI) — The Japanese government announced Tuesday it plans to negotiate with the Trump administration over a planned increase in the tariff rate placed on it, even if it was painful news to receive.

After President Donald Trump informed 14 nations Monday with a mostly form letter, including Japan, that new tariffs of at least 25% will be imposed starting Aug. 1 on most of the goods sent to the United States, Japan’s Minister of Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa contacted U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to express Japan’s dissatisfaction.

Akazawa also said via a social media post Monday that tariffs between the United States and Japan had not changed much because “there is a certain degree of trust” between the two countries.

“The real climax and critical moment are the three weeks until Aug. 1,” he concluded. “We would like to support the government’s negotiations more firmly than ever before.”

“Towards the new deadline of Aug. 1, the government will act with unity to engage in Japan-U.S. consultations and aim for an agreement that will benefit both countries while protecting our national interests to ensure that we pursue what should be pursued, and protect what should be protected by refraining from making hasty decisions,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said during a meeting with Japan’s Comprehensive Response Headquarters for U.S. Tariff Measures Tuesday.

“It is deeply regrettable that the U.S. government has not only imposed additional tariffs but has now also announced a further increase in tariff rates,” he also said. “The two sides have continued sincere and earnest discussions, but as of now, there are still issues that both Japan and the United States cannot resolve.”