Japan’s general election was held on Februa ry 8, 2026. It was a gamble for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to call a snap election. Under Japan’s constitutional practice, the prime minister may dissolve the House of Representatives (the lower house) and call a general election. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was elected prime minister by the Diet last October, succeeding former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. However, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to which she belongs, did not hold a majority in the lower house. Her personal popularity remained high after she took office. Against this backdrop, she suddenly announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives earlier this year. The LDP then won a historic landslide in this election. Its total seats increased from 198 to 316, meaning the party now controls more than two-thirds of the seats in the lower house. With a two-thirds majority, the LDP can override legislation rejected by the upper house and enact it under the overri...
Today (October 21, 2025) marks a historic day in Japanese politics. Sanae Takaichi, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been elected as the first female prime minister by the National Diet. When we consider the history, women didn’t have the right to vote for election and could not be candidates for politician including local assembly or mayor. Before World War 2, there was a movement by Fusae Ichikawa to require the political participation rights for women. But Japan has to wait for it until 1945 by the new legislation which is strongly guided by the occupied armed force (general head quoters; GHQ). It took 80 years after that. If we observe the case of Britain, the first woman prime minister was Margaret Thacher seated in 1979. At that time, she was regarded as a lucky lady and had little power as a leader, especially with senior Members of Parliament. But she had a strong will to win the Falkland dispute at Alzentine and could achieve vict...
This chart displays the Japanese birth numbers and total fertility rate. It means the average number of babies born per woman. The baby was born nearly 3 million just after World War Ⅱ. But it decreased by around 1 million. Annual Live Births and Total Fertility Rate(TFR) Source)The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS), This is the recent movement of the former chart. Despite government policy to give incentives such as supporting the education fee or fulfillment of nursery facilities, the total fertility rate hit a record low of 1.15 in 2024, and the number of newly born babies finally fell below 700 thousand. This number is around one-fourth of the baby boomer generation. Source) produced by kanagawa by using national statistics This represents the change in population by age and future projections. The elderly ratio is expected to increase to around 40%. When I returned from abroad, I felt the safety of Japan, but from around 2000, I began ...
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