Electoral System Reform as a Political Issue Along with the reduction of seats in the Lower House, radical reform of the electoral system has emerged as a major issue in Japanese politics. On October 20, 2025, upon the inauguration of the Takaichi Sanae administration, the “Coalition Government Agreement” signed between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) included a goal to reduce the number of Lower House seats by 10 percent. Furthermore, it incorporated a commitment to consider the abolition of the parallel electoral system (combining single-member districts and proportional representation, hereinafter “parallel system”) and the introduction of a multi-member district system (MMD). Although the bill was ultimately placed under continued deliberation, on December 5 of the same year, a bill was submitted to reduce the Lower House membership by 45 or more seats. This bill contained a provision for ... ... [Read more]

Since the revelation of the political fundraising scandal involving factions of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the landscape of Japanese party politics has been transformed through two national elections: the Lower House election in October 2024 and the Upper House election in July 2025.[1] The situation has changed at a dizzying pace, characterized by the defeat of the LDP-Komeito coalition in the Lower House election, the birth of a minority government, Komeito’s departure from the coalition, the rapid surge of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), the sharp expansion of support for Sanseito, and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) joining the “coalition government” in a confidence and supply agreement (non-cabinet cooperation). The LDP’s response to the political fund scandal was insufficient to convince voters, and combined with the burden of rising prices, the party was abandoned by the electorate. Having lost their majority ... ... [Read more]

On October 21, 2025, the Takaichi Sanae administration was inaugurated. It goes without saying that Takaichi is the first female Prime Minister in Japan’s constitutional history. Furthermore, the coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, which began in 1994, was dissolved, leading to a realignment of the coalition between the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP). Just four days prior to this, it was reported that former Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi had passed away at the age of 101. In 1994, the “acrobatic” coalition in which the LDP installed Murayama, the Chairman of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), as Prime Minister served to inform the world that the “1955 System,” which had long persisted throughout the postwar era, had truly come to an end in both name and reality.[1] Nearly thirty years have passed since the Murayama administration was established in ... ... [Read more]

“This book seems to have predicted the results of the Upper House election and the subsequent political situation.” In his highly acclaimed new book, Atarashii Kaikyu Shakai (A new class society), which has garnered much attention, Hashimoto Kenji examines the expanding “underclass” and the transformation of the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) core support base. He also proposes the path the LDP should take. The shock of the Upper House election results and “A New Class Society” Nearly a month before the Upper House election on July 20, 2025, I published a book titled “A New Class Society: The End of Widening Inequality Revealed by the Latest Data.” I finished writing the manuscript in February of that year, so the book does not mention the election. Immediately after the election, however, I received inquiries and interview requests from several media outlets asking if the book ... ... [Read more]

The LDP’s difficulties will continue in the next election As of this writing, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has not yet chosen a new president. However, by the time this issue of Chuokoron is published on October 10, 2025, a new government will have been formed under the new president, and the LDP will likely have high expectations.[1] Nevertheless, the new president’s popularity and the LDP’s recovery in approval ratings may not endure this time. The LDP’s poor performance in both the Lower House general election in October 2024 and the Upper House regular election in July of this year is due to tectonic shifts in Japanese politics. The LDP’s inability to respond adequately to these shifts is at the heart of the problem. Throughout its history, the LDP has typically recovered in the following election, even if it performed poorly in either the ... ... [Read more]