Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa announced his decision to remain in office during an emergency press conference held on October 17th at 3:30 p.m., following public criticism over a scandal involving a meeting with a married city employee at a hotel. (News On Japan)

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who served as Japan's 81st prime minister and led the country through major events including the 1995 Kobe earthquake, passed away on the morning of July 14th at a hospital in Oita City. He was 101 years old. (News On Japan)

The departure of Komeito from the ruling coalition has thrown Japan’s political landscape into deeper uncertainty, as attention now turns to the prime minister selection vote expected to take place in the Diet next week. With the Liberal Democratic Party’s new president Koichi aiming for the top post, the outcome will hinge on shifting alliances and last-minute negotiations among rival parties. (News On Japan)

Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly decided on October 14th to replace its traditional 18-karat gold member badges with gold-plated ones, in response to soaring gold prices that recently hit a record high. (News On Japan)

The abrupt collapse of the long-standing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)–Komeito coalition ahead of the upcoming prime ministerial vote has thrown Japanese politics into flux, complicating the path for Takaichi to take office and intensifying behind-the-scenes maneuvering among all major parties. Takaichi, who visited the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) headquarters earlier this week, was met with criticism over remarks describing an opposition figure as “damaged goods,” a sign of heightened tensions just two days before Komeito’s dramatic departure from the coalition. (News On Japan)

The Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki reaffirmed on October 11 that his party will not cooperate with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) in unifying opposition candidates for the upcoming prime minister designation vote in the next extraordinary Diet session. (News On Japan)

Komeito leader Saito informed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Takaichi on October 10 that his party intends to withdraw from their coalition, bringing an end to a political partnership that has lasted 26 years, including periods when the LDP was in opposition. Leaders and secretary-generals of both parties met in the Diet at 1:45 p.m. on October 10 to discuss whether to continue the alliance, with Komeito insisting during the meeting that strengthening regulations on corporate and organizational political donations be accepted as a condition for maintaining the coalition. (News On Japan)

Japan’s new administration under Liberal Democratic Party President Takaichi faces its first major diplomatic test: an inaugural summit with President Trump, expected on October 28. How that meeting unfolds—and how Takaichi responds if Trump presses Japan to lift defense outlays to 3.5% of GDP—will shape Tokyo’s security posture. With Beijing wary of Takaichi’s stance, the trajectory of Japan–China relations is also in focus. (News On Japan)

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under President Takaichi has finalized its executive appointments, marking the start of a new leadership structure. In the afternoon, the party is scheduled to begin coalition talks with its junior partner, Komeito. (News On Japan)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to congratulate Japan following the selection of its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, writing that "Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister, a highly respected person of great wisdom and strength.” While Trump did not name Takaichi directly, his post came as she assumed leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and was set to be formally elected as prime minister. (News On Japan)

Sanae Takaichi, elected as the Liberal Democratic Party’s new president on October 4th, declared on stage, “I ask everybody to work like a horse,” after defeating agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff to become the party’s first female leader. (News On Japan)

Sanae Takaichi won the leadership race of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on October 4th, defeating former environment minister Shinjirō Koizumi in a runoff election that sets her on course to become the country’s first female prime minister. With the LDP holding a majority in the lower house, her confirmation in parliament is considered almost certain, opening a new chapter in Japanese politics. (News On Japan)

Former US President Donald Trump is arranging a three-day visit to Japan starting on October 27th, marking his first trip to the country in six years. (News On Japan)

Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa held a closed-door meeting with all city council members on October 2nd to explain her repeated hotel meetings with a married senior city official, but afterward she avoided stating whether she would resign. (News On Japan)

Japan is about to hold the leadership election of the ruling party, and the winner will become the next prime minister. Five candidates are in the running this time. Some people say Japan is doomed no matter who wins. (Japanese Comedian Meshida)

The upcoming Liberal Democratic Party leadership election will determine not only who leads Japan’s ruling party but also who is likely to become the country’s next prime minister, and the voting system itself plays a decisive role in shaping the outcome. The election is decided by a combination of votes from LDP lawmakers in the National Diet and ballots cast by the party’s grassroots members across Japan, creating a two-stage process that balances national and local influence. (News On Japan)

With the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election just days away, questions have emerged over the handling of a clerical error in Kanagawa Prefecture’s membership rolls, an organization chaired by Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. (News On Japan)

A bombshell report has surfaced in Kanagawa Prefecture, the political base of Shinjiro Koizumi, where as many as 826 members of the Liberal Democratic Party aligned with the Takaichi faction were treated as having resigned from the party without their consent, according to an investigation by the weekly magazine Bunshun. (News On Japan)

An anti-immigration rally in Osaka on September 30th descended into chaos as nationalist groups and Antifa counter-protesters clashed in the streets, with loud chants, heated exchanges, and occasional physical altercations captured on camera. (News On Japan)

In a September opinion poll conducted by TV Tokyo and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, former Minister of State for Economic Security Takaichi was the frontrunner with 34% when respondents were asked who they believed should be the next Liberal Democratic Party president. (News On Japan)