Defense Minister Attends Launch of Next-Generation Destroyer

Japan's 51st House of Representatives election was held on February 8 with ballots counted the same day, delivering a sweeping victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which significantly increased its strength from before the official campaign and secured more than two-thirds of the 465 seats in the chamber on its own, surpassing 310 seats and achieving a landslide win.

With three days remaining until voting and ballot counting in the Lower House election, Saitama’s 2nd district centered on Kawaguchi City has drawn national attention as a frontline in Japan’s foreign resident policy debate, where multiple candidates are calling for stricter controls.

At a daycare center in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, where the proportion of foreign residents is particularly high, more than 30% of enrolled children hold foreign nationality, and foreign staff have become an indispensable part of daily operations, even as the question of how Japan should accept foreign residents has emerged as one of the key issues in the Lower House election.

Foreign workers are now indispensable across Japan, from convenience stores and agriculture to nursing care, and with the House of Representatives election approaching, political parties are sharpening their positions on how the country should manage its rapidly growing foreign population.

China’s Foreign Ministry has urged Chinese citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday period, citing a rise in crimes targeting Chinese nationals and a series of earthquakes in parts of the country.

The government on January 23rd compiled a comprehensive set of measures after holding a ministerial meeting on foreign resident policy, stressing the need for “orderly coexistence.”

With the House of Representatives election officially kicking off on January 27, seven party leaders appeared on Fuji TV’s “Sunday Report THE PRIME” to debate how quickly they could deliver the consumption tax cuts many are promising as a response to rising prices, along with the rationale for the snap dissolution and Japan’s security policy as tensions with China persist.

The Japanese government decided at a Cabinet meeting on January 23rd to dissolve the House of Representatives, with the Lower House set to be formally dissolved at a plenary session later in the day, effectively launching the election campaign.