Jeffrey J. Hall

YouTube video by Firstpost Japan PM Sanae Takaichi Wins Snap Elections, Modi, Trump & Meloni Extend Wishes | Firstpost Live

I spoke to India's Firstpost TV about Takaichi's election victory and the outlook for her relations with China and the United States:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i7F...

Japan’s Takaichi Wins Big in Snap Election: What to Know The conservative Prime Minister’s gamble seems to have paid off.

I was interviewed by Time Magazine about Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi's big election victory.
A lot of LDP politicians, including former Abe faction members who lost their seats in 2024, will be grateful to her and look to her leadership.
time.com/7372956/japa...

I was interviewed by the Telegraph for their coverage of Takaichi's election victory: "Japan puts faith in first female prime minister" www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...

The LDP politician who called Abe a "traitor" and publicly rated Takaichi a 2/10 has won a seat in the Diet.
Takaichi punished him by placing him at a low position on the LDP's proportional representation list, but the party got enough votes for him to win anyway. news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6569167

Former LDP lawmaker Sugita Mio, who is infamous for her use of hate speech against Koreans & Ainu, failed to win a seat in Osaka's 5th district.
Prime Minister Takaichi didn't visit Osaka to campaign for LDP candidates(possibly to avoid friction with the Ishin party).

NHK's map of election district results shows LDP red making major gains across the country.
Osaka, the home of the LDP's coalition partner, the Ishin Party, remains Ishin territory.
30 minutes after the polls have closed, they haven't called a single district for the Centrist Reform Alliance.

Re-upping this because I think it still holds…Takaichi and her supporters might think they have a stronger hand on China after their election win, but the structural constraints of a tight budget, wobbly ally in DC, and voters demanding action on the economy are still very much in place

Takaichi successfully convinced voters to ignore unresolved scandals and cast their votes for LDP candidates. The LDP will likely win a 300+ seat majority.
The opposition CRA is going to lose over a hundred seats.
The far-right Sanseito continues to grow, more than doubling its seats.

YouTube video by DW News Voters in Japan prepare for snap election: What's at stake | DW News

I made a brief appearance on DW News today to talk about tomorrow's snap election in Japan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjha...

‘Not from central casting’: Japan’s unconventional leader puts it all on the line Sanae Takaichi is banking on a snap election to give her the mandate to run the country the way she wants to.

My comments on Japan's election appear in this piece from the Sydney Morning Herald: 「‘Not from central casting’: Japan’s unconventional leader puts it all on the line」
www.smh.com.au/world/asia/n...

Will Sunday's snap election gamble pay off for Japan's first female premier? Sanae Takaichi is popular - but inflation and a diplomatic row with China weigh on voters' minds.

I was interviewed by BBC News for this article about tomorrow's election in Japan: "Will Sunday's snap election gamble pay off for Japan's first female premier?" www.bbc.com/news/article...

Donate to Memorial for Spot, organized by Rebecca Li On Jan.30, 2026, Mr. Spot, the beloved puppy of Jingyi and Joseph, crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully,… Rebecca Li needs your support for Memorial for Spot

Sharing for a friend: "Spot was a beloved puppy who brought so much joy to everyone around him. Sadly, he passed away after a brave fight against cancer. Let’s honor his memory by supporting the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, where he found love."

The Japanese Communist Party shared this video telling voters what it stands for:
•a society in which people get fair pay and healthcare
•freedom, equality, and no unfair discrimination
•taxing the ultra wealthy

Just got a robocall from Kyodo News to participate in a poll on the upcoming Lower House election, so here's what that survey looks like @tobiasharris.bsky.social @mrjeffu.bsky.social.

Shockingly no 'I'm a foreigner and not eligible to vote' option, also Q3/4 autopopulate when you add zip code.

Japan's National Doujinshi Convention Liaison Council is cooperating with the Japanese government to encourage young people to vote.
Millions of people read doujinshi (fan comics) each year in Japan, but youth voter turnout is usually quite low. www.lets-go-senkyo.jp

Achievable if we learn to eat insects!

The Japanese Communist Party has a simple slogan for the upcoming election: Tax the Rich.
According to a recent NHK poll, 2.6% of Japanese voters support the JCP. About 35% of respondents supported no political party or said they did not know what party to support.

The far-right Sanseito party got Community Noted on Twitter for posting a pledge to raise Japan's food self-sufficiency rate from 38% to 100%.
The note points out that it's simply unrealistic to expect that such a pledge could be achieved.

It can be said that the new Centrist Reform Alliance lacks ideological cohesion on some issues, but so does the LDP. Some LDP politicians seem happy to work with the far-right, while others do not.

Japan's ruling LDP has politicians with conflicting views on the far-right.
As you can see from these Yomiuri surveys that asked candidates to rate leaders of each political party, some rate the far-right Sanseito and CPJ leaders as 0/10, while others rate them nearly as high as Takaichi.

YouTube video by ABC News (Australia) Japan delays restart of reactor at world's biggest nuclear plant | The World | ABC NEWS

Video of my appearance on Australia's ABC News last night to discuss the politics of nuclear power restarts and Japan's upcoming general election:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6vz...

Japan PM Takaichi to call Feb 8 snap election on spending, tax cuts and defence Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will call a national election on February 8 to seek voter backing for increased spending, tax cuts and a new security strategy that is expected to accelerate a de...

Reuters interviewed me today about Prime Minister Takaichi's call for a snap election, which seems to be aimed at taking maximum advantage of her high approval ratings. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Japanese Prime Minister Abe was known for having a strong circle of advisors.
According to tabloid Daily Shincho, Takaichi, "who regards Abe as her political mentor, is said to be sitting alone at her desk," making top-down decisions without getting much advice.
www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2026...

If I was more conspiratorially minded I would say it's deliberate given the opposition's relative strength up north.

In parts of Japan called "snow country" because of their heavy snowfall, local governments will be burdened with the responsibility of erecting hundreds or thousands of election poster boards that might not even be visible under the snow.

It's been 36 years since the last time Japan held a general election in the middle of winter, and there's a practical reason for that: many areas of the country get a lot of snow this time of the year.
How do you campaign and put up posters in heavy snowfall?
www.asahi.com/articles/ASV...

Former Nadeshiko Japan midfielder Marumi Yamazaki, who retired in 2023 after a career spent mostly in the Nadeshiko League with Urawa, Niigata, Nagano and Chiba (along with a short WEL stint at Omiya) has come out as a trans man and announced his marriage.

h/t @rbyryo.bsky.social

I was at a Japanese supermarket yesterday and saw a display of Christmas messages written by children who had visited the store.
Almost all of the messages were wishes for a Merry X-mas, but one kid simply wrote the word "Roblox."

“The U.S. is a total outlier in how much people suffer.” - Keio University Prof. Ikegami comparing the Japanese universal healthcare system to the U.S. healthcare system.
Japanese conservative broadly support the existing system.
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-assa...

Nissin is going to produce and sell cup curry using the special recipe of the President of the APA Hotels chain, which is known for having historical revisionist literature in its hotel rooms, denying that Japan waged a war of aggression in World War II.
news.livedoor.com/article/deta...