TOKYO: Japan votes in snap elections Sunday (Feb 8) with polls pointing to a resounding win for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's conservatives after a honeymoon start for the country's first woman leader. This followed a string of calamitous elections for the once-mighty Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), leaving it short of a majority in both houses of parliament. The new Centrist Reform Alliance of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and the LDP's previous partner Komeito could lose half their current 167 seats. China has never ruled democratic Taiwan, but Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it. Last month, Japan's two remaining pandas -- animals long used by Beijing as diplomatic tools -- were even returned to China.

Source: The Star February 05, 2026 08:00 UTC