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LDP and Ishin Launch Weekly Policy Talks on Regional Revitalization

TOKYO - The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) confirmed during a meeting in Tokyo that they will establish a new council this week composed of each party’s policy chiefs to deepen cooperation on policy matters.

Under the new structure, both parties will also create working groups focused on specific policy areas, including discussions on the jointly endorsed “secondary capital” initiative aimed at strengthening major regional cities outside Tokyo, as well as reforms to Japan’s social security system.

According to political commentator Tetsuo Suzuki, however, some within the LDP have expressed strong reservations about certain policy proposals being floated within the talks. One such proposal — the potential abolition of corporate donations — reportedly drew pushback from LDP members, with some saying “there’s no way such a thing could be done.”

The weekly meetings are expected to serve as a venue for ongoing coordination between the two parties, as they explore ways to advance overlapping policy goals while maintaining their respective political identities.

Source: KTV NEWS

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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