Nation Runner

Flag of JapanCountry desk · updated 12 Nov

Japan

465 seats, and the LDP holds 315.

Key takeaways

  1. 1

    Parliament. Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党) holds the most seats: 315 of 465 (68%). A majority needs 233.

  2. 2

    Headlines. The tone is getting grimmer: 16% of the last 14 days' headlines read grim, 14% upbeat. Top topic: Politics (23%).

  3. 3

    Government. Government barometer 55/100 (Mixed record). 0 of 2 moves on file read as smart, 0 as harmful.

Headline mood · 14 days

Line: mood · bars: stories

12 Nov · 8 stories · leaning grim0 upbeat · 7 neutral · 1 grim

What the headlines are about

  • Other 43%
  • Politics 23%
  • Security 17%
  • Economy 13%
  • Climate 4%
  • Society 1%

A simple word-list estimate from the daily wire headlines. Not a judgement.

Who holds the seats · House of Representatives

465 seats · 233 for a majority (line)

Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党)

315 seats · 67.7% · a majority alone

315 on the House strength table dated 24 September 2026. 36.72% is the proportional share on 8 February 2026: 21,026,140 votes. The constituency share on the other ministry sheet is 49.09%.

Map · mood compared

Japan

Overall mood: 16% grim, 14% upbeat · today -12

What changed today

12 Nov

  • 12 Nov: 8 stories (average 7); tone grimmer than usual.

New headlines

3 more headlines
Earlier this week: 10 more headlines

Headlines and summaries come from the linked sources; the selection is automatic.

Go deeper

Parties, people, promises, money

Chamber · 24 Sep 2026 · cabinet 17 Sep 2026

465 seats, and the LDP holds 315.

The seat map is the House of Representatives strength table dated 24 September 2026. Membership is 465, incumbents are 464, and there is one vacancy. A majority is 233. The Liberal Democratic Party has 315, so it has a majority on its own. TAKAICHI Sanae is Prime Minister on the cabinet list inaugurated 17 September 2026. Vote shares are the ministry’s proportional results from the 8 February 2026 election, not a figure printed on the later seat table.

The room

House of Representatives

465 seats · 233 to govern · strength table 24 September 2026 · LDP 315

The deal

LDP majority

233 seats would be a majority of 465. The Liberal Democratic Party has 315 on the 24 September 2026 table. That 315 is drawn as the majority, not as a coalition sum.

The mood

Election vs now

The left bar is the proportional share of votes on 8 February 2026. The right bar is seats divided by 465. They are different counts.

  • LDP
    35.9%
  • Centrists
    1.2%
  • Ishin
    2.3%
  • DPP
    2.8%
  • Sanseito
    2.5%
  • Mirai
    0.0%
  • Ind
    0.0%
  • JCP
    0.0%

The first point is the proportional vote on 8 February 2026. The later points are NHK party-support figures published on 13 April and 14 September 2026. Party support is not a voting intention, and the two questions are not the same.

The trend

From election night to now

Public pollster blend — not a forecast

The split

Seat share beside the February proportional vote

The right bar is seats divided by 465. The left bar is the proportional share. Independents have no list, so that bar is empty.

The mismatch

Seats they hold vs the poll

The seat bar is the 24 September 2026 headcount. The other bar is the NHK party-support figure published on 14 September 2026, where that group was named in the sentence that was read. An empty bar means that sentence did not name the group.

The faces

Open a dossier

Prime Minister, Speaker, and Vice-Speaker already have a Commons portrait. The other ministers and the two opposition representatives are on the people list without a new picture.

Tap a face for the full profile

The rude gauge

Growth king or a fight with work

Who grows the pie, who picks a fight with work. Cabinet sits at 55 / 100. The number is an editorial reading, not an official index. Six topics are averaged and multiplied by ten: energy supply, hiring, keeping and investing money, building, hours in paid work, and paperwork. Ten means the public record makes that easier for work. Zero means it makes it harder. A row is not left in the middle on every topic. The band is a label for that average, not a court ruling.

Against the workMixed recordGrowth king

Full causal chains live on every promise

This week

The pulse

Chamber

House headcount

Membership 465. Liberal Democratic Party 315. One vacancy.

Office

Prime Minister

The ministers list inaugurated on 17 September 2026 names TAKAICHI Sanae.

Politics 101

How this country actually works

What this chamber drawing is

465 seats. 233 to govern. The LDP has 315.

Counts are the English House strength table dated 24 September 2026. Membership is 465, incumbents 464, vacancies 1. 233 is half of 465, rounded up. The 51st general election was on 8 February 2026. Vote shares are the ministry’s proportional percentages from that day. Parentheses on the seat page are the number of women and are not drawn as seats.

Who holds the offices this desk names

TAKAICHI, Prime Minister. MORI, Speaker. ISHII, Vice-Speaker.

The 17 September 2026 ministers list names TAKAICHI Sanae as Prime Minister. Her profile lists the Liberal Democratic Party. The 104th term ended on 18 February 2026. The House elected MORI Eisuke and ISHII Keiichi that day and did not print their parties. MOTEGI Toshimitsu and KATAYAMA Satsuki are on the cabinet list and are not drawn here.

Elections

What is on the calendar

National elections and the major votes on these desks, for about the next 24 months. The date comes from the election authority. A poll appears only when a named pollster published it in the last 60 days.

House of Councillors election

Expected

Expected July 2028

Expected July 2028. The House of Councillors lists 25 July 2028 as the end of the term for the class elected on 10 July 2022. Polling day has not been proclaimed.

Date source: House of Councillors

How foreigners are seen

Openness in Japan

Published surveys only. Each figure shows its source and year.

Who's welcomed

Share of adults in Japan with a favourable opinion of each country Pew asked about. A view of a country, not of its people.

Welcoming index

Derived from the two published measures below, not a survey result. Each input keeps its own year.

59.2/100

Mean of Gallup 6.42 of 9 (2016), rescaled to 71.3, and MIPEX 47 of 100 (2019).

The measures behind it (shown separately)

What expats say

InterNations Expat Insider 2025: rank out of 46 destinations, 1 is best.

  • Ease of settling in31 of 46
  • Culture and welcome32 of 46
  • Local friendliness30 of 46
  • Finding friends31 of 46

InterNations, Expat Insider 2025

All desks side by side

Pick a measure. Countries without a published figure show Unknown and sit at the end; they are not counted in the average.

Average of the 20 of 22 desks with a figure: 63.3 of 100. Unknown left out: Georgia, Thailand.

  1. Canada85.72024
  2. United States80.72020
  3. Portugal78.42023
  4. Australia76.82019
  5. Spain73.32024
  6. Ireland72.52023
  7. Netherlands69.92023
  8. Switzerland65.12019
  9. Italy65.12023
  10. United Kingdom64.72020
  11. Germany64.62023
  12. South Korea64.12020
  13. France63.62024
  14. Japanthis desk59.22019
  15. Mexico51.92019
  16. Malta51.52024
  17. Cyprus50.62024
  18. United Arab Emirates46.72019
  19. Greece43.12024
  20. Estonia38.72024
  21. GeorgiaUnknownMIPEX does not cover this country, so the index cannot be built.
  22. ThailandUnknownMIPEX does not cover this country, so the index cannot be built.

In plain words

  • Expats ranked Japan 31 of 46 for ease of settling in (2025); its best sub-score was local friendliness at 30.
  • Of the 3 countries Pew asked about here, United States drew the most favourable opinions (55%, 2025).
  • Favourable opinions of Russia went from 26% in 2018 to 8% in 2025 (Pew).

Sources and method are listed under “How we source this” at the bottom of the page.

What it means for you

What it means for you

Only figures with a source and a date. Each source is listed under “How we source this” at the bottom of the page. Anything not listed here is not on file.

  • Work

    On 3 September 2026 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported a recommended national weighted-average minimum wage of 1,177 yen, up 56 yen from 1,121 yen. Those recommended amounts are scheduled to take effect in sequence between 1 October 2026 and 2 December 2026, so this is not yet one rate in force everywhere.

  • Taxes

    National Tax Agency answer No. 6303, laws current as of 1 April 2026, states a standard consumption-tax total of 10 percent (7.8 plus 2.2) and a reduced total of 8 percent (6.24 plus 1.76). A cut to the food rate from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029 has not started.

  • Benefits

    The Children and Families Agency lists the child allowance at 15,000 yen a month for a child under 3, and 30,000 yen for a third or later child. From age 3 through high-school age the page lists 10,000 yen, and 30,000 yen for a third or later child. The same page points to the expansion from October 2024.

  • Housing

    The 2023 Housing and Land Survey, taken on 1 October 2023, found a vacancy rate of 13.8 percent and 9,002,000 vacant dwellings. The final results were published on 25 September 2024. This is a vacancy count, not a monthly rent.

  • Work permit

    The Immigration Services Agency questions and answers, labeled as of April 2026, say Highly Skilled Professional status (高度専門職) needs 70 points. For categories 1-ro and 1-ha (高度専門職1号ロ and 1号ハ), annual income under 3,000,000 yen fails even when other points exceed 70.

Sources, licences and image credits

Data

  • Wire (public RSS feeds): X, The Japan Times, Kyodo News, Japan Today.
  • The left bar is the proportional share of votes on 8 February 2026. The right bar is seats divided by 465. They are different counts.
  • Editorial economic-competence gauge, not a court and not a Nobel. Six axes: energy, hiring, capital, building, hours in work, red tape. Scores are a judgement from public records of this term and the last — not a bribery charge, not a voting recommendation.

Survey sources

  • Japan — Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index 2016: Gallup. Neli Esipova, John Fleming and Julie Ray, “New Index Shows Least-, Most-Accepting Countries for Migrants”, Gallup, 23 August 2017. Japan’s score on that index is 6.42. No later Japan score was read for this desk. Source. Gallup allows a contextual citation when the publication date and a link are given. The table and graphics are not reproduced.
  • Japan — MIPEX overall score 2019: MIPEX. The MIPEX Japan country page prints “MIPEX Score (with Health): 47” and “Japan scores 47/100”, with 2019 next to that score. The year stored here is 2019, the year printed beside the score. Source. The overall score is cited from the MIPEX country page. The report is not reproduced.

Image credits

  • Liberal Democratic Party of Japan logo — 自民党 · Public domain Source
  • Geometric mark for the Centrists, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for Nippon Ishin, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for the Democratic Party For the People, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for SANSEITO, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for Team Mirai, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for the Japanese Communist Party, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Geometric mark for independents, not a party logo — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
  • Flag of Japan — Wikimedia Commons contributors · Public domain Source
  • TAKAICHI Sanae, Prime Minister — 首相官邸 · CC BY 4.0 Source
  • MORI Eisuke, Speaker of the House of Representatives — 内閣官房内閣広報室 · CC BY 4.0 Source
  • ISHII Keiichi, Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives — 首相官邸 · CC BY 4.0 Source
Questions the desk actually answers

FAQ

Questions the desk actually answers

Is the Japan desk live on Nation Runner?
Yes. It draws the House of Representatives strength table dated 24 September 2026, and the Prime Minister, Speaker, and Vice-Speaker named by the Prime Minister’s Office and the House. It is an editorial dashboard, not an official record.
Which culture figures does the Japan desk show?
Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index for Japan in 2016 (6.42 out of 9) and the MIPEX score of 47, with 2019 printed beside that score. The Pew Spring 2025 rows already on the perceptions page are cited there.
Does the money tab score Japanese political funds?
No. Zeros mean the access scale is not filled. A zero is not a finding that a party has no donors.
How we source this

Seats: House of Representatives, 24 September 2026. Votes: Ministry of Internal Affairs, proportional sheet, 8 February 2026. Party support: NHK, published 13 April and 14 September 2026. Offices: Prime Minister’s Office. Opposition names: Democratic Party For the People and the Japanese Communist Party. Culture: Gallup 2016 and MIPEX 2019.

How foreigners are seen

Pew asks adults for their opinion of a country. That is a view of the country, not of its people or of any visitor. We never estimate a pair that was not asked; it shows as unknown.

InterNations ranks come from expats living in the country (46 destinations in 2025). Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index runs from 0 to 9. MIPEX scores integration law and policy from 0 to 100.

Welcoming index: the mean of the Gallup index rescaled to 0–100 (score ÷ 9 × 100) and the MIPEX overall score, rounded to one decimal. It is derived, not a survey result, and the two inputs come from different years. If either input is missing the index is unknown: it is not estimated, it sorts last and it is left out of the average.

What it means for you

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