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- The Japanese prime minister’s decision to hold a snap election has paid off. Takaichi Sanae led her ruling Liberal Democratic Party to a historic win in Sunday’s vote, netting the LDP a two-thirds majority in the Lower House. A landslide victory for one, and a major loss for another. The main opposition party is trying to figure out its next steps, as its leaders say they intend to step down.
- The co-leaders of Japan’s Centrist Reform Alliance say they will resign from their posts after the newly formed opposition party suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday’s Lower House election. The CRA, formed by two opposition parties, secured only 49 seats, or less than one-third of the seats the separate parties had before the poll.
- NHK has learned that Japan plans to join a NATO-led initiative to provide US-made munitions and equipment to Ukraine. NATO and the United States established the mechanism in July 2025 to coordinate the purchase and delivery of US-manufactured munitions and equipment to Ukraine.
- The ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a historic victory in the Lower House election. Two smaller opposition parties, Sanseito and Team Mirai, are making gains. The largest opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance lost more than one hundred seats.
- Japan won a silver medal on Sunday, Day 3 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Japan delivered the result in the figure skating team event. The result marked the country’s second straight silver medal following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
- Colorful handmade hanging ornaments and dolls are drawing visitors to a park in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. The Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park puts the decorations on display every year ahead of the Girls’ Festival, or “Hinamatsuri,” on March 3. The festival is held to wish for the healthy growth of children.
- US President Donald Trump says he will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in Washington next month.
- Senior US and Iranian officials are getting ready to hold talks in Oman this Friday on Tehran’s nuclear program.
- Senior officials from Ukraine, Russia and the US have met for another round of talks to end the fighting.
- Japanese astronaut Yui Kimiya reflected on his stay at the International Space Station, saying he ran “full throttle” to carry out as much work as possible.
- The US administration of President Donald Trump has announced the withdrawal of 700 federal officers, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from the state of Minnesota.
- Pavlo Palisa, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, says his country will not accept unfavorable conditions, such as the unilateral withdrawal of troops from the front lines, to end the fighting with Russia.
- Temperatures have risen in wide areas across Japan. People in snowy regions are advised to be careful of avalanches and snow falling from roofs. The Japan Meteorological Agency says warm air is flowing in from the south and pushing up temperatures.
- Worshippers at a Buddhist temple in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku, western Japan, followed ascetic monks in a traditional fire-walking ritual to pray for good health on Setsubun. Setsubun is the last day of winter on the traditional Japanese calendar. It fell on Tuesday this year.
- One of the athletes’ villages built for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics has been shown to the media, ahead of the opening of the Games on Friday. The residents for athletes participating in the Olympics have been created in six areas because the Games will be held in a large region.
- Heavy snow along the Sea of Japan in northern and eastern Japan is expected to let up in many areas by Tuesday afternoon. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the winter-type weather pattern will ease, but many areas have had more snow than in usual years.
- Japan’s farm produce and food exports reached a record high for the 13th straight year in 2025, thanks to growing demand. But the total still fell short of the government’s target. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on Tuesday the value of exports by those sectors came to just over 1.7 trillion yen, or about 10.9 billion dollars, last year. But exports did not reach the government’s goal of 2 trillion yen, or about 12.8 billion dollars.
- Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called cooperation with Japan on energy projects in the Far East region of Sakhalin “mutually beneficial.” The ministry wrote that the Russian government does not impede the continued presence of Japanese businesses in the Sakhalin projects. It said Japan also recognizes their importance for ensuring national energy security.
- Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency says harsh winter conditions and snow-related accidents over the last 14 days have left 27 people dead.
- Japanese researchers have reportedly succeeded in mining mud thought to contain rare earth elements from a seabed some 5,700 meters underwater. The exploration vessel Chikyu, operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, or JAMSTEC, has been conducting a test excavation of the mud since January. The seabed is within Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Pacific, roughly 150 kilometers southeast of the Japanese island of Minamitorishima. The test was held under a project led by Japan’s Cabinet Office. Officials say the retrieval of mud began last Friday, and work to haul it onto the vessel took place for the first time early on Sunday.
- The exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama, has won a Grammy Award for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording. In the audio book titled “Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama,” he talks about 10 themes including harmony and peace in English, accompanied by background music. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after China suppressed an uprising in Tibet. Speaking at his 90th birthday celebration last year, he said his successor will be chosen based on Tibetan tradition, without any outside interference.
- The number of foreigners employed in Japan hit a record high last year, surpassing the 2.5 million mark for the first time and highlighting the country’s labor shortages. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said as of the end of October, 2,571,037 foreign nationals were employed in Japan.
- An international conference at the United Nations has discussed how online games are being used to spread violent extremism and radicalize young people.
- Ten US warships, including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, are reportedly deployed near Iran as Washington demands that Tehran enter into negotiations over its nuclear program.
- A rally in the Japanese currency has stalled following remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He said the administration has a strong dollar policy, tamping down speculation of currency intervention.
- A strong winter pressure pattern is expected to bring heavy snow to wide areas along the Sea of Japan coast through Friday. Snow may even accumulate in some flatlands on the Pacific side.
- Early voting is now underway, one day after campaigning for Japan’s Lower House election began on Tuesday. In this election, there are only 16 days from dissolution to election day. As a result, distribution of admission tickets to polling stations will be delayed to next Monday or later.
- Atomic scientists set their “Doomsday Clock” closer to midnight. It symbolizes how close the world is to destroying itself. They cited a growing number of “apocalyptic dangers.”
- The United States has formally withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, an international framework to tackle global warming. The White House described the move as another “America First victory.”
- A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry has announced that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit the country from Wednesday. The visit will be the first by a UK prime minister to China in eight years.