Hello. A very warm welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yamamoto Miki in Tokyo.
JAPAN'S LOWER HOUSE ELECTIONTAKAICHI'S LDP ACHIEVES HISTORIC VICTORY
The Japanese Prime Minister's decision to hold a snap election has paid off.
Takeichi 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.
So 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.
Takaichi has pledged to accelerate her policy agenda.
She tells NHK she plans to involve a lot of the same faces.
00:00:55 話者 Takeichi Sanae
I think my cabinet members are a good team.
Just over three months have passed, but everyone is working hard and achieving results, so I'm not thinking of changing the cabinet.
However, as an exception, if asked, I would think about a cabinet position for the Japan Innovation Party.
00:01:19 話者 1
OPPOSITION CRA LEADERS ANNOUNCE RESIGNATION
The centrist reform alliance remains the biggest opposition bloc, though it lost more than 100 seats and is now set to lose its two co-presidents.
Noda Yoshihiko and Saito Tetsuo announced on Monday their intention to resign.
They say it's to take responsibility for the party's crushing defeat.
We've been saying quite clearly that if one plus one does not add up to two, then it's a failure.
I believe that we bear a great deal of responsibility for not being able to achieve that.
00:01:53 話者 3
People must have felt that the two of us are outdated.
The party has plenty of capable mid-career and young members.
00:02:00 話者 1
So I hope we move quickly to build a new system.
00:02:06 話者 4
We have come together under the banner of the political center.
We are determined to move forward, united on that single point.
We would like to elect fresh leadership who will make people feel that a new era has begun.
00:02:24 話者 1
The CRA plans to choose new leadership by Wednesday of next week.
TAKAICHI'S LDP ACHIEVES HISTORIC VICTORY
As for the lower house vote, here are the final results.
The Liberal Democratic Party, 316 seats, Centrist Reform Alliance, 49, Japan Innovation Party, 36, Democratic Party for the People, 28, Sanseito, 15, Team Mirai, 11, Japanese Communist Party, 4, Reiwa Shinsen Gumi, 1, Tax Cuts Japan Patriotic Alliance, 1, and Independents have 4.
the Conservative Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party were unable to win seats.
So this was an unprecedented election.
ANALYSIS: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TAKAICHI'S MANDATE
Earlier, I spoke with NHK World's senior political correspondent, Oikawa Jun, to put the results into perspective.
Jun, you've covered Japanese politics for a quarter of a century now.
What do you make of this runaway victory?
00:03:28 話者 2
A win this large for Takaichi reminds me of two former prime ministers, Abe Shinzo and Koizumi Junichiro.
They both led the LDP and dominated the lower house over the last 20 years or so.
Takaichi's decision to call an election at this moment in time was very strategic.
Her cabinet's approval rating was high, and she was already riding a wave of popularity in the world of public opinion.
The party also mirrored Abe and Koizumi by pushing Takaichi as the face of the party.
This election was more of a vote for a leader instead of a party, and Takaichi's personality was an important element of that.
And it worked.
Takaichi drew crowds during her campaign events and gained tons of support from young people.
But the Centrist Reform Alliance wasn't fully prepared for that.
It was made-up of members of two other parties that joined forces just before the election.
It had very little time to find people to actually put on the ballot.
So it suffered a crushing defeat as a result.
00:04:51 話者 1
How do you think results this strong will change Takaichi's administration?
00:04:57 話者 2
She's undeniably got her mandate.
She's gained confidence from the people, and now she can push her policies forward.
Even one of her cabinet ministers said they believe the prime minister's office will take more leadership after this vote.
So now that she has this momentum, I think she'll be able to give her full attention to the issues she wants her government to focus on.
00:05:27 話者 1
Specifically, what kind of policies are you paying attention to?
00:05:31 話者 2
Mostly economic ones.
Takaichi will likely push forward with her so-called responsible and active fiscal policy.
We just saw stock prices skyrocket this morning in anticipation of more government investment.
And now, we should also keep an eye on what she does about the consumption tax.
The LDP was very restrained during this campaign and only promised to speed up its discussion about suspending the tax on food for two years.
But some members within the party still aren't convinced it's a good plan, and Takaichi will have to manage that.
00:06:17 話者 1
Right. And apart from that, how else can we expect Takaichi's beliefs to color her policies?
00:06:25 話者 2
We have already seen her on the world stage.
In terms of diplomacy, how she handles relation with China are likely to be the biggest issue. And that's something we will watch play out pretty soon.
She has a summit with US President Donald Trump next month ahead of Trump's summit with China in April.
And we saw how Trump posted on social media, giving Takeichi his full support during her campaign.
I think we can expect Takeichi to take good care of Japan's relationship with the US
while juggling her relationships with other leaders, too.
At home, we should also keep watching Takeichi's more conservative policies.
The ruling coalition previously agreed to establish a National Intelligence Bureau and pass an anti-spying law.
There was also talk of a law against defacing the Japanese flag.
It's not clear how these policies are going to take shape, but even with a two-thirds majority, Takaichi will still need to be careful with issues that could divide national opinion.
TEPCO RESTARTS REACTOR AFTER 17-DAY SUSPENSION
00:07:56 話者 1
Tokyo Electric Power Company has restarted a nuclear reactor after an alarm problem caused a 17-day suspension.
TEPCO restarted the number six reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Ningata Prefecture at 2 p.m. Monday.
The operator says the reactor reached a self-sustaining chain reaction known as criticality at 3:20 p.m.
It plans to raise the reactor's output in phases and start full-scale power generation and transmission to the grid on February 16.
It will also be shut down for about a week in late February for inspections.
Commercial operation is set to start on March 18, 20 days later than planned.
The No. 6 reactor was reactivated on January 21, but was shut down about 29 hours later after an alarm sounded while control rods were being extracted.
Teco found a fault in the alarm settings for an inverter that regulates the speed of a control rod motor.
The company says the problem has been solved.
HONG KONG COURT SENTENCES JIMMY LAI TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON
A Hong Kong court has handed down a 20-year prison term to the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
It is the heaviest sentence to be issued under a national security law that took effect in 2020.
The court issued the ruling on Monday to Jimmy Lai.
He was charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security.
Prosecutors claimed Lai used the Apple daily to incite hatred against the Chinese government and to call on foreign countries to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong.
The 78-year-old denied all charges, saying he nearly expressed his own views.
In December, the court upheld the prosecutors' arguments and found Lai guilty of national security offenses.
The Apple Daily was known for publishing articles critical of the Chinese government.
It was shut down in 2021 after authorities arrested Lai and other executives and froze the newspaper's assets.
Lai has been detained for more than five years.
The Group of Seven countries, including Japan, have expressed concerns about deteriorating freedoms of expression and opinion in Hong Kong.
They have called for Lai's immediate release.
THAI RULING PARTY PROJECTED TO WIN MOST SEATS
Thailand's ruling Pumjan Thai party is projected to gain the most seats in Sunday's general election, but not enough to win an outright majority.
Public broadcaster Thai PBS reported that the ruling party is likely to secure 194 seats in the 500-seat lower chamber of parliament.
With 92 percent of the votes counted, the Pumjang Thai Party, led by Prime Minister Anu Chin Chang Wirakun, stands to make major gains.
00:11:02 話者 3
We owe our voters a fortune and we will only repay them by working at our utmost to bring all the good things to them.
00:11:21 話者 1
The largest opposition People's Party is reportedly expected to suffer a major setback.
It may have its number of seats drop to 116,...
even though the party was leading in the polls with support from young voters.
The Pu Thai Party, which is affiliated with former Prime Minister Takshin Shinawatra, is also likely to see its sea counts significantly reduced to 76.
Anutin has managed to expand his party's support by taking advantage of growing nationalism.
He took a hard-line stance over the recent military clashes with neighboring Cambodia.
A local media outlet described the election as one of the country's most dramatic political upsets in recent years.
The Phumchamthai party is expected to enter into coalition negotiations to stay in power.
Ukraine is expanding its drone strategy beyond its borders.
UKRAINIAN DRONE PRODUCTION EXPANDS ACROSS EUROPE
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country will open 10 weapons export hubs primarily for drones across Europe this year.
Zelenskyy announced the plan during a speech on Sunday. He said the manufacturing of drones using Ukrainian technologies will begin in Germany in the middle of this month.
He also said production lines are already operating in Britain.
Ukraine has been making efforts to enhance the manufacturing technology of unmanned aircraft in response to Russia's invasion.
A local media report says more than 200 drone-related firms have been created, significantly changing the nature of the conflict.
The Ukrainian president said the manufacturing of weapons, including drones, is the largest industry currently operating in Ukraine.
He expressed hope of attracting more foreign investments into the country's drone industry.
BUSINESS
Now let's see what's happening in the world of business.
Here's Gene Otani from The Biz Desk.
00:13:25 話者 5
Miki, thanks. In our top business story this hour,
NIKKEI 225 JUMPS TO RECORD AFTER LDP LANDSLIDE WIN
Japan's benchmark stock index has risen to a record after the Liberal Democratic Party had a landslide election victory.
Our business reporter Yanaka Mari at the Tokyo Stock Exchange tells us more.
00:13:42 話者 1
The LDP's victory in Sunday's general election sparked a surge in broad-based buying of shares on Monday.
The Niche 225 closed at an all-time high of 56,363, gaining almost 3.9 percent.
briefly surged by nearly 5-point-7 percent to top the 57-thousand mark for the first time.
The Tokyo benchmark had also risen ahead of the election.
That's on expectations for what Prime Minister Takaichi calls her responsible, proactive fiscal policy.
Government spending and potential cuts in the consumption tax are now the focus of investors.
Steps on those two issues may trigger a response in financial markets.
I'm Yanaka Marie from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
JAPAN POSTS RECORD CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS IN 2025
00:14:33 話者 5
Japan posted a record current account surplus for the second year in a row in 2025.
That's partly because the trade deficit narrowed.
The finance ministry says the surplus reached almost 31.9 trillion yen, or about $203 billion.
The current account is a key measure of the nation's earnings from trade and investment outside the country.
A drop in value of energy imports paired Japan's trade deficit.
Meanwhile, the primary income surplus expanded as overseas subsidiaries of Japanese companies earned higher stock dividends and interest payments from bonds.
The monthly current account balance posted a surplus of about $4.6 billion in December.
It was the 11th straight month in the black, although the size of the surplus fell by 32% from a year earlier.
REAL PAY DROPS 4TH YEAR IN JAPAN AS INFLATION WIPES OUT GAIN
RealPay in Japan declined for a fourth year in 2025 as soaring consumer prices erased nominal wage increases.
Preliminary data released on Monday by the Labor Ministry show inflation-adjusted wages fell 1.3% last year compared with 2024.
Workers received almost 356,000 yen a month on average, or over $2,200, including overtime and bonuses.
That's up 2.3% in yen terms, marking the fifth consecutive year of increase without considering inflation.
Base pay rose 2%, while bonuses and other extra wages grew 3.8%, but prices climbed at a faster pace.
The labor ministry attributes higher nominal pay to annual spring wage talks, resulting in robust hikes in 2024 and 2025, as well as labor shortages.
But the ministry also says inflation continues to outpace wage hikes.
MARKETS
All right, let's have a look at the markets.
♪
And that's it for Business News.
JAPAN WINS SILVER MEDAL AT MILANO CORTINA OLYMPIC GAMES
00:17:43 話者 1
Turning to day three of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Japan won a silver medal in the figure skating team event on Sunday.
The competition was decided by the combined scores from four categories: ice dance, pairs, women's singles and men's singles.
The Japanese skaters finished just one point behind the United States.
It was the country's second straight silver medal in the event following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Japan has won four medals so far, one gold, two silver and one bronze.
OFFICE EATS SATISFY MORE THAN APPETITE
Now, there may be no such thing as a free lunch, but many Japanese firms are seeing the value in offering staff quick, affordable meals at the office.
As small-scale cafeterias and well-stocked fridges make a dent in Aldesco dining, companies are eyeing a further benefit, better communication in the workplace.
INVENTIVE INCENTIVES
00:19:10 話者 3
Lunchtime in Tokyo's business districts means packed restaurants and lines of people waiting for takeout.
Without some luck, many workers find themselves struggling to get a meal.
In response, tens of thousands of offices have installed refrigerators filled with a range of dishes that employees can purchase with their smartphones.
Designed with convenience in mind, these healthy and affordable dishes can be ready to eat in minutes.
Regularly scheduled deliveries ensure that these refrigerators remain well-stocked.
The operator offers 20 different dishes for hungry staff to choose from.
The service has also proven popular at factories that operate 24 hours a day.
There are various reasons why our clients need this type of service.
00:20:02 話者 4
For example, some locations don't have any places that are open all night, so this offers an easy solution for them.
00:20:11 話者 3
Another food service company is offering a kitchenless cafeteria option for companies in the metropolitan area.
With nearly 100 employees working at its head office, this IT company is using the service to provide lunches for its staff.
00:20:31 話者 4
It's really changed the lunch culture here.
Before we introduced this service, most employees didn't have time for a proper meal.
They usually had to get a quick bite at nearby restaurants or grab food from convenience stores and eat at their desks.
00:20:48 話者 3
The office decided to hire the cafeteria service.
In addition to preparing nutritious meals, it handles everything from serving to cleanup.
For just a couple hours each day, the office's multi-purpose space is converted into a cafeteria.
Since all the heating and serving equipment is electric, no open flames are used, meaning the service had no trouble complying with building regulations.
Because the company covers a portion of the costs, employees can purchase the daily special for just over three dollars.
Requiring no major construction, the service can easily be introduced even in leased office spaces.
Initial costs are 90% less than a standard cafeteria equipped with a full kitchen.
Everything they make is really delicious, and the meals I eat on my own are not always the healthiest.
So I'm happy to have these balanced and nutritious lunches available to me.
After several years of providing standard cafeteria services, the company began offering its kitchenless option in 2020.
00:22:14 話者 4
We kept being told things like, You can't use water here, or You can't have open flames.
That got us thinking, maybe there's a simpler way to do this.
But we really wanted to provide a space that felt like a real cafeteria.
00:22:30 話者 3
Its menu boasts over 160 different dishes, all of which are prepared one to two days prior to delivery in the company's main kitchen.
Flavor and quality are ensured by Matsuda Kohei, who formerly served as the head chef at a luxury hotel.
We asked employees if the service has had an impact that goes beyond their meal choices.
When there's a problem, it should always be reported quickly.
But sometimes it can be hard to suddenly bring up bad news.
00:23:00 話者 4
So I think it's great to have a place where employees can feel.
00:23:04 話者 3
Comfortable consulting with one another in a relaxed environment like our cafeteria.
Now that I have regular opportunities to talk with my boss, I'm gaining the communication skills I need to do my job effectively.
So this cafeteria has become a really valuable place for me to learn and grow.
WEATHER
00:24:28 話者 1
And it's time to check on the weather with our meteorologist Jonathan Oh.
So Jonathan, the heaviest of the snow has passed for Japan for now, but what's the latest on the impacts across the country?
00:24:41 話者 4/Jonathan Oh
Hello, we are seeing the snow really waning for now as we have the main instigator of that snow pushing away.
But we are still seeing the impacts a day later, even in places where the sun has returned.
Here's a look at some video.
We're going to start off in Shizuoka Prefecture, where people are still dealing with the aftermath of snow impacting parts of Japan.
But 100 still found themselves stranded in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture Monday afternoon, a day after their cars got stuck due to the winter weather, supporting
shelter provided to those who are not able to travel home.
Now up toward Aomori, still looking at winter weather.
Japan Meteorological Agency reported that the snow depth reached 140 centimeters, about twice the normal level.
And while the peak of the winter pattern has waned for now there, the continued precipitation is making cleanup just a little bit difficult.
It's like you got a bunch of snow, then you're trying to clean up, and more snow comes and just keeps on going in cycles.
It looks like that we're still looking at the possibility of some snow, though again, it's going to be much lighter than what we've experienced over the weekend with the much heavier amounts of precipitation.
High pressure moving in, and that's going to help to calm things down for just a little bit, but then we'll see some of that warmer air coming in, and we'll be talking about rain instead of snow here going forward in time.
Look at Fukuoka, rain with a high of 11.
Osaka, 11, 12 in Tokyo, so warming up a little bit more.
Snow, though, still in Ishaporo with a high of three as we go through Tuesday.
And while looking at what's happening across North America, low pressure system dipping into the upper Rockies and that's going to bring some snow.
And ahead of that, it's quite warm with high pressure down toward the south, 21 in Denver, 26 in Oklahoma City and Chicago getting above the freezing mark for the day on Monday with a high of three.
Looking at what's happening across Europe, we have one low down toward the south near Italy, talking about some rain there. And we have another little coming in from the west.
And so showers from Lisbon into Paris into Vienna as well. Istanbul with a high of 12.
And up toward the north and east, it's still cold, staying below freezing with snow as we go through the day on Monday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
00:27:41 話者 1
And that is all for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yamamoto Miki in Tokyo.
Thanks for joining us.
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