The Japanese Liberal Democratic Party is in crisis. After the resignation of Ishiba, the LDP must analyze its past in order to understand how best to move forward and reform. Without factions, internal divisions have increased while ideological consistency has decreased. On top of this, control over junior lawmakers through the distribution of funds is nearly non existent, meaning that a new system must be created as the old was implicated in a financial scandal. Without structural reforms that please both junior and senior lawmakers, the LDP will eventually fall.

On July 20th, the people of Japan decided to keep the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in power albeit with populist reservations. After a series of scandals, the LDP was in dire straits, but managed to keep a plurality of seats alongside its coalition partner the Komeito. Populist parties such as the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and the Sanseito made strides in the polls while traditional opposition parties such as the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) stalled. The Sanseito however was mired by a scandal just days before the election, having a candidate participate in an interview with Russian-owned media outlet Sputnik without party authorization. Russia was also shown to have been interfering with the election through social media as well. How Japan navigates these issues will ultimately determine the future of the LDP, CDP, JCP, and other parties' futures.

This article focuses on the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faction called the Kōchikai (Big Pond Society) and how it has changed from more cooperative and collaborative stances to more dividing and antagonistic stances. It then shows how, while the majority of LDP factions are dissolved, these groupings can still be valuable to determine the possible policy stances a politician may take in the future.

The Japanese economy and its trade are very complicated subjects with numerous aspects to it, but one way to look at them is through the lens of key figures. By analyzing the Japanese Prime Minister, Governor of the Bank of Japan, and the Minister of the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, it shows how they focus on different areas of the economy and how they can influence Japanese economic and trade policies. Through their individual qualities, it is possible to see how these figures compliment and contrast each other in their attempts to rejuvenate the Japanese economy.

While Ishiba's diplomatic outlook has been different than the views of his predecessors, this could be used to the advantage of the US. Ishiba has been more pro-Chinese than his predecessors and seems willing to work together with China on common issues. With US leadership in question throughout the world, and a possible Japan-US fallout looming over tariffs, now is the time to see what impact Ishiba's diplomatic strategy would have on the US' latticework strategy to unite the Indo-Pacific through a multitude of agreements between nations and whether it is possible to incorporate Ishiba's diplomacy into the US' strategy.

While protectionism has been prominent for the past couple of decades in the realm of international affairs, nations have different ways of applying it. In the instances of 7-Eleven and US Steel, these two companies have been subjected to protectionist policies from foreign companies that wish to take them over, but these processes have diverged greatly. The takeover of 7-Eleven has been a standard process which provides security and reassurance to both sides, while the takeover of US Steel has been fraught with tension and challenges that have brought strain to the Japan-US relationship.