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Voting for the House of Representatives election will take place on February 8. Parties will compete for 289 single-member district seats and 176 proportional representation seats, for a total of 465 seats. Prior to the official announcement of the election, the LDP held 138 single-member district seats and 60 proportional seats (198 in total), while the Japan Innovation Party held 22 and 12 seats respectively (34 in total). The Centrist alliance held 106 single-member district seats and 61 proportional seats (167 in total).

Japan’s House of Representatives election has recently entered its final stage, with the electoral outlook becoming increasingly clear. According to multiple opinion polls and political analyses, the long-ruling LDP is widely viewed as the favorite in this election, expected to secure a significant advantage in seats and further consolidate its governing position, maintaining its dominance in the National Diet.

Analysts point out that the LDP’s continued strength in this election is closely tied to its long-established organizational mobilization capacity, extensive local grassroots networks, and policy continuity in economic and foreign affairs. In the face of multiple challenges—including domestic inflationary pressures, a declining birthrate and aging population, and an increasingly volatile international environment—the LDP has emphasized the appeal of a “stable government,” highlighting policy consistency and governing experience, which has successfully attracted considerable voter support.

On the opposition side, although major opposition forces such as the Constitutional Democratic Party have attempted to center their campaigns on livelihood issues, political reform, and oversight of the ruling party, their overall momentum still falls short of that of the LDP. In some electoral districts, vote splitting has further weakened the opposition’s ability to form an effective united front, which is widely regarded as a major disadvantage in this election.

Political observers note that if the LDP ultimately achieves a landslide victory, it will enjoy greater leadership in advancing key legislation in the Diet, including economic structural reforms, adjustments to defense policy, and long-term measures to address demographic changes. However, some scholars caution that a numerical advantage in seats does not equate to unconditional public support. The ruling party must still take seriously public concerns over rising prices, stagnant wage growth, and political transparency.

In addition, voter turnout in this House of Representatives election has also drawn significant attention. Japan has long faced the issue of low political participation among younger voters, and how to raise overall engagement remains a shared challenge for all political parties. The election results will not only shape the political landscape but also reflect Japanese society’s expectations for the country’s future policy direction.

Winter storm Kristin swept across central and northern Portugal on the night of January 27, triggering flooding, landslides, and severe damage to infrastructure, with at least five deaths confirmed so far. On February 1, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced that the government will allocate €2.5 billion (about US$2.9 billion) for post-disaster recovery efforts, including a 90-day suspension of mortgage and loan repayments for affected residents. In addition, €400 million will be invested to repair damaged roads and railways to ensure the transport network is restored as quickly as possible.

As more heavy rainfall is forecast, Montenegro said after an emergency cabinet meeting that the government will extend the “state of disaster”—one level below a state of emergency—in the hardest-hit areas until February 8. The measure, which took effect on January 29, grants authorities expanded powers to enforce safety measures and coordinate emergency responses. The prime minister warned that evacuations may be necessary in some areas, as “the soil is already saturated.” Portugal’s Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has placed the entire country under alert until February 2, forecasting continued heavy rain and strong winds with gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

Portugal’s civil protection chief André Fernandes Silvestre said the weather outlook is “extremely severe,” noting that the ground can no longer absorb additional rainfall and that the risk of flooding is imminent. Civil protection authorities have sent SMS alerts to residents in multiple regions nationwide, warning of flood threats. According to data from power grid operator E-Redes, around 167,000 households were still without electricity as of February 1—down significantly from more than one million immediately after the storm—but recovery efforts remain ongoing as the government continues to focus on reconstruction and disaster prevention.

U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated on Friday (the 30th) at the White House that the United States is deploying naval forces toward Iran on a scale exceeding that of its previous operations against Venezuela. He urged Tehran to swiftly enter negotiations and sign what he described as a “fair” nuclear agreement, warning that failure to do so could result in renewed U.S. military strikes. Meanwhile, foreign media reported that Trump could authorize military action against Iran as early as Sunday, with targets including military facilities and senior leadership in Tehran.

Speaking on Thursday, Trump said he has been in contact with Iranian leaders and plans further discussions, though he did not specify whom he had spoken with. He outlined the message he conveyed: “I told them two things,” Trump said. “First, no nuclear weapons. Second, stop killing protesters.” When asked on Friday—during the signing of an executive order at the White House—whether there was a deadline for reaching an agreement with Iran, Trump claimed communication was ongoing but declined to give a specific date. Asked whether the U.S. would take measures similar to those used against Venezuela if Iran rejected the deal, Trump avoided commenting directly on ongoing military operations but emphasized that the United States maintains a very powerful fleet in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that despite escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, Iran remains prepared to engage in “fair and just” nuclear negotiations with the United States. Iran also announced that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will conduct live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz next week. The U.S. has warned that it “will not tolerate” any unsafe behavior in the strait, including flights over U.S. warships or Iranian fast boats approaching American naval routes. Tensions between the two sides continue to rise.

U.S. media, citing sources, reported that the American military has informed key Middle Eastern allies that Trump may authorize strikes against Iran in the near future, possibly as soon as Sunday. The planned targets would not be limited to nuclear facilities or missile bases but would also include senior government officials and core figures within the IRGC. According to foreign reports, the Trump administration believes that striking Iran’s leadership could lead to the collapse of the Tehran regime. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be optimistic about such an outcome and has assured Trump that Israel could help establish a new, Western-friendly government.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that any U.S. attack would be met with an “unprecedented” response, targeting U.S. military installations, oil infrastructure in the Middle East, and U.S. ally Israel. Diplomatic efforts, however, continue. On Friday, Araghchi arrived in Turkey for talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Similar meetings between Iranian leaders and representatives of other countries are ongoing in hopes of resolving Middle East tensions through diplomacy.

Iran has previously seen large-scale anti-government protests that were met with a violent crackdown. Trump has said that assistance is “on the way” and has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s current theocratic regime. Whether the United States will resort to military action to overthrow the Iranian government has now become a focal point of global attention.

A rare southward surge of Arctic air has hit the United States, bringing a compound winter storm combining blizzards, freezing rain, and extreme cold. The severe weather has caused at least 85 deaths due to hypothermia, traffic accidents, plane crashes, and other incidents. Large areas of the country are still experiencing temperatures below freezing. Ferry services on New York’s Hudson River have been suspended due to ice forming in the harbor.

The eastern half of the U.S. is set to face another wave of intense cold air. From Friday through Monday, temperatures are expected to plunge even further, with more than 200 single-day low-temperature records potentially being broken nationwide. The cold could extend as far south as Florida, with northern Florida possibly seeing temperatures drop to 0°C.

This extreme weather has caused serious damage across various regions. In Arkansas, the roof of a rodeo arena collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. Subzero temperatures have begun to disrupt water transportation in New York; due to widespread icing on the Hudson River and New York Harbor, all New York ferry services were suspended starting Tuesday afternoon. Mississippi, previously one of the hardest-hit states by power outages, still has more than 90,000 households without electricity. Severe weather continues to affect Interstate 55, leaving large numbers of trucks stranded and causing long lines at gas stations day after day. Meteorologists forecast that the bitter cold in the eastern U.S. will persist into February.

According to media reports, protesters and lawmakers gathered on the 28th at an immigration detention center in Texas, where clashes broke out with local police. The incident was sparked by the arrest of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian child, Liam Conejo Ramos, in Minnesota, who was later transferred to a detention facility in Texas, triggering public outrage. Protesters called on the Trump administration to release all detainees.

Reports said that images showing Ramos wearing a backpack and looking terrified as he was detained by immigration officers circulated publicly, igniting nationwide anger. On the 28th, about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, demanding the release of Ramos and another 1,100 detainees who were taken into custody as part of the government’s intensified immigration enforcement actions. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The reports also noted that Democratic U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett went to the detention center to show their support. Castro pointed out that Trump had previously stated that immigration enforcement was aimed at pursuing dangerous immigrants, yet Ramos and his family were legally residing in the United States. He questioned how the authorities could now detain a 5-year-old child, arguing that this represented a serious gap between the administration’s policies and its promises.

The “Doomsday Clock,” regarded as an indicator of humanity’s potential extinction, was moved forward by another four seconds on the 27th, leaving just 85 seconds to “midnight,” which symbolizes the end of the world. This marks the closest the clock has ever been to midnight since it was first established in 1947, highlighting the severe challenges facing humanity’s survival.

The *Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists* pointed out that today’s global crises include a renewed nuclear arms race. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is set to expire on February 5 this year, and there are currently no follow-up agreements among nuclear-armed states to limit the development of nuclear weapons. In addition, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced last October the restart of nuclear testing procedures, further increasing the risk of human extinction.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence has made weapons more lethal. If AI were misused in the development of biological or chemical weapons, it could lead to uncontrollable biological threats and even extinction. At the same time, the widespread presence of AI-generated information has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, eroding public trust in facts and making international cooperation to address crises more difficult. Maria Ressa, a recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, warned with concern that the world is entering an era of “Information Armageddon.”

Regional conflicts continue unabated. The Russia–Ukraine war, instability in the Middle East, tensions between India and Pakistan, and the Taiwan Strait crisis remain major global flashpoints. In addition, climate change remains a powerful force pushing the clock forward. In 2025, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and global sea levels both reached historic highs, while droughts, wildfires, and floods continue to worsen. Yet countries have failed to take substantive action to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The Bulletin emphasized that the Doomsday Clock is not a prophecy, but a call to action. It expresses hope that through diplomatic negotiations, limiting nuclear weapons and the militarization of AI, investing in renewable energy, and building international trust, it is still possible to turn the clock back.

On January 27, the United States officially withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time. This move symbolizes the U.S. once again completely pulling out of the global framework for cooperation on carbon emission reductions. As the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, the U.S. withdrawal undoubtedly places the Paris Agreement’s goals—limiting global warming to within 2°C, or even 1.5°C—on the brink of collapse.

During his second term, Donald Trump’s criticism of climate issues has been even more aggressive than before. Last year at the United Nations General Assembly, he harshly denounced climate change as “the biggest scam in history,” accusing the United Nations and other organizations of producing forecasts made by “stupid people with bad motives.” Trump not only mocked the concept of carbon footprints as a fabricated lie, but also portrayed countries’ investments in green energy as a “green energy scam” leading to destruction. He also signed executive orders cutting off all funding support for UN climate summits and other related policy activities.

Beyond withdrawing from the agreement, the Trump administration went even further by pulling out of more than 60 international organizations, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), emphasizing that these institutions undermine U.S. sovereignty. He reiterated that the United States should prioritize the extraction of traditional energy sources such as oil and coal, rather than pursuing what he called “unrealistic” renewable energy.

However, this stance stands in stark contrast to official scientific research. According to scientific studies, the past 40 years have seen the most dramatic temperature increases driven by human activity, with extreme weather events occurring frequently and rising sea levels threatening major cities such as New York. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also warned that climate change could lead to soaring food prices.

In response to global climate change, the United Nations Climate Change Conference reached the Paris Agreement in 2015, which came into force in 2016. Trump first withdrew from the agreement in November 2020 during his first term. After President Biden took office in 2021, the United States rejoined the agreement, only for Trump to withdraw once again during his second term.

As the Russia–Ukraine war enters its fourth year, peace negotiations have reached a major turning point. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in Lithuania on the 26th that a U.S.-provided security guarantees agreement is “100% ready,” pending signatures from both sides. He said the deal would be submitted to both the U.S. Congress and Ukraine’s parliament for approval once signed, and reaffirmed Kyiv’s goal of formally joining the European Union by 2027, describing EU accession as a form of “economic security guarantee.”

The trilateral talks held in Abu Dhabi are being described as the first significant breakthrough “in a long time.” Close allies of U.S. President Donald Trump — including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff — held intensive closed-door discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian military representatives. Negotiations have moved beyond political rhetoric into concrete discussions on ceasefire lines and military deployments, signaling a possible de-escalation of the conflict. Russia, however, has maintained a hardline stance, demanding that Kyiv withdraw its forces from Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, while Zelenskyy reiterated that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected.”

U.S. officials confirmed that negotiators will return to Abu Dhabi on February 1 for the next round of talks, which will include discussions on a “temporary ceasefire prior to the signing of an agreement.” Control and oversight of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain the most contentious issue and a key variable determining whether a final peace deal can be concluded. Zelenskyy acknowledged that fundamental differences persist between the two sides, but said the United States is seeking a compromise, describing the talks as a critical step toward bringing the Russia–Ukraine war to an end.

U.S. federal immigration enforcement officers fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the 24th, marking the second incident in recent days in which a civilian has been killed by law enforcement gunfire in the city. The shooting has sparked strong backlash from state officials and triggered a new wave of protests. The Trump administration is facing mounting pressure over its large-scale immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the man who was shot approached U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) officers while carrying a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and “violently resisted” when officers attempted to disarm him. The victim was identified as 37-year-old Preti, an intensive care unit nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Less than three weeks earlier, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, a mother of three, during an immigration sweep while she was inside her vehicle. As in the aftermath of Good’s killing, the Trump administration immediately claimed that Preti attempted to harm federal agents and falsely stated that a handgun was found on him.

This marks the second U.S. citizen killed by federal agents, with cellphone footage contradicting the official account of the incident. Reuters verified and reviewed the video, finding that Preti was holding a mobile phone and that no footage shows him brandishing a firearm. After chemical irritants were sprayed into Preti’s face and he was forced to the ground, federal agents fired approximately 10 shots at him. Preti never drew a weapon.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the shooting as abnormal and shocking, calling for a state-led investigation. Preti’s parents issued a statement on the 24th accusing the government of spreading “disgusting lies” about their son.

Walz said that Preti was someone who dedicated his work to caring for veterans — a valued colleague who lived fully in the state, whether enjoying outdoor activities or exercising his First Amendment rights by witnessing what ICE was doing in Minnesota. As stark discrepancies emerged between the official account and the video evidence, residents braved freezing temperatures to protest in the streets, demanding justice for Preti. Officials, however, stressed that enforcement operations would continue uninterrupted, creating a sharp contrast with the growing public outrage.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 23 (local time) — Despite strong warnings and possible consequences from the U.S. government, two leaders of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council have insisted they will press ahead with plans to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, refusing to back down and further escalating the country’s political tensions.

The Transitional Presidential Council, Haiti’s current highest executive authority, was established in 2024 to oversee the restoration of order after years of armed gang violence and to guide the country back to democratic elections. The council said it appointed Fils-Aimé as prime minister in November 2024 but now believes it has the authority to initiate new appointments, including a new prime minister, a new government, and eventually a new president.

The council’s rotating chair, Leslie Voltaire, stressed at a press conference that the body has the legal mandate to take such action and will not be swayed by external pressure.

According to reports, five council members have signed a resolution supporting Fils-Aimé’s removal and plan to complete the process within 30 days. However, the decision will only take legal effect once it is published in the official government gazette.