{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mark S. Cogan","provider_url":"https:\/\/markscogan.com","author_name":"Mark Cogan","author_url":"https:\/\/markscogan.com\/index.php\/author\/polisci03\/","title":"Ahead of Snap Elections, Japan Needs Radical Honesty &#8211; Mark S. Cogan","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"VaEcFXfJ3d\"><a href=\"https:\/\/markscogan.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/ahead-of-snap-elections-japan-needs-radical-honesty\/\">Ahead of Snap Elections, Japan Needs Radical Honesty<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/markscogan.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/ahead-of-snap-elections-japan-needs-radical-honesty\/embed\/#?secret=VaEcFXfJ3d\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Ahead of Snap Elections, Japan Needs Radical Honesty&#8221; &#8212; Mark S. Cogan\" data-secret=\"VaEcFXfJ3d\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/markscogan.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"http:\/\/markscogan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/trumptakaichi-1024x710.png","thumbnail_width":1024,"thumbnail_height":710,"description":"Just months after being selected by her party as leader and later the first woman to become prime minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi announced the dissolution of parliament, which will trigger an election on February 8. The hope for her and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is that she will move beyond the fragile political consensus that saw her gain power back in October to a public mandate."}