Overview

• Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito conveyed a plan to exit the alliance in a meeting with LDP chief Sanae Takaichi, with a final judgment hinging on LDP responses about factional slush funds and tighter corporate and group donation rules, NHK and other outlets reported.
• Reports note LDP officials call the partnership fundamental, yet resistance remains to stricter donation curbs, and a split could leave the LDP governing alone and delay convening the Diet to select a successor prime minister.
• Foreign Ministry officials began policy briefings on Oct. 8 and warned preparation time is tight for a reported U.S. presidential visit on Oct. 27 and a summit targeted for Oct. 28, citing about 30 hours of pre‑briefs before the leaders’ first meeting in February.
• Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced the dispatch of two Ground Self‑Defense Force instructors to Lithuania from Nov. 3 to Dec. 5 to support mine‑clearance training for Ukrainian personnel.
• Separate updates included a reported dispute over photography outside the U.S. Iwakuni base, a temporary Tohoku Shinkansen suspension due to debris on overhead lines, and a ministry forecast lifting this year’s staple rice harvest to 7.15 million tons, up 630,000 tons from 2024.