Snap judgement: Japan PM’s electoral landslide

<p><a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/02/08/how-japans-prime-minister-will-use-her-massive-new-mandate?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Takaichi Sanae</a>’s gamble to call a general election has paid off. How will the prime minister’s thumping victory change Japan? New legislation in Republican states could imperil <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/29/republican-states-are-censoring-universities?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">academic freedom</a>. And why “<a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/02/05/fifty-years-on-the-anti-hero-of-taxi-driver-is-eerily-familiar?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Taxi Driver</a>” resonates 50 years after the film’s release.</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”</li><li>Noah Sneider, East Asia bureau chief</li><li>Rebecca Jackson, Southern correspondent</li><li>Andrew Miller, author of <em>The Economist’s</em> Back Story column on culture</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Japan’s election</li><li>University censorship in America</li><li>Fifty years of “Taxi Driver”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>For more on Japan’s economy, listen to last week’s episode of <a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/05/japans-election-why-investors-are-worried" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Money Talks</a></p><br /><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—</em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+</em></a></p><br /><p><em>For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>