Okinawa Power Shift: Genta Koja, backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s LDP, won the Okinawa governorship, ending 12 years of anti-base rule and likely giving Tokyo more room to push Futenma/Henoko and deepen Japan-U.S. security ties. LDP Leadership Reshuffle: Japan’s PM Takaichi says she’ll reshuffle LDP executives Wednesday and the cabinet Thursday, setting up a political reset inside the ruling bloc. Energy Security Talks: Takaichi met IEA chief Fatih Birol on POWERR GX, pushing stable fossil fuel supply, transparent trade, and oil stockpiling coordination. Defense Tensions With China: China warned Japan’s “Orient Shield 26” drills and forward offensive deployments raise confrontation risks. Markets Watch: Asian stocks wobbled as oil jumped on Middle East worries and bond yields rose, with investors also reacting to calls for slowing AI development. Fiscal Anxiety: Japan is set to finalize a consumption tax cut outline and household payouts without clear funding, as bond yields hover near key levels. Local Services for Foreign Residents: Ibaraki’s Omitama rolled out multilingual translation tablets at city counters to speed up tax and citizen services. Housing Demand Response: A growing “renovate vacant homes into rentals” push is helping young renters move into depopulated areas. Culture & Memory: A Japanese film, “Children Untold,” spotlights girls orphaned by WWII, using postwar survival to argue war’s harm lasts beyond the fighting.