Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
Abe not in hurry to amend Constitution
by Ayako Mie
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Monday to stay focused on efforts to revive Japan’s moribund economy and to not aggressively pursue his goal of amending the pacifist Constitution, even though his Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito bloc now controls the Diet. Speaking to reporters a ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
LDP, JCP score rare wins in Tokyo; DPJ's sole pick tanks
Sunday’s Upper House election saw two Liberal Democratic Party candidates win in the five-seat Tokyo electoral district for the first time in 27 years, while a Japanese Communist Party candidate regained a seat for the first time in 12 years. The Democratic Party of ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
LDP rookie trounces DPJ vet on Okada's turf
Democratic Party of Japan candidate and incumbent Chiaki Takahashi, 56, lost his seat in Mie’s electoral district to Liberal Democratic Party rookie Yumi Yoshikawa during the Upper House election Sunday. The district is home to former DPJ President Katsuya Okada, who was known as ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
DPJ crashes to another humiliating defeat
by Kazuaki Nagata
The Democratic Party of Japan stumbled to another crushing defeat in the Upper House election Sunday, making it clear the opposition party will continue to face huge struggles to regain voters’ trust. Early election results Sunday indicated the DPJ, which ruled the nation from ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 3, 2013
DPJ to field only one candidate in Upper House race in Tokyo
The Democratic Party of Japan will field only one candidate in the Tokyo constituency for the July 21 House of Councilors election, revoking its endorsement of another candidate due to the unlikelihood of securing two seats in the capital. DPJ leader Banri Kaieda told ...
Politics & Diplomacy | Making Their Case Jun 30, 2013
DPJ admits lack of trust, unity undermining poll prospects
by Ayako Mie
Democratic Party of Japan President Banri Kaieda on Saturday admitted that the opposition camp’s leading force hasn’t regained enough credibility to lead the charge against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for the Upper House election. “The public’s disappointment with us has not changed,” Kaieda ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 26, 2013
DPJ hopes platform derails 'Abenomics'
by Ayako Mie
The Democratic Party of Japan, hoping to rebrand itself as the only viable alternative to the Liberal Democratic Party, unveiled a hastily resurrected platform for next month’s Upper House election with vows to help the middle class, revive its reactor phaseout goal and oppose ...
Politics & Diplomacy | ANALYSIS Jun 24, 2013
LDP win mimics December election
by Ayako Mie
The Tokyo assembly election resembled the decisive contest that returned the Liberal Democratic Party to power in December and raised its chances of taking over the Diet in July.
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 24, 2013
LDP leads pack with 28% support rate ahead of Upper House poll
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday had the highest support rating going into next month’s Upper House election, leaving the opposition Democratic Party of Japan far behind, the latest survey says. The nationwide telephone survey, conducted Saturday and Sunday by Kyodo News, found ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 15, 2013
Race begins for metro assembly
by Masaaki Kameda
Campaigning kicked off Friday for the June 23 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, which appears to lack a major divisive issue but whose results may portend the outcome of the crucial July Upper House poll. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, New Komeito, ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 12, 2013
DPJ to play up dark side of 'Abenomics' in Upper House poll
The Democratic Party of Japan has unveiled a final draft of its campaign platform for July’s House of Councilors election, criticizing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies. The platform of the DPJ, which lost power in the Dec. 16 general election, also attacks Abe ...
Politics & Diplomacy May 16, 2013
DPJ's Hosono meets with Okinawa governor on reversion day
DPJ Secretary General Goshi Hosono meets Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on the 41st anniversary of the prefecture's return to Japan, suggesting his party seeks to ease Okinawa's U.S. base burden.