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 | ANALYSIS Sep 30, 2013
Hashimoto's Osaka merger dream in jeopardy
by Reiji Yoshida
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was facing a critical battle. And he lost. On Sunday, a candidate fielded by Nippon Ishin lost a local government election for the first time in Osaka Prefecture, the power base ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 29, 2013
Mayor of Sakai returned in fresh blow to Hashimoto
Mayor Osami Takeyama’s victory Sunday in the Sakai mayoral election in Osaka Prefecture has cast a shadow over the political future of brash Nippon Ishin co-leader Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka. Takeyama, a 63-year-old independent, defeated former Sakai Assemblyman Katsutoshi Nishibayashi, his sole ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 27, 2013
Nippon Ishin's future seen riding on Sakai mayor race
by Eric Johnston
Sunday’s mayoral contest in Sakai, one of Japan’s most independent-minded cities, is expected to decide not only the fate of a plan to merge Osaka prefectural cities into a single administrative entity, but also the fate of national-level efforts to create a new opposition ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 3, 2013
Sakai election, confused colleagues cloud Hashimoto's integration plan
by Eric Johnston
Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto’s most fundamental political goal, the integration of Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka, appears ever more in doubt as his opponents join forces in a key local election and his ...
Politics & Diplomacy Aug 28, 2013
Gaffe-shy Hashimoto keeps media at bay
by Eric Johnston
With a critical local election looming, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto declares that a fundraising event and strategy session Friday will be closed to the media.
Politics & Diplomacy Aug 12, 2013
Hashimoto advocate Sakaiya to advise Abe
by Eric Johnston
Taichi Sakaiya, 78, the man credited with persuading Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto to trade the world of television punditry for the world of politics, has been appointed as an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 27, 2013
Hashimoto, Matsui offer to quit but are persuaded to stay
by Reiji Yoshida
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto and Secretary-General Ichiro Matsui offer to step down "to focus on their political agenda in Osaka" but other party executives persuade them to stay on.
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 24, 2013
LDP to receive 3.5% more in state subsidies after election victory
The Liberal Democratic Party will receive ¥15.062 billion in state subsidies this year, up 3.5 percent from the previous estimate, after the ruling party’s landslide victory in Sunday’s House of Councilors election, a Jiji Press estimate has revealed. The LDP came out of the ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
Defiant Nippon Ishin pauses on resignations
by Eric Johnston
After an election that saw only eight of its 44 candidates win seats in Sunday’s Upper House election, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) leaders were stressing the need for a unified opposition against the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition. With talk ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
Hashimoto in limbo after trouncing
by Eric Johnston
The future of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto remained unclear Sunday evening following the party’s poor performance in the Upper House election. “This isn’t a victory. It’s not something to be proud of,” Hashimoto, also the mayor of Osaka, ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 19, 2013
Ishin's woes go beyond Hashimoto's gaffes
by Eric Johnston
While Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) battles for seats in Sunday’s Upper House election, it has given up on two key local races where the expected winners oppose its fundamental goals, further eroding support in its Kansai base. The Hyogo gubernatorial race ...
Politics & Diplomacy | GAME OF NUMBERS Jul 8, 2013
Hashimoto: from third force to political farce?
by Eric Johnston
Third in a series One year ago, Toru Hashimoto was the toast of the nation’s media, with many predicting the outspoken Osaka mayor, who was then laying plans for a new national party, would become prime minister after the next Lower House election. Politicians ...