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Gabriele Ninivaggi
Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi said in a video posted on TikTok in December that the party did not want to be seen as part of the same group as the LDP.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024
Challenges mount for Komeito amid rift with LDP
As the junior partner in the ruling coalition approaches its 60th anniversary, an existential crisis looms over it.
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito discuss the bill for the revision of the political funds control law in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2024
LDP submits its own proposal to revise political funds law
A tight parliamentary schedule has pushed the party to expedite negotiations with the opposition even at the cost of deepening a rift with its longtime ally.
Officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police raid the Tsubasa no To office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2024
Political party Tsubasa no To investigated over election obstruction
The group is suspected of interfering with the campaign activities of candidates in the recent by-election in Tokyo’s No. 15 district.
The Liberal Democratic Party faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a fundrasing party in Tokyo in May 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024
Abe faction's ex-treasurer pleads guilty to underreporting political funds
Junichiro Matsumoto admitted to underreporting political funds totaling ¥670 million ($4.3 million) in the period from 2018 to 2022.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (second from right) and his Komeito counterpart Keiichi Ishii (second from left) hold a signed agreement on political funding reform, on Thursday in parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024
Japan's ruling parties find agreement on political reform, but gaps remain
The parties' plan lacks specifics on key contentious issues.
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 7, 2024
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
Some point to a shift in the nation’s security stance, while opposition party lawmakers indicate a general apathy among the media to cover the story.
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
Lawmakers are instead focusing their attention on reviewing the political funds control law in the wake of the LDP's slush funds scandal.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
JAPAN / Politics
May 1, 2024
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Widespread use of biomass as car fuel makes Brazil an ideal import partner for Japan.
The first Lower House political reform committee meeting begins in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Gaps between Japan's parties on political reform on show at committee
At the committee's first meeting, differing views were expressed on the legal responsibility of politicians as well as punishments for wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly expressed his commitment to bring about a revision of the Political Funds Control Act during the current session of parliament, which is slated to end on June 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2024
LDP pledges tougher action on errant lawmakers in reform blueprint
The ruling party will seek to review legislation on the handling of political funds in the wake of a slush funds scandal involving its members.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2024
LDP to present political reform plan this week as pressure grows
The move will lay the groundwork for an amendment of the political funds control law in the current session of parliament slated to end June 23.
LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi arrives for his faction meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
Motegi faces bumpy road after faction dissolution
Motegi has never sought to conceal his aspirations for the top spot, but his prospects may now be dwindling.
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2024
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
The residents of Tokyo's No. 15 district — which corresponds to the city’s southeastern Koto Ward — will head to the polls for the third time in a year.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2024
Biden and Kishida herald 'new era' for U.S.-Japan alliance
The leaders unveiled a historic upgrade of defense ties as they look to beef up Tokyo’s role in countering China’s growing assertiveness.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (left) attends a disciplinary panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2024
LDP announces formal punishment for scandal-tainted lawmakers
An LDP disciplinary panel handed down the reprimands following weeks of debate among the leadership and several rounds of internal investigations.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (left), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center), and Taro Aso, the party's vice president, meet in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2024
LDP’s formal punishment likely to spark discontent
Exempting Kishida and Nikai from any reprimands over the slush funds scandal will likely deepen rifts within the party, experts say.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his eagerness to revise the political funds law in the current session of parliament, slated to end on June 23.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2024
Spotlight on political reform after budget clears Japan's parliament
Ruling and opposition parties are eager to outline a bolder plan for reform to raise their profile among voters amid growing political disenchantment.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends an Upper House Budget Committee session on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2024
Ex-PM Yoshiro Mori may face LDP probe over kickback scheme
The target and scope of such an investigation has yet to be decided, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister said Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has requested a summit with her brother, hinting that any meeting was unlikely without a policy shift by Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
Japan reaching out to North Korea for Kim-Kishida summit
The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said any summit would hinge on whether Japan was willing to make a "political decision" — likely on the abductee issue.
Shun Otokita is the rarest of Nippon Ishin lawmakers: He was born and bred in Tokyo, where he got his start as a local politician.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2024
Can Nippon Ishin no Kai make inroads in Tokyo?
The Kansai-based party is aiming to broaden its support across Japan — starting with Tokyo's No. 15 district election next month.

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Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity