Futenma question decisive factor for prefecture's voters
Last in a series Scanning the sky earlier this month, Yumi Kuniyoshi, 52, notes it's a rare quiet day: no U.S. military aircraft are flying over her house in Urasoe, a small Okinawa city next to Ginowan, home of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Even ...
Pro-nuke LDP's candidate quiet on Ehime reactor restart bid
On the far western edge of Shikoku, Ehime's Sada Misaki Peninsula juts out into the Seto Inland Sea. It's a long sliver of land home to several species of hawk and several varieties of the prefecture's famous "mikan" oranges. It's also home to the Ikata ...
Tech-savvy candidates hope to reach young voters via online campaigns
For Kan Suzuki, a tech-savvy Upper House member, the Internet is a powerful campaign tool that he can use to help him win a third term at a time when his party is facing so much adversity. Support for the former Keio University assistant professor ...
Hashimoto: from third force to political farce?
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 ranging ...
Poll may see end to divided Diet but what follows may be worrisome
Unlike the past two House of Councilors elections, in 2007 and 2010, that saw opposition forces win big against the ruling parties, this time around they look to take the hit.
Abe camp faces little true opposition, also little mandate
As one expert has it, the July 21 Upper House poll looks to be a cakewalk for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc.
LDP spin team hammers voters with 'Abenomics' mantra
The Upper House election will be a test of the economic strategies being pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition government — or so says his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Although Japan faces problems ranging from social welfare to history disputes and national security, the ...
