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EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2006

Thailand's new crisis

It is in keeping with his singular style of governance that Thailand's embattled prime minister, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, lost his job by winning an election. His victory in snap elections has precipitated a constitutional crisis. Sensing that a numerical majority would not allow him to govern, Mr. Thaksin...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2006

A test for Thai democracy

SINGAPORE -- One year after he was re-elected in a landslide, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been forced to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap election. Although his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party commands a 75 percent majority in the assembly, Thaksin is embattled.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2005

Southeast Asia watches Koizumi's gamble

SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took an unprecedented political gamble in dissolving the Lower House and calling a snap general election for Sept. 11 -- after the Upper House rejected his postal privatization bills Aug. 8. The privatization of Japan Post symbolizes Koizumi's reform plans...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2023

Kishida heads into parliamentary session with packed — and divisive — agenda

Contentious debates in the Diet over increased defense spending, policies aimed at children and extending the life of nuclear reactors could ultimately seal the prime minister's fate.
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2009

The LDP in disarray

The ruling and opposition blocs are heading for a showdown in the general election as the opposition bloc in the Upper House on Tuesday passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Aso Taro and started boycotting all Diet proceedings. Separately, in the Lower House, the ruling bloc earlier in the day...
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2009

DPJ scores big win in Tokyo assembly

The Democratic Party of Japan was cruising Sunday night to a clear victory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, taking over as the No. 1 force from the Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY
Oct 22, 1999

Voters send LDP a message

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi won re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election held Sept. 21. Four days later, Yukio Hatoyama was elected chief of the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan. On Oct. 5, Obuchi launched his new three-party coalition government after New...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 10, 2021

Timing is everything when it comes to the politics of the Kawai scandal

Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai does an about face when it comes to accusations of vote-buying, but some aren't buying the idea that his decision was a result of soul searching.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2015

Letting popular will prevail

Political parties and lawmakers should not put off trying to resolve the vote-value gap between the nation's electoral districts just because recent high court rulings on the matter have been inconclusive.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2014

Supreme Court assails vote disparity in 2013 election but doesn't nullify results

The Upper House election in the summer of 2013 was borderline unconstitutional due to an “outrageous” disparity in the weight of votes between districts, the Supreme Court said.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2008

Ozawa, DPJ have to prove they can govern

Now that Ichiro Ozawa has officially been handed a third term as president of the Democratic Party of Japan, the DPJ is gearing up for the upcoming general election in hopes of taking control of the government under Ozawa's leadership.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2008

LDP looks to replicate media magic

The rules of the game are changing in Tokyo's Nagata-cho, the longtime epicenter of Japanese politics.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2008

Fukuda exit underscores New Komeito rift, may spur poll

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's sudden resignation Monday may set in motion a round of political upheaval, with his successor likely to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election before year's end, critics say.
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2005

A mandate to finish the job

The Sept. 11 general election produced stunning results unprecedented in Japanese political history. Unaffiliated voters gave overwhelming support to the governing Liberal Democratic Party, handing the LDP-New Komeito coalition more than two-thirds of the 480-seat Lower House. Paradoxically, conservative...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2001

Will LDP groundswell extend beyond Tokyo?

Despite the Liberal Democratic Party's resounding victory in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, experts said it remains unclear whether the groundswell will mean very much in the Upper House election next month.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2001

'Koizumi effect' credited for LDP's big Tokyo win

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed hope Monday that his Liberal Democratic Party's strong showing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election would lead to another victory in the Upper House election next month.
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2000

Awaiting Diet dissolution

Despite widespread anxieties about potential Y2K disasters, the world greeted the new millennium without trouble. Volatility in the New York and Tokyo stock markets since the beginning of the year should not cause undue concern about the economic future at home and abroad.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2021

LDP backs Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi for party’s No. 2 role

The choice of Motegi as secretary-general underscores Kishida's desire to stabilize his power base within the party, as the appointee is close to LDP power brokers Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2016

The political landscape in 2017

With the opposition in disarray, the ruling bloc can bide its time and call the next election when Abe is good and ready.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2014

Can the opposition mend its ways?

It's time Japan's political opposition learn from their failures of the past two years, especially their crushing defeat in the Dec. 14 Lower House election, to rebuild themselves in a way that enables them to challenge the ruling bloc and to give voters a real choice.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Aso team likened to school classroom

Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet lineup may look a bit subdued, but there's good reason for that: He deliberately picked low-profile politicians instead of factional bigwigs so he can lead them around like a "school teacher," experts said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2008

'07 political storm really the calm before '08?

Last year was full of political turmoil — from scandals and arrests to suicide and a divided Diet — but there is no time to rest because 2008 may turn out to be a historical turning point if there is a general election, depending on which side wins, analysts say.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2003

Koizumi appears set to stay on by default

With the extended 190-day Diet session having closed Monday, lawmakers' attention is shifting to the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Sept. 20, the new Cabinet that will immediately follow it and the expected House of Representatives poll in November.
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2000

Diet imbroglio over at last

The Diet returned to normal Feb. 9, two weeks after the opposition forces started boycotting all proceedings to protest against the ruling bloc's handling of a controversial bill to reduce Diet seats. The turmoil started when the three-party governing coalition passed the bill for cutting Lower House...

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