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JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2016

Hokkaido, Kyoto by-elections a test for both DP and LDP

Two by-elections later this month in Hokkaido and Kyoto will pose the first political tests for the newly formed Democratic Party as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 13, 2015

Hashimoto keeps head up despite subpar poll results

Toru Hashimoto's Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) and his opponents in the established parties saw mixed results from Sunday's prefectural and municipal assembly elections, but the Osaka mayor insisted Monday he will continue to look forward, not backward.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jan 25, 2015

Kansai spearheads campaign against hate speech

On Feb. 24, 2013, Osaka's Tsuruhashi district, home to one of Japan's largest concentrations of ethnic Koreans and in recent years a major tourist destination, was the scene of a shocking incident.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Election results a mix of good and bad for Hashimoto's Ishin no To

For Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), the Lower House election was a mixture of good and bad as the party held onto virtually all of its seats , courtesy of the proportional representation system, amid predictions it would lose big.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2014

Election results show Taiwan needs a reboot

This past weekend Taiwan's voters demonstrated their displeasure over President Ma Ying-jeou's pro-China strategy.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2014

Okinawa elects anti-U.S. base governor, in rebuke to Abe

In an election closely followed by Tokyo and Washington, former Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga wins Okinawa Prefecture's gubernatorial contest.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2014

U.S. government up for sale

The dominating significance of the midterm American legislative elections just finished has been the occasion's dramatic confirmation of the corruption of the American electoral system.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2014

Republicans poised to ride Obama's unpopularity to gains in U.S. midterm elections

Republicans are poised to pick up seats and could win control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday in midterm elections heavily influenced by deep voter dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama's job performance.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2014

Abe outlines plans for rural revitalization, sends signal to China in Diet speech

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a key policy speech pledging to prop up declining provincial economies, while apparently signaling his willingness to improve relations with China.
EDITORIALS
Jun 1, 2014

Europe takes a beating

The outcome of the European parliamentary elections is a wakeup call to Europe's establishment. They must re-examine basic assumptions about the role of the EU and how they talk about the European project at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Another test for Erdogan

Today the biggest challenge to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to emanate from another Islamic leader, Fethullah Gulen, a cleric exiled to the United States who is alleged to have masterminded the investigation of a burgeoning corruption scandal.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2013

A year to become politically active

In 2014 the Japanese people risk having their rights to freedoms of the press, thought expression curtailed as a result of the state secrets protection bill that the Abe administration rushed through the Diet in December.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2013

Revitalizing the SDP

Under its newly elected leader, the Social Democratic Party must go beyond shouting 'Protect the pacifist Constitution!' if its mission is to build a more equitable Japanese society.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Dec 18, 2012

Senkyo postā keijiba

Dear Alice,
COMMENTARY
May 16, 2012

Lords' reform creating tension in U.K. coalition

Last Wednesday's Queen's Speech saw Britain's hereditary monarch announcing government plans to effectively abolish the House of Lords, the British Parliament's unelected second chamber. It is hard to imagine that the queen did not feel the irony. But she may still have the last laugh, as proposals to...
EDITORIALS
Jun 4, 2011

Mr. Kan's tricky promise

What happened Thursday in the Diet — a vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the Lower House — will further deepen people's distrust of lawmakers at home and tarnish Japan's image abroad. The motion did lead, however, to Mr. Kan's vague pledge to resign in the near future,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2011

Britain's coalition bestows lopsided benefits

"England does not love coalitions."
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2011

Critical eye on Mr. Kan

The results of the unified local elections on April 10 and 24 underline the waning of the Democratic Party of Japan's strength. On April 10, the DPJ lost in the gubernatorial elections in Hokkaido, Tokyo and Mie. Its strength decreased from 415 seats to 346 seats in 41 prefectural assemblies and from...
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2011

Orientation of Nagoya politics

In Sunday's Nagoya city assembly election, a local party led by Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura became the No. 1 party. Although his Genzei Nippon (Tax Reduction Japan) failed to gain a majority in the 75-seat assembly, each of the traditional parties lost assembly seats.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 4, 2011

Arudou's Alien Almanac: 2010

No. 5: Renho joins Kan's Cabinet Japanese politicians with international roots are few but not unprecedented. But Taiwanese- Japanese Diet member Renho's ascension to the Cabinet as minister for administrative reforms has been historic. Requiring the bureaucrats to justify their budgets (famously asking...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2010

Ozawa, if he wins poll, promises Kan key post

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa said Wednesday he will offer Prime Minister Naoto Kan a key Cabinet post if he is elected party leader and thus the next prime minister.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 23, 2010

LDP riding out momentum with unhappy campers

The mood within the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party is far from jovial even though the July 11 Upper House election saw it regain some of the ground it lost to the Democratic Party of Japan in last year's general election.
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2010

New era for cross-strait relations

Officially, it is called the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), but it is potentially much more. The trade deal signed by China and Taiwan early last week could transform the relationship between the two governments. It deepens the integration of the two economies, opening the door to closer...
JAPAN / PARTY LINE
Jun 26, 2010

New Komeito's leader lays into 'wavering' DPJ, rules out coalition

New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi denounced the ruling Democratic Party of Japan for wavering in its policies and not keeping its promises with the public, and said his party has no plan to enter into a coalition with the DPJ.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010

Ishihara snubs SDP retraction request

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara on Friday rejected a request from Social Democratic Party chief Mizuho Fukushima to retract remarks suggesting she may be a naturalized Japanese or a descendant of one.

Longform

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