Search - local-elections

 
 
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2016

Okinawans get set to vote in local elections amid increased tensions over the U.S. military presence

Okinawans vote Sunday in a prefectural assembly election that may result in a legislative body that strongly supports revising the 1960 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2016

U.K. local elections reveal a disunited kingdom

The Remain campaign will not win on June 23 unless it can mobilize Labour voters, but outside of London and Wales the party lacks the capacity to perform this crucial role.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2011

Elections in disaster-hit areas

Local elections were held Nov. 13 in Miyagi Prefecture and will be held Nov. 20 in Fukushima Prefecture. In Iwate Prefecture, local elections, including the gubernatorial and prefectural assembly elections, were held in September.
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2007

Political pledges at the local level

Under a recent revision of the Public Offices Election Law, candidates running for leadership posts in local government can print their election "manifestos" with public money and distribute copies during the campaign period. For Diet elections, the distribution of printed manifestos has been allowed...
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 2017

The case of a small Kochi village

Owing to depopulation, small towns across Japan need to find new ways to maintain representative government.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 27, 2009

Mindan fights for foreigners' local-level suffrage

Foreigners won't have the right to vote in Sunday's election but the national association of South Koreans, the largest ethnic group of permanent foreign residents, is waging a rare political campaign to win local-level suffrage because it believes there is too much at stake this time.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2014

Governors tell Abe to get real on fixing economy — outside Tokyo

A long-sought response from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is finally listening to the problems faced by the other Japan — the one outside Tokyo — or a cynical attempt to rally the Liberal Democratic Party before key local elections next April?
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2023

Japan tackles shortage of regional assembly candidates

In 375 town and village assembly elections held as part of unified local polls in 2019, 93 saw no competitive races, with the share of uncontested seats hitting a record high of 23.3%.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 7, 2022

Municipal assemblies in Japan face shortage of candidates

Younger generations are seen to be shunning local assemblies because of members' precarity and low remuneration.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2019

As pool of candidates in rural Japan dwindles, Kochi village to allow councilors to retain side jobs

Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 16, 2019

Osaka in the spotlight ahead of G20 and elections

January and early February in Kansai, and Japan as a whole, is a busy time for local leaders. New Year's greetings are exchanged by (mostly) elderly men at stuffy buffet parties in luxury hotels. Their job is to stand around holding a white paper napkin-covered drink and toast to, well, something, after...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2015

Local election to test Ferguson's faith in the ballot box

After months of race-fueled street protests, residents of Ferguson, Missouri, will have a chance next month to press their demands in a different way: at the ballot box.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2009

Foreign residents call for local voting rights

Hundreds of foreign permanent residents, mostly Koreans who came to Japan before or during World War II and their descendants, urged the government Sunday to give them the right to vote in local elections so their voices can be heard.
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2023

Nippon Ishin retains leader after local election victory

Nippon Ishin no Kai forgoes a leadership election after achieving its goal of increasing the number of its local assembly seats to 600 in last month's unified local elections.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2015

PJD, Morocco's ruling Islamist party, wins key urban posts in local election

Morocco's ruling Islamist party won most of the country's key cities during Friday's local elections, further expanding its reach after four years of leading a coalition government that undertook major fiscal reforms.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2011

Kawamura, Omura win in elections

OSAKA — Riding a wave of populist support and local voter discontent with party politics, Nagoya voters returned former Mayor Takashi Kawamura to office Sunday night and elected his ally Hideaki Omura as governor of Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2003

Campaigns kick off for second half of elections

Official campaigns kicked off Sunday nationwide for the second half of the 15th quadrennial local elections, to be held April 27.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Oct 30, 2016

U.S. and Japan elections: scary in their own ways

American political campaigns can be frighteningly tribal while fear of the foreign permeates polls here.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2022

Boris Johnson blamed as Tories lose seats in U.K. council elections

Mixed results overall will provide some solace for Johnson, who came into the vote under pressure following a series of missteps — including the 'partygate” scandal.
COMMENTARY
Mar 16, 2006

How effective is local rule?

LONDON -- An elected representative cannot consult all constituents on every issue of importance and, in theory, at least should vote according to his own conscience. If electors are dissatisfied, they can turn him or her out at the next general election.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2003

Three Lower House by-elections seen as test of Koizumi's political future

Official campaigning began Tuesday for three House of Representatives by-elections seen as a litmus test for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party ahead of an upcoming general election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2022

What does Donald Trump do now?

After his candidates fell flat in the midterm elections, does Donald Trump have a chance to win in 2024?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2025

Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?

Among the world’s largest democracies, Japan has some of the highest minimum age requirements for politicians.
Chika Kon asks a question at a mock assembly session organized by the town assembly of Zao, Miyagi Prefecture, in July. Kon is now a member of the assembly.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2024

Local councils in Japan take measures to counter candidate shortfall

Efforts are being made to encourage participation to avoid undermining essential functions such as administrative oversight.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks during a prefectural assembly session on Thursday in Kobe. A motion of no confidence against Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, was submitted to the prefectural assembly on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

Hyogo assembly passes no-confidence motion against embattled governor

The extremely rare move forces Gov. Motohiko Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, to either step down or dissolve the assembly within 10 days.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight