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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 24, 2023

Why a snap election might be looming for Japan

Kishida has denied that he is considering a snap election; but then again, so does every Japanese prime minister when asked about the timing for such a vote.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2021

The state of play for the LDP's factions after October's Lower House election

The big winner appeared to be the party's largest faction, now headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while the one led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also strengthened its presence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 9, 2021

Kishida's top diplomat pick highlights growing confidence

Kishida picking Yoshimasa Hayashi to be the foreign minister was a great choice for him. Had Hayashi and others not pushed Kishida, he may not have sought the country's top leadership job.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Oct 1, 2021

How Kishida can avoid becoming another revolving-door prime minister

The new LDP president will focus on expanding his power, implementing policies that benefit the electorate and ensuring success in the upcoming elections before widening his policy window.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 3, 2021

Can Suga lead beyond September or is he destined to be a short-term PM?

Entering a high-stakes election year, the prime minister will be faced with a series of uphill battles over the global health crisis, his policies — and his own political fate.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 15, 2020

For Japan's new Constitutional Democratic Party, the hard work starts now

As the largest opposition party formally kicks off it faces no shortage of challenges, including corralling established figures not accustomed to being on the same side.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2020

All you need to know about how Abe’s successor will be chosen

The choice is neither up to the Japanese people, nor is it something to be decided in the Diet. Instead, the decision rests solely within the LDP.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2020

Resetting the political calendar after COVID-19

Politics are still politics even in the COVID-19 pandemic, and they will still go on, albeit with a new calendar in Japan.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020

A Tokyo prosecutor's delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism

Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2020

With Javid's departure, Johnson has seized control

Sajid Javid's replacement, Rishi Sunak, is less likely to stand up to No. 10 and Dominic Cummings. U.K. spending may become more lavish as a result.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 16, 2019

Are press activities being undermined in Japan?

The Foreign Ministry ordered freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka to surrender his passport after he tried to leave Japan on Feb. 2 for Yemen, which is in the midst of a civil war. The ostensible reason for the order is that Tsuneoka in January attempted to travel to Yemen through Oman, which refused...
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2017

Too much power for the prime minister?

If there is room for abuse, discussions are needed on whether the prime minister's power to dissolve the Lower House should be restricted.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2016

Polls show Abe is riding out storm of bad news

The opposition camp is failing to gain any traction with the public by lashing out at Abenomics or the scandals that have beset the Abe administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2015

Opposition bloc slams scandal-hit government for shying away from extra Diet session

The opposition camp asks the Lower House speaker for an extraordinary Diet session to hear information about TPP and the policies of new Cabinet members.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2013

Mr. Abe's constitutional runaround

Shinzo Abe's choice for Cabinet Legislation Bureau chief gives away his intention to seek a constitutional justification for Japan's right to 'collective self-defense.'
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 1, 2012

Vows DPJ made to get in sounded too good to be true

Goshi Hosono, the handsome policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is one of the few politicians who has retained his popularity despite predictions the party is headed for a crushing defeat in the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 19, 2012

Mishmash jumble of systems is recipe for a do-little Diet

Given the momentous fiscal and social problems Japan was facing even before Fukushima, even foreign residents — who can't vote — may be wondering what on Earth Japan's elected officials are doing to solve the nation's many ills.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2011

Noda taps Edano for trade minister

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday appointed former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano to replace trade minister Yoshio Hachiro, who stepped down after only eight days in the post over his controversial remarks on the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2011

Fiscal, economic rookies concern analysts

Financial experts on Friday were quick to voice their concern over the appointment of Jun Azumi as finance minister, saying the rookie Cabinet member will allow Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to push his own fiscal policies and may lack the authority to command the ministry's bureaucrats.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 15, 2011

New team seen prioritizing TPP entry, sales tax hike

While Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet reshuffle was not radical, it sent out clear messages on some of the major economic and fiscal issues the new administration faces, including the promotion of a trans-Pacific free-trade pact and a hike in the consumption tax, economists said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2010

Kan front-runner to replace Hatoyama

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan is expected to win the Democratic Party of Japan presidency, get voted in by the Diet as prime minister, then form a new Cabinet — all on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 16, 2009

Government's gatekeeper

A month in office, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama appears to face difficulty in effecting his key slogan of reducing, if not eliminating, the government's heavy reliance on the bureaucracy, due mainly to confusion as to who will take the lead andwith how much power.
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2009

Shape of DPJ rule emerging

Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama, the prime minister-in-waiting, has moved to fill key party posts and the next Cabinet with political heavyweights. He wants his party as a unit, rather than individual politicians, to play the leading role in developing policy, thus taking the initiative...
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2009

No way out left for Aso, experts say

The resignation of Finance Minister Shoichiro Nakagawa following his disgraceful display in Rome has further weakened Prime Minister Taro Aso and could prove to be the straw that breaks the Cabinet's back, political observers said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 23, 2008

DPJ has a foot in the door

As the odds grow that the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan will take the reigns of government after the next general elections, the focus in the Japanese political arena is shifting to the lineup of a Cabinet headed by DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, and to who would succeed him if he retired early...

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