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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2021

What Kishida's Cabinet picks tell us

It is important to look at not only who gets tapped, but which LDP factions they represent.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 21, 2020

Meet Japan's new top government spokesman, same as the last one

Some believe what appealed most to Yoshihide Suga about Katsunobu Kato, the new chief Cabinet secretary, is how much he resembles the new prime minister.
The most common reason for disapproving of the Ishiba Cabinet was that it is not promising, given by 28.9%, followed by distrust of the prime minister at 21.3% and a lack of leadership at 19.8%.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval sinks to 23.1% in new poll

The figure was down 4.8 percentage points from the previous month.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a budget committee session of the House of Councilors on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Ishiba eyes dissolving Lower House in wake of possible no-confidence motion

The prime minister is apparently sending a warning to the main opposition at a time when battles between the ruling and opposition camps are intensifying.
The government is considering a program that would allow local governments to lease food trucks used following disasters to business operators during normal times and receive maintenance fees in return.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025

Cabinet Office may lease government-owned disaster food trucks to businesses

The plan aims to offer local governments assistance from the private sector in preparing for natural disasters as the authorities confront severe financial conditions.
A gender-equality supporter protests against discrimination at an event held in Tokyo for International Women's Day in March 2021
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s gender gap has never been wider. Can Kishida close it?

The government emphasizes the need to improve gender equality, but correcting Japan's dismal record requires a nuanced approach.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Defense chief retracts comments implying LDP vote would be good for SDF

Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces Law explicitly forbids SDF personnel from engaging in political activity, with the exception of voting.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

Parliamentary Vice Minister Taro Yamada steps down over affair

The first Cabinet resignation since a mid-September reshuffle deals a blow to Kishida at a time when public support rates have plummeted.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 10, 2023

Cabinet approves ¥13.1 trillion extra budget to finance fresh stimulus

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appears to be eager to regain popularity with the relief package, but voters aren't convinced.
Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take part in a news conference in September 2021 in the lead-up to the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2023

Takaichi makes another play to become the next PM

With the creation of a new study group, Cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi aims to build support for her bid for the top political job.
Then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Graceland, a mansion once owned by Elvis Presley, in Memphis, Tennessee, in June 2006. Koizumi was dubbed the "jujitsu prime minister” for his style of politics.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2023

Japan needs a 'jujitsu PM' to grapple with this scandal

Kishida fights for survival as the political funding scandal deepens. His predecessor, "jujitsu PM” Junichiro Koizumi, could teach him a thing or two.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 15, 2023

Kishida's approval rate falls into dangerous territory amid scandal

The rate is the worst figure for a prime minister from the Liberal Democratic Party in more than a decade.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

Kamikawa's star rising as potential candidate to replace Kishida

Since Kamikawa took office in September, her reputation has been gradually bolstered by her energetic diplomatic trips.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2024

Kamala Harris presses Israel war Cabinet's Benny Gantz on Gaza aid and Rafah

The U.S. vice president urged Israel to craft a "credible" humanitarian plan before conducting major military activities in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.
The changes to the law would emphasize the party’s leadership over the State Council — China's Cabinet — and encourage it to follow certain ideologies including Xi Jinping Thought.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

China cements ruling party’s grip on Cabinet with law change

The move reverses the separation of party and state as encouraged by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s as the country's reform and opening began.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 8.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Israel's Netanyahu disbands war cabinet as tensions rise over Lebanon

There have been weeks of increasing exchanges of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte in Manila on Jan. 28, 2024. Duterte resigned from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday, the presidential palace said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Philippine vice president exits Marcos Cabinet as alliance collapses

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte resigning from two key posts might give her more power to go against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
A man stands near a damaged gate around a football pitch after a reported strike from Lebanon fell in the Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2024

Israel Cabinet says government can respond to deadly rocket strike

Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears at a joint news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Cabinet shake-up suggests Zelenskyy is planning for ‘new phase of the war,’ analysts say

Observers say the reshuffle, which comes at a dynamic moment in the war, had been in the works for months.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2024

Trump's son helping him pick most controversial Cabinet of modern times

Donald Trump Jr. is helping contenders sink or rise to the fore, according to a half dozen sources with knowledge of his role.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a Cabinet swearing-in ceremony on Friday in Ottawa
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2024

Trudeau does major Cabinet reshuffle amid party pressure and Trump taunts

The reshuffle came at the end of a chaotic week in Ottawa spurred by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Japan’s primary balance is once again set to miss its long-standing target of achieving a balanced budget by the year ending March 2026.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2025

Japan now expects to miss its 2025 primary balance goal

The primary balance, which excludes interest payments on public debt, is projected to remain in the red with a deficit of around ¥4.5 trillion.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (center) attends a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Japan's Cabinet approves legislation on 'active' cybersecurity

The new measures aim to enable the government to infiltrate the sources of cyberattacks in order to neutralize them.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters about Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations at his official residence on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2025

Tariff talks with U.S. seen influencing Japan's Upper House election

The outcome of the ongoing bilateral negotiations will have a major impact on this summer's election in the Upper House.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference with Cabinet members after a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

Carney unveils new Cabinet, aiming to redefine U.S.-Canada relationship

The new prime minister says Canada must shift the economy's focus away from the United States, end barriers to internal trade and cut public spending.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet saw its approval rate rewriting the lowest level in May since he took office last October last year.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval falls to 20.9% in new poll

The Cabinet's disapproval rating rose 1.7 points to 52.9%.
The public approval rate for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet in June was up 6.1 percentage points from the previous month, likely reflecting measures that were taken to combat soaring rice prices under new agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval rate improves to 27%, poll shows

The increase likely reflects measures that were taken to combat soaring rice prices under new agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
Among Cabinet members, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato was the top earner, at ¥225.93 million.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2025

Lawmakers' average income flat at ¥25.13 million

Four lawmakers earned over ¥100 million, and all of them were LDP members.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press briefing following phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 19.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 17, 2025

Zelenskyy aims to woo public and Trump with fresh-faced Ukraine cabinet

Zelenskyy's choice of a young economist well-known in Washington reflects the importance of repairing relations with Trump after a disastrous White House visit in February.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
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