Tag - ldp

 
 

LDP

Sanae Takaichi speaks before a runoff election at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election on Sept. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. She has yet to go public about a potential entry into the race this year.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2025
LDP to pick next party leader through full-scale vote
Campaigning for the presidency will kick off on Sept. 22, with a final vote on Oct. 4.
Kono Taro, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and former digital transformation minister, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2025
BOJ should raise interest rate to strengthen yen, curb inflation, says Taro Kono
The comments come days after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to resign raised questions about the outlook for economic policies.
Candidates for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election stand together on stage before a debate in Tokyo in September 2024. Pictured are future Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Sanae Takaichi, Shinjiro Koizumi and others. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 9, 2025
Ishiba’s resignation triggers a battle for the soul of the LDP
To become the next prime minister, the new LDP leader will also need to secure enough support from one or two of the other larger conservative opposition parties.
Shigeru Ishiba’s brief, tumultuous prime ministership weakened Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, alienated conservatives and left the party scrambling to find a new leader capable of restoring credibility.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 9, 2025
Japan deserves far better leadership than this
While the country is mostly back where it was a year ago, the LDP is in a much weaker position.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (right) and Takayuki Morimura, head of Tomin First no Kai, during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election campaign in Tokyo in June
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 8, 2025
Tokyo Gov. Koike seen keeping three-party alliance involving LDP
Attention is also turning to whether the Tokyo governor will seek cooperation with the Democratic Party for the People, which won its first seats in the metropolitan assembly.
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday became the first to enter the race to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2025
Race to become next LDP president kicks off again
One presidential hopeful has announced his bid following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to step down just a year after taking over as chief of the ruling party.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in Yokohama on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2025
Opposition heads rap political stagnation after Ishiba's decision to resign
One key point following the prime minister's decision to resign is whether any of the opposition parties would be ready to join the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his decision to step down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2025
Ishiba to quit as prime minister amid LDP discontent
The move comes amid growing calls from within the LDP for the prime minister to step aside after a poor showing in July’s Upper House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2025
Farm minister Koizumi is believed to have urged Ishiba to quit
Koizumi has made it clear that he is against the idea of dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election, a possibility Ishiba has hinted at.
The Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo. Recent polls paint a bleak picture for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s chances of avoiding an early leadership contest than previous surveys.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2025
Ruling LDP moving toward calling presidential election, polls show
The latest polls paint a far bleaker picture for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s chances of avoiding an early leadership contest than previous surveys.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba heads toward the Upper House hall in Tokyo on Aug. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
Ishiba reaffirms intent to stay on after tariffs lowered
In a further sign of his intention to stay on, he also announced later in the day that his government will compile an economic package this autumn.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted an urgent proposal on Friday calling for the government to strengthen measures aimed at preventing foreign interference in Japan's elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
LDP calls for blocking foreign interference in elections
"If foreign interference is left unchecked, it could pose a serious and immediate threat to the foundations of democracy," an LDP proposal said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the India-Japan Economic Forum in Tokyo on Friday, Aug. 29
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 4, 2025
Darkest hour for Ishiba amid pressure to quit and executive resignations
An offer by the secretary-general to resign after the party’s poor performance in a recent election has prompted Ishiba's LDP leadership team to call time on the administration.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attend a party executive meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 4, 2025
Seeking Upper House majority, LDP eyes support from independents
The 121-strong ruling coalition needs just three more seats for a majority in the chamber.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama attend the LDP’s plenary meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 8. Once dominant, the ruling party is now struggling to maintain control amid calls for Ishiba to step down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2025
Dragging on the LDP’s political drama does little for Japan
From dominance to doubt, the ruling party struggles to maintain control.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2025
Ishiba meets with BOJ's Ueda to discuss economy and markets
The pair’s first meeting since February suggests Ishiba is trying to show market participants that his government and the BOJ will be coordinating closely.
With his administration still on shaky ground, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has yet to release a message commemorating the end of World War II as he seeks the best timing to do so.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
Ishiba still seeking best timing to express view on war's end
The prime minister's reluctance comes as his administration remains on shaky ground within the Liberal Democratic Party.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2025
LDP secretary-general offers to step down over Upper House election losses
Hiroshi Moriyama says he will entrust his future to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is party president.
Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 21. Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases, but some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2025
Tomoko Yoshino's next move in focus as end of second term as Rengo chief nears
Under Yoshino, the organization, better known as Rengo, has cooperated with the government to achieve wage increases. But some have raised concerns about those same close ties.
Voters look at posters of candidates for an Upper House election outside a polling station in Tokyo on July 20. The young abandoned the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for other conservative and newer parties in the recent poll. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2025
What is a ‘Japanese conservative’ in this day and age?
My view is that younger voters saw the LDP as a group of elderly, self-absorbed elitists who were out of touch with the issues that mattered to them.

Longform

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