Tag - komeito

 
 

KOMEITO

Upper House votes being counted on Sunday. The Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the upper chamber of parliament, but could still be effective in thwarting the opposition.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2025
Consumption tax cut not a given even after Upper House election
Political and economic realities suggest that opposition policies will not skate through.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as  president of the Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a campaign speech in Yokohama on July 6.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 19, 2025
Japan's minority government faces election snub as economic storm brews
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's LDP and its partner Komeito are forecast to lose their majority in a repeat of last year's Lower House election.
A Sanseito campaign van in Shinjuku. The populist party is gaining ground and challenging the more centrist parties.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2025
Japanese markets brace for triple whammy if opposition wins big
Bonds, stocks and the yen could be destabilized if spendthrift parties gain influence.
Once seen as an unlikely prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba has struggled to deliver on promises, mishandled ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and now faces an election where the odds don’t look good for his party to come out victorious.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2025
A trade deal fumble could be Ishiba’s last mistake
Ishiba already leads a coalition that lacks a majority in the Lower House, and another bad showing Sunday will likely mean Japan is looking for its third leader in as many years.
The Tokyo district has the highest number of candidates in the 2025 Upper House election with 32 people in the running for seven seats.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2025
In Upper House race, younger voters in Tokyo turn to DPP for new direction
Many younger voters, especially in the capital, are drawn to the party's idea that the working generation must be supported for the sake of everyone.
Campaign posters in Tokyo. Voters in Japan put immediate economic issues ahead of longer-term concerns about the effects of tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 17, 2025
Trump tariffs fail to register with Japanese voters ahead of key election
Only 8% of voters surveyed by NHK rated tariffs as their top priority.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025
Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices
“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a campaign speech in Yokohama on July 6.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2025
Ishiba faces bad poll numbers with Upper House vote only days away
Losing a majority in the Upper House would pile pressure on Ishiba to resign and kickstart efforts by the ruling coalition to find an opposition party to join it.
People listen as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (not pictured) speaks on Sunday in Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2025
Ruling parties could lose majority in Upper House election, poll suggests
A Mainichi Shimbun poll shows the ruling coalition might end up falling short of the 50 seats they need to maintain their majority in the Upper House of parliament.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (left) and Japanese Communist Party leader Tomoko Tamura and their parties are stepping up efforts to reach out beyond their traditional organizational base.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2025
Komeito and JCP struggle with aging support base as Upper House poll approaches
Both parties are stepping up efforts to reach out beyond their traditional support base by turning to social media.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi waves to the audience at his stump speech on Wednesday in the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2025
Prominent political speakers step up for candidates ahead of July 20 election
Party heavyweights are drawing crowds and grabbing headlines with an intensity that sometimes sparked criticism from within their own parties.
Nippon Ishin no Kai chief and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura smiles at voters in Osaka's Chuo Ward on July 3 as campaigning for the House of Councilors election officially begins.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka
One senior Nippon Ishin no Kai official said the party leader's goal of six seats in the July 20 election can't happen without two seats from Osaka.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2025
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
In their campaign promises, parties are offering different solutions to problems caused by the record number here to visit, work and invest in real estate.
A house in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, after it collapsed due to the Noto earthquake, in January 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 5, 2025
Debates on disaster management lacking steam ahead of Upper House vote
References to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's project to establish a disaster management agency are scarce among political parties.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives a speech in Naha on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Japanese parties' election campaigning swings into gear
In speeches on the second day of the official campaign period for the Upper House election, party leaders focused on issues such as inflation and rice shortages.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes part in a debate with leaders of seven other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 4, 2025
Sizing up the forthcoming Upper House election
Given all that is taking place, this is shaping up to be one of the most unusual Upper House elections in decades.
Supporters of candidates put up campaign posters on a bulletin board in Tokyo on Thursday, as the official campaigning for the July 20 Upper House election begins. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 4, 2025
The dilemma facing Japan’s rising (and falling) populist parties
A working relationship with ruling parties is key to achieving their policy goals, but at the risk of losing their populist brand and voters.
Opposition parties are proposing a consumption tax cut as inflation, especially food inflation, remains high.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 2, 2025
Consumption tax cut enters political conversation ahead of Upper House election
The Liberal Democratic Party opposes a reduction in the tax, but opposition parties are in favor of a cut.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a conference in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 30, 2025
Party leaders skeptical of three-party ruling coalition after Upper House vote
If the ruling coalition wins fewer than 50 seats, it will either need to work with at least one opposition party for each piece of legislation or invite one to join.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a news conference in Tokyo last Monday. Ishiba said that he will do his utmost to ensure the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito secures an overall majority in the upper house of parliament when voters head to the polls in July.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025
Ishiba cautious about expanding ruling coalition
At a conference hosted by a private policy proposal group, Ishiba also expressed support for the idea of establishing a nonpartisan consultative body on social security reform.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan