Tag - ldp

 
 

LDP

Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during the LDP's 91st party convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
What is being missed about the funding scandal
In discussions about the LDP funding scandal, certain considerations are missing. Beyond lambasting the party, these must be addressed for a clear vision.
Tokyo will forge ahead with a next-generation fighter aircraft it is jointly developing with Rome and London following an agreement last week between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, to revise Japan’s strict defense export guidelines.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 18, 2024
Japan’s eased defense export rules open door to more changes
The speed at which the Kishida administration has been pushing through defense reforms has stunned many even as the regional security environment worsens.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hakubun Shimomura attends a Lower House ethics committee meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2024
Shimomura testimony fails to shed light on LDP funds scandal
Former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura had hinted that he would finally provide some answers to key questions.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2024
LDP amends party rules to toughen penalties for political fund violations
The LDP also pledged to move away from factions as vehicles for securing funds and allocating major government and party posts.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of executives of LDP regional chapters in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2024
Kishida vows to revive LDP after funds scandal
The LDP will boost efforts toward a revival, Kishida said at a meeting of executives of the party's regional chapters.
There are growing calls within the LDP to query former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (left) over his possible involvement in the scandal. While Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that the party would discuss hearing directly from those involved, he did not offer specific examples of who he had in mind.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2024
Shimomura to testify amid growing calls to query Mori over funds scandal
The former LDP policy chief's testimony before an ethics committee could pressure the ex-PM to disclose what he knows about the kickback scheme.
Relations between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso (right) have been strained since January, when the prime minister announced that he was dissolving his own faction, which took both of them by surprise.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 15, 2024
How can Kishida punish lawmakers involved in the slush funds scandal?
Next month's by-elections and party polls later this year put the prime minister in a tough spot.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in March 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan's ruling coalition approves export of future joint fighter jet
The step removes a potentially critical hurdle for the multinational Global Combat Aircraft Program involving the U.K. and Italy.
Hiroshige Seko, a former Upper House secretary-general of the LDP, told the Upper House ethics committee in Tokyo on Thursday that he was never directly involved in the handling of the Abe faction’s funds.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024
Upper House Abe faction members deny involvement in slush fund scandal
Opposition lawmakers targeted the lack of clarity over the decision to continue a kickback scheme after Abe’s death in 2022.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends an Upper House committee session at parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024
Public support for Kishida's Cabinet remains low at 18% to 20%, polls show
Faltering support for the Cabinet is mainly attributed to a political funds scandal that has rocked factions within the ruling party Kishida heads.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mito Kakizawa was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison, suspended for five years, for an illegal campaign finance offense related to a Tokyo ward election in April last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ex-senior vice justice minister Mito Kakizawa found guilty of vote buying
"His criminal acts were malicious crimes and shook the people's confidence in the fairness of elections, which is the basis of democracy," the judge said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also LDP president, told an Upper House budget committee meeting that the government would put in place rigorous hurdles that must be cleared before the fighter jet’s export is approved.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2024
Kishida agrees on need for strict rules to export of fighter jet
Concessions by the LDP president could pave the way for a deal with junior coalition partner Komeito on a revision to Japan's defense export guidelines.
Former Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto has announced her intention to appear before an Upper House political ethics committee scheduled to convene on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2024
Three members of Abe faction to attend Upper House ethics hearing
But other lawmakers embroiled in the LDP slush fund scandal have largely indicated that they don't intend to testify.
LDP Youth Division leaders Takashi Fujiwara (left) and Yasutaka Nakasone submitted their resignations to the party headquarters last Friday over an event hosted by the party's Wakayama chapter last November that featured female dancers in revealing outfits.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2024
After slush funds, LDP now faces fresh scandals
An event that featured dancers in revealing outfits and an affair with a Canadian saxophone player have resulted in three resignations in the past week.
The approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet has hit a fresh low of 20.1%, according to a new survey.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2024
Kishida Cabinet support rate hits fresh low at 20% over funds scandal
The poll also showed 91.4% believe LDP lawmakers involved in the funds scandal have not been held accountable.
Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of Komeito, has suggested that a snap election for the Lower House is possible this autumn.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2024
Japan Lower House breakup possible in autumn, Komeito exec says
Komeito's secretary-general said public support could be high for the LDP president chosen in the party's leadership election to be held in September.
Hokuriku Electric Power's Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture. After the Noto Peninsula earthquake, data from at least 18 monitoring posts to measure radiation levels around the Shika plant became unavailable.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2024
Nuclear power policy to be major focus in parliament after Ishikawa quake
The New Year's Day earthquake occurred near Hokuriku Electric Power's Shika nuclear power station, raising concerns over another nuclear disaster.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a ruling Liberal Democratic Party meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2024
LDP to revise rules to ban traditional factions
The draft revisions include tougher penalties for political funds control law violations.
LDP secretary-general Toshimitsu Motegi has asserted that he handled his funds "appropriately" in compliance with the political funds control law.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2024
Motegi-linked organization transferred funds to group with lighter disclosure rules
A group associated with the LDP heavyweight transferred a large sum over several years, making it impossible to trace how the money was used.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives for a meeting of a parliamentary ethics committee at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Feb. 29.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 7, 2024
Kishida's three challenges: Discipline, by-elections and Motegi
How the prime minister handles these matters could impact his political future as well as that of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world