Tag - political

 
Menu
Search
 
May 19, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

POLITICAL

Koichi Hagiuda (left), the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s former policy chief, has been questioned by Tokyo prosecutors over a political funds scandal.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2023
Prosecutors question former LDP policy chief over funds scandal
Koichi Hagiuda has become the latest veteran lawmaker to be questioned on a voluntary basis over the political funds scandal.
Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrive to search the headquarters of the powerful Abe faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on Dec. 19.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 26, 2023
Has the funding scandal doomed the Abe faction?
With criminal investigations under way, there is impetus for the younger generation of the Abe faction members to break away and form a rebranded group.
A Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office vehicle exits the building housing the office of a political faction once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Dec. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2023
LDP's top faction withdrew decision to abolish kickbacks
A special squad suspects that senior faction officials knew of the apparent mechanism of the kickbacks and attempted to correct the situation.
Unlike his immediate predecessor, new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi has chosen to speak in words of his own for some matters.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2023
Hayashi maneuvers through his new Cabinet position carefully
Hayashi has served in many Cabinet posts in the past, including defense minister, agriculture minister and education minister.
The faction led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai is the second group within the party that has allegedly listed kickbacks given to its members after they sold fundraising tickets, informed sources revealed Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2023
Embattled LDP's Nikai faction also suspected of logging kickbacks
The faction is suspected of not reporting excess fundraiser revenues as income but reporting the kickbacks as expenditures.
Officials of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 24, 2023
Top LDP faction suspected of misusing funds for polls amid scandal
Prosecutors are looking into the matter as possible violations of the political funds control law.
A meeting is held at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday to officially replace two of the party's executives.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2023
In search for top officials, Kishida constrained by funds scandal
The limited number of viable candidates not suspected of misconduct means new appointees look more likely to be stopgap replacements.
Former education minister Kisaburo Tokai, who has been tapped as Liberal Democratic Party policy chief, speaks to reporters Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
Kishida makes more LDP leadership changes in bid to restore trust
The changes come a week after he dismissed four key members of his Cabinet who were also Abe faction members suspected of receiving unreported funds.
A Mainichi poll this week gave Fumio Kishida's Cabinet a nearly 80% disapproval rate, the worst result since the newspaper began surveying in 1947.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2023
No, seriously, this is one Japan scandal that’s important
With no clear rival, and potential challengers likely reluctant to take their shot with support so low, Kishida may yet hang on in the near term.
Police officers stand guard outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Dec. 14. The ruling party is currently trying to contain a funding scandal that threatens the future of the Kishida administration. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023
'Strategic Communication' is a missing link in Japan's crisis management
From gaffes to governance, lessons in "strategic communications" for Japanese politicians.
Senior members of the Abe faction, the largest in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, attend a fundraising event in Tokyo on May 16.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
LDP's Abe faction faces possible collapse under weight of scandal
Its fractured leadership and an expected exodus of members amid an unfolding political funds scandal has put its future in question.
Prosecutors head to the office of the Liberal Democratic Party faction led by former Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
Prosecutors search sites linked to scandal-hit LDP factions
Prosecutors searched the biggest faction, once led by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and another led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai.
Ten or more lawmakers of the LDP's largest faction, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, may have received over ¥10 million each in kickbacks, according to the sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2023
Ten or more Abe faction members may have received over ¥10 million in kickbacks
Among other LDP factions, Shisuikai, led by former party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, is also suspected of failing to report fundraising revenues .
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the Joint Chairpersons' Press Announcement after the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2023
Kishida Cabinet support rate hits fresh low at 22% amid funds scandal
By political party, the support rate of the LDP came to 26.0%, a drop from 34.1% in the previous survey and the lowest level since December 2012.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during the opening session of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting at a hotel in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2023
Kishida's loss of public support may hurt Japan diplomatically
Despite pitching himself as having a major hand in world affairs, the Prime Minister's accomplishments are overshadowed by scandal in his party.
Liberal Democratic Party headquarters is seen in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2023
LDP lawmakers questioned amid fundraising scandal
The scandal has already resulted in the replacement of all four ministers belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction.
Keiichi Ishii
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Komeito demanding 'bold' reforms over LDP scandal
The party is concerned that the public is rapidly losing trust in the government due to the unfolding political funds scandal inside the LDP.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2023
Kishida losing grip on LDP as funds scandal unfolds
As the Cabinet's approval rate continues to fall, officials and are beginning to discuss a scenario in which the prime minister is forced to step down.
Police officers outside Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2023
Accountant of LDP faction played role in funds scandal
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office's special investigation team is considering pressing charges against the accounting manager.
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.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
U.S. envoy to Japan makes landmark visit to front-line island near Taiwan
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with members of the Self-Defense Forces stationed on Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
Japan passes bill to introduce 'blue ticket' fines for cyclists
A new system under which bicycle riders pay fines for minor traffic violations to escape criminal punishment is expected to be introduced in Japan no later than 2026.
Japan survey finds 30% of student interns experience sexual harassment
The proportion of recent graduates in Japan who have worked as interns have experienced sexual harassment during their internship was 30.1%, according to a labor ministry survey, up 4.6 percentage points from the previous survey in fiscal 2020.
New Taiwan president to set tone for ties with China at inauguration
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te arrives at the CyberSec 2024 Exhibition in Taipei on Wednesday.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Massimo Bottura: 'The Japanese let ingredients express themselves'
Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura is increasingly focusing on passing on his knowledge to chefs such as Antonio Iacoviello.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view
Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER