Tag - shigeru-ishiba

 
 

SHIGERU ISHIBA

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva starts a four-day state visit to Japan on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2025
Brazil's Lula to build trade ties with Japan during state visit
The Brazilian president and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are expected to restate their commitment to free trade following the emergence of U.S. levies on steel and other imports.
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election in the summer.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2025
Ishiba’s approval ratings continue to fall amid gift voucher backlash
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center left) at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2025
Japan protests China’s description of Ishiba and Wang meeting
Japan’s protests come amid increased tension in the region as countries brace for the impact of additional U.S. tariffs.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2025
Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the CDP, and Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the DPP, have called on Ishiba to give explanations before a parliamentary ethics panel.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave gift vouchers to lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party while he was in office, according to party sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
Kishida among several ex-PMs who gave gift vouchers to LDP lawmakers
The revelation emerges as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba comes under fire for distributing gift certificates worth ¥100,000 ($674) each to rookie LDP lawmakers.
Some critics of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba call him weak and indecisive, saying his leadership has led to policy blunders that may make his grip on power increasingly untenable.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2025
Prime Minister Ishiba’s struggles put his leadership in jeopardy
With the world as turbulent as it is, the country cannot continue with such a weak and indecisive leader.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
The lastest scandal comes amid broader concerns over the LDP's misuse of political funds, further damaging Prime Minister Ishiba’s reputation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba instructs his government to develop a system to operate what are known as hospital ships by January 2026 at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2025
Japan to begin hospital ship operations by next January
The program calls for using existing private-sector ships to transport patients from disaster-affected areas and provide medical care.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025
Why ousting Ishiba could be a tricky task
Passing a no-confidence motion could result in the dissolution of the Lower House within 10 days, triggering another election the opposition might lose.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025
Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunge amid gift voucher snafu
Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under fire for giving gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to lawmakers newly elected to the House of Representatives last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2025
Past prime ministers customarily gave gift certificates, lawmaker says
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under fire for giving gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to lawmakers newly elected to the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
Opposition set to step up offensive against Ishiba
Ishiba, already hurt by low public support, has found himself in a bind ahead of this summer's Upper House election as the scandal shakes his image as a "clean politician."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2025
Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers
Recent fumbles have given Ishiba's opponents within the LDP a golden opportunity to attack him.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the prime minister's official residence on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2025
Opposition blasts Ishiba over gift certificates given to LDP lawmakers
Ishiba gave gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to over 10 new lawmakers, sources have said. The prime minister apologized but said the move was not illegal.
Prime Minsiter Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2025
Ishiba Cabinet disapproval rises to 44%
It was the highest level since the launch of Ishiba's administration in October last year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
An unprecedented second amendment to Japan's budget shows opposition in the Lower House is not the only external pressure to which the government is exposed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2025
Ishiba mulls visit to Iwo Jima, site of fierce WWII battle
He plans to attend a joint Japan-U.S. memorial service on March 29, which would make him the first Japanese prime minister since April 2013 to set foot on the remote island.
Upper House Budget Committee chief Yosuke Tsuruho (right) and his Lower House counterpart, Jun Azumi, meet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2025
Medical cap fumble paves way for unprecedented second revision of fiscal budget
While there have been cases of bills returning to the Lower House after amendments in the Upper House, it has never happened with the budget.
Donald Trump’s skepticism of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty should push Japan to rethink its defense posture, increase military spending, expand arms exports and even consider the nuclear question instead of relying on outdated postwar norms.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2025
Use the bogeyman to confront Japan’s defense taboos
Donald Trump’s criticism of the U.S. security treaty with Japan is the perfect cover that Tokyo needs to confront outdated attitudes about defense.

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