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Convocation of the Diet Is Fixed

The Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proposed convocation of a special session of the Diet on November 10 th , in which the coalition of the LDP and Komeito will not have a simple majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since 2012. The opposition parties accepted the proposal without any approval on the date of the election for nominating the prime minister or how long the session should be. The LDP faces an inconvenient reality that it has lost its strong grip in the Diet.   According to the Constitution of Japan, a special session of the Diet, different from ordinary session or extraordinary session, needs to be held within thirty days after a general election of the House of Representatives. Main issue of a special session would ordinarily be having an election to nominate the prime minister, because any cabinet has to be dissolved at the beginning of a special session.   Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, proposed the convoc
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Ishiba’s Opportunity for Diplomacy with Major Powers

Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba,   revealed   his hope to have a summit meeting with President of China, Xi Jinping, taking opportunity of the leaders meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Peru later this month. It will be the first opportunity for Ishiba to participate in a major diplomatic event after he sworn in as the prime minister in October. In the meeting with Xi, Ishiba hopes to find a solution on bilateral issues such as China’s import ban on foods from Japan. Ishiba revealed that the government of Japan was coordinating a summit meeting with Xi or the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in the backdrop of APEC Summit, if he would be reelected as the prime minister in the Diet session scheduled to be convoked on November 11 th .   Although the leading coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito does not have simple majority in the House of Representatives, it is likely that Ishiba will win the election for nominating the prime minister at leas
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Civil Code Denying Same-sex Marriage Found Unconstitutional

Tokyo High Court   found   that current provision of the Civil Code, which denies same-sex marriage, would violate the Constitution of Japan on October 30 th . The court recognized the provision as discriminative treatment of sexual preference, which would breach Article 14 of the constitution for equality under the law and Paragraph 2 of Article 24 for legislation on marriage and family based on dignity of individuals. It marked the second decision for high courts in Japan to issue a sentence which determines the provision for marriage in the Civil Code as unconstitutional.   Seven people filed a lawsuit, demanding compensation of 7 million yen to the government of Japan for not treating same-sex marriage as legal marriage. Tokyo District Court decided dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, arguing that legislation for marriage is a matter of discretion of the Diet, while it recognized the current situation is against Paragraph 2 of Article 24. The plaintiffs appealed to the high court.   The
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Recommendation to Japan for Gender Equality

A panel of the United Nations on the right of women recommended the government of Japan to revise Imperial House Law to comply with a treaty for gender equality. The panel also questioned Japan’s situation that women effectively have to change their surname to husband’s, as well as legal requirement of spousal consent to abortion. The government of Japan firmly opposed to the conclusion of the committee, arguing legal sovereignty on succession to the throne.   The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), one of the human rights treaty bodies of the United Nations, released “ concluding observations on the ninth periodic report on Japan ” on October 30 th . This is the sixth recommendation to Japan, following the previous one in 2016.   The committee considers that Japan’s Imperial House Law is incompatible with the requirement of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979. “Allowing only male offspring in the male
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Hardship of Parties Lost in Election

The top leader of Komeito, the coalition partner of leading Liberal Democratic Party, is going to be replaced, given a serious defeat in the general election of the House of Representatives on October 27 th . Chief Representative, Keiichi Ishii,   announced   on October 31 st   that he would resign, taking responsibility of reducing seats in the election. The leader of Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai), Nobuyuki Baba, indicated that he might not run in next presidential election of the party, receiving criticisms from party members on poor outcome of the election. The parties that reduced their seats in the general election, except the LDP and Japan Communist Party, are in trouble in post-election politics.   Komeito reduced its seats from 32 before the election to 24. The party won only 4 in single-seat constituencies out of 11 districts where the party fielded candidates. Ishii was defeated by a candidate of Democratic Party for the People in Saitama 14 th  district, resul
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Partial Union over Policies

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) agreed on mutually promoting discussion over policies to implement budget and other bills in the Diet. Losing majority in the House of Representatives as the result of general election held on October 27 th , the LDP decided to maintain its administration with “partial” cooperation between current leading coalition with Komeito and the DPP.   Suffering from bitter defeat in the general election, the LDP significantly reduced its seats in the House. The leading coalition, fallen short of simple majority wanting 18 more seats, found the DPP with 28 seats to be a partner for securing majority not only to pass every bill including annual budget, but also to win the election for nominating the prime minister.   DPP has announced that they would vote for its leader, Yuichiro Tamaki, in the election, rather than joining framework of opposition parties to elect the leader of Constitutional Democratica Party, Yoshi
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Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant Resumes

Tohoku Electric Power Company restarted operation of the reactor #2 of Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant on October 29 th . The plant suspended its operation after Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) in 2011, which caused severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. While the power company built a great wall to protect the plant from tsunami, it still has concern about possibility of another great earthquake and evacuation of people around the site in emergency. Resumption of a reactor in Onagawa plant marked thirteenth example of reactors in Japan after GEJE. One significance is that Onagawa is the first one in east Japan among those thirteen restarted reactors, inviting expectation for further stable power supply in the region. Another point is that the reactor #2 in Onagawa is the first boiled water reactor, which is the same type of reactor as in Fukushima Daiichi, to resume its operation.   The power company restarted the reactor by pulling control rod in the morning of Octo
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DPP Looms Up as a Key Actor

The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) appeared to play a key role in post-election politics in Japan. Receiving the result of general election of the House of Representatives, in which the leading coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito lost its majority, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba decided to discuss details about economic policies with DPP. Not willing to join the leading coalition, DPP would like to discuss their agenda with the LDP.   Some LDP leaders revealed reporters that they were willing to include DPP’s economic policies, which they had upheld as campaign platform, in the comprehensive economic policy package in mid-November. The LDP hopes the DPP to vote for supplemental budget, which will include the package, and hopefully for Ishiba in the election for nominating next prime minister.   The DPP increased its seats in the House in the general election, raising from 7 to 28. If LDP-Komeito coalition could add at least 18 seats of DPP to their bloc, they ca
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Unprecedented Hung Parliament

As a result of general election of the House of Representatives, the Liberal Democratic Party faces unprecedented situation of instability. While there are some examples of hung parliaments in the past, the LDP came through by including independent lawmakers or building a coalition. Now, the LDP lost its majority, and still is the biggest in the House. The party does not have any hope to secure majority. After establishment in 1955, the LDP has been keeping its majority in the House for two decades. When it lost its majority in 1976, 1979 and 1983, the LDP could maintain its administration by inviting some independent lawmakers to the party or by forming a coalition with small party. After building a coalition with Komeito in 1999, the LDP has been handling administration, except the period of leadership by Democratic Party of Japan.   The LDP-Komeito coalition now has 215 seats. It needs 18 more seats to reach a majority, which is 233. Among 12 independents, the LDP can expect help of
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LDP-Komeito Coalition Lost Its Majority

Leading coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito lost its majority in general election of the House of Representatives voted on October 27. The coalition needs to add some lawmakers to the framework of cooperation over policies. However, the opposition parties are too fragmented to build a new coalition against the LDP and Komeito. Choice for new administration is open. The House has 465 seats, and the majority needs 233. Compared to the situation before the election, the LDP lost its 56 seats, from 247 to 191. Komeito lost 6 seats, from 32 to 24. The total seats of those two parties are 215, 18 seats short of majority.   The Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) gained 148 seats, adding 50 to the seats before the election. Democratic Party for the People (DPP) quadrupled its seats to 28, as Reiwa Shinsengumi tripled to 9. Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) reduced 6 seats, from 44 to 38. Japan Communist Party (JCP) reduced 2 seats, from 10 to 8.   The bigg
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Appeals of Party Leaders in the Last Ditch

The 50 th   general election was voted at about 45 thousands of polling stations all over Japan on October 27 th . The turnout of voters for early voting were about 16 million, less than last general election in 2021. The biggest point of this election is whether the leading coalition by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito can maintain their majority in the House. The leaders of parties fought to the last ditch, appealing their issues to the voters.   The LDP had to deal with its own slush fund scandal, made by some factions in the party, through the campaign. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, LDP president, reiterated his apology to the voters in his speech on the last day of election campaign on October 26 th . “The LDP will make a restart as a party of fairness, justice, modesty and honesty,” said Ishiba in his last speech in Koto city, Tokyo.   While it was supposed that LDP-Komeito coalition would keep their majority in the House at the beginning of the campaign, the polls of ne
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Sexual Assault by Chief Public Prosecutor

Former top leader of a regional public prosecutors office was indicted with a charge of semi-forcible sexual intercourse on his subordinate female prosecutor. He   pleaded guilty   in his first hearing at the trial in Osaka District Court on October 25 th . He revealed that he told the woman not to tell about his sexual assault on her, indicating damage on their organization, and tried to tame her by offering treats of dinners until statute of limitations would be invoked. According to the indictment, a lawyer with Osaka Bar Association, former Chief of Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, Kentaro Kitagawa, raped a woman subordinate to him in his room of official residence for the office members after a drink party for his promotion to the chief in the evening of September 12, 2018. She was intoxicated with alcohol and he ignored her plea to stop assaulting when she regained consciousness.   In the first hearing of the trial, Kitagawa admitted his assault on her, saying “I apologi
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Another False Investigation Appears

Kanazawa Branch of Nagoya High Court   decided   on October 23 rd   to grant retrial to a man who had been convicted of seven years in prison and served for it in a case of murder of a mid-school student girl in 1986. The court realized possibility that investigation authority had led the witnesses to false testimony for supporting the story about the case. It may make another example of fabricating crimes in the process of law enforcement.   The girl was brutally subbed to death at her house in Fukui city in March 1986. The police arrested Shoji Maekawa through their investigation on the frequent inhalers of paint thinner in March 1987. Maekawa has been denying his commitment to the murder from the beginning of the investigation of police and public prosecutors.   While Fukui District Court sentenced innocent to Maekawa with lacking hard evidence of the murder by him in 1990, Kanazawa Branch of Nagoya High Court found guilty ordering seven years in prison in 1995, and the Supreme Cour
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Secret Fund for Excluded Candidates

Shimbun Akahata, a daily newspaper of Japan Communist Party,   reported   that the Liberal Democratic Party had provided with political fund to some branches in electoral districts, which were represented by candidates who were excluded from LDP slate as penalty for being involved in the slush fund scandal. The candidates can spend the fund for their campaign, in spite of the fact that they do not have official endorsement from the LDP. While pretending to impose heavy penalty on the members in scandal, the LDP has been financially supporting them in backstage. The LDP has its local branch in each single-seat constituency all over Japan, which head is regularly the candidates in election of the House of Representatives. This branch is different from that in each prefecture. Under the leadership of new president, and Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, the party decided not to issue its official endorsement to twelve members just before the beginning of campaign. It was a demonstration for
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New Type of Robberies around Tokyo

Violent robberies in private houses have recently been occurring around Kanto area. The police arrested suspects of the cases, and it is common for those crimes that the suspects are part-time employees of hidden crime organizations. They were hired without detailed information about their “jobs” and commited the crime threatened by their bosses. The police promote investigation what kind of organization is in the background of consecutive robberies. A 75-year-old man was found dead in a house in Yokohama city, Kanagawa, on October 16 th . He was supposed to have been hit and his mouth was taped. The robbers stole 200 thousand yen of cash in the house. The police suppose that the man was killed by robbers.   The police  arrested  22-year-old man, who was living in Inzai city, Chiba. He revealed that the robbery was made by three people including him. Having missed paying several hundreds of thousand yen of tax money, the man was looking for a part-time job, and found one that would pay
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Leading Coalition Possibly Loses Majority

Entering the last week of campaign for general election of the House of Representatives, estimation for the Liberal Democratic Party to achieve a victory is shrinking as voters show low expectation on measures to regulate political funds, or on economic policy of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. It became unpredictable whether the leading coalition of LDP and Komeito can maintain their administration with majority in the House.   Asahi Shimbun   reported  on October 21 st  that it would be unclear whether the coalition can reach 233 seats of the simple majority in the election. It predicted that the LDP would reduce its seats by 50 seats from 247 at the time of proclamation of the election on October 15 th , unable to maintain its stand-alone majority. It will be the first time, if any, for LDP to lose stand-alone majority since 2009, when the party gave its administration over to the Democratic Party of Japan.   The Constitutional Democratic Party is predicted to significantly increase
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