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Campaign of General Election Starts

The 50 th   general election of the House of Representatives was proclaimed on October 15 th . 1,344 candidates were   fielded in single-seat constituencies or proportional representatives. This election was called by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who sought voters’ judge for his new administration built earlier this month. His party, the Liberal Democratic Party, has been in a turmoil caused by the slush fund scandal since last year. The focal point in this election is whether the leading coalition of LDP and Komeito can maintain their simple majority in the House. The LDP fielded 342 candidates; 266 for single-seat constituencies and 76 for proportional representatives. The number of proportional representatives does not include the candidates with double nomination, who will be resurrected in case they lose in single-seat constituency. Komeito fielded 50, with 11 for single-seat and 39 for the proportional.   Before the proclamation, the LDP had 256 seats in the House, and Komeito
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Exactly Succeeding Kishida Diplomacy

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba participated in the East Asia Summit held in Vientiane, Laos on October 11 th . Following some bilateral meetings with the leaders in Asia and the leaders meeting of ASEAN, EAS became his first opportunity to make a presentation of his comprehensive diplomatic policies to the world with attendance of diplomatic leaders from the United States, Russia and China. Ishiba exactly kept the line which had been drawn by his predecessor, Fumio Kishida. Ishiba  expressed  fundamental concern on current security situation in the world, saying that “the principles of the U.N. Charter, such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law, and prohibition of the use of force, are becoming increasingly important in today’s turbulent international situation.” As Kishida had always been doing, Ishiba emphasized Japan’s standpoint that it would not tolerate any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by f
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Leaders Debate for Election

The leaders of seven parties had a comprehensive policy   debate   for general election of the House of Representatives at Japan Press Club on October 12 th . To the questions from the opposition leaders on the slush fund scandal, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the president of Liberal Democratic Party, emphasized his effort to restore public confidence on politics. However, the opposition parties did not show a sense of cooperation, to pull the leading coalition out of the administration.   The most interested issue during the debate was nuclear weapons, because Nihon Hidankyo was selected for Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 the day before. Commonly labeled as the only country in the world which had suffered from nuclear weapons in a war, Japan has not joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Some opposition party leaders urged Japanese government to ratify it or at least participate in the treaty as an observer.   The head of Constitutional Democratic Party Yoshihiko Noda a
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Ishiba’s Diplomatic Debut

After dissolving the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a trip to Laos to participate in international conferences of ASEAN and East Asia Summit. In the backdrop of the conferences, Ishiba had meetings with some foreign leaders, making a moderate debut in his diplomacy as a new prime minister of Japan. Basic stance was succeeding diplomacy of his predecessor Fumio Kishida to maintain relationship with likeminded countries, as keeping channel with a major power in Asia, the People’s Republic of China. In the bilateral  meeting  with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, Ishiba reconfirmed sharing Mutual Beneficial Relationship Based on Common Strategic Interests, established between Shinzo Abe and Hu Jintao in 2006. Ishiba expressed his hope to work together so that the people could benefit from development of relationship of both governments.   Those two countries have multiple issues which does not promote improvement of their relationship. A Chinese military airc
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Innocence of Hakamada Is Fixed

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office   decided   not to appeal to the higher court in the Hakamda Case, in which Shizuoka District Court sentenced innocent for the defendant in the retrial in September. Complaining to the court decision, Prosecutor General Naomi Umemoto apologized on keeping Hakamada on unstable legal status for a long time. The case revealed fundamental problems in criminal investigation in Japan. Iwao Hakamada, 88, was arrested with suspicion of murder and robbery in Shimizu city, Shizuoka, in 1966 and was sentenced to death penalty in the court. Although Hakamada requested a retrial for several times, it was dismissed every time. It was 2014, when Hakamada was released from detention with a court decision of starting retrial. But the retrial actually started in 2023. Hakamada suffers from disability in communication by mental pressure from fear for death penalty.   In the sentence for Hakamda, Shizuoka District Court accused public prosecutors of fabrication of evi
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The House of Representatives Dissolved

The House of Representatives was   dissolved   on October 9 and all the members of the House were immediately displaced. The Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet decided that the general election of the House would be proclaimed on October 15 and be voted on October 27. It is likely that the leading parties, a coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party, and the opposition parties will argue in the campaign over political reform to rebuild public confidence on politics. Article 7 of  the Constitution of Japan  stipulates that dissolution of the House of Representatives is one of the acts in matters of state of the Emperor. In Plenary Session of the House, the Speaker of the House, Fukushiro Nukaga, read an imperial decree, saying “I dissolve the House of Representatives based on Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan.”   The constitution is interpreted that the prime minister has power to dissolve the house, because the Emperor does not have political power and his acts in matters of state should
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Retreat from Former Policy Lines

The House of Representatives had debate on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s policy speech in the Plenary Session on October 7. To the questions from the opposition parties about how Ishiba would implement his policy announced in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party in September, Ishiba kept defendant position, retreating from the line he had drawn. As the result, Ishiba did not look ambitious in implementing his policies he once upheld. Although Ishiba suggested in LDP presidential campaign that he, as the prime minister, would make sufficient discussion enough for the voters to get information about who they should vote for. However, the debate at the Plenary Session on both Houses, on October 7 and 8, will only be the opportunity for the opposition parties to ask how Ishiba would be able to achieve his goals, except the Question Time on October 9 where the party leaders make debate for eighty minutes.   In the Plenary Session of the Lower House, former Prime Minis
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Ishiba Excludes Lawmakers in Scandal from Party Endorsement

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that he would not issue official endorsement to a part of lawmakers, who were involved in the slush fund scandal of the Liberal Democratic Party, in next general election of the House of Representatives scheduled to be voted on October 27. All the candidates who failed in reporting the secret fund will not be on the list of proportional districts. The candidates who are suffering from the penalty firmly oppose to the decision of new president of the party.   The LDP found that 85 lawmakers and former lawmakers who were planning to run for next election had failed in reporting political fund secretly received from Abe or Nikai faction. 54 out of 85 were the members, or possible candidates, of House of Representatives. 5 out of 54 have left the party or not running in next election. So, Ishiba considered whether he would issue party endorsement to the rest of 49 possible candidates.   The internal rule of LDP stipulates eight kinds of punishments a
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Former Account Manager of Abe Faction Found Guilty

The Tokyo District Court sentenced former accounting manager of Abe faction of ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Jun-ichiro Matsumoto, 3 years in prison with suspension of 5 years. Being involved in the slush fund scandal of the faction which caused indictment of lawmakers and accounting managers, Matsumoto was found guilty with violation of Political Funds Control Act. The court concluded that the scandal caused public distrust on political funds. The court found that Abe faction had concealed a part of political fund which were made from sales of fundraising party ticket hosted by the faction. The lawmakers in Abe faction sold the ticket and the sales were submitted to the faction. But if a lawmakers sold the ticket beyond the quota for each lawmaker, he or she would receive return for the surplus from the faction, or would keep it without submitting it to the faction. The faction and the lawmakers did not record the surplus.   Matsumoto took his seat as the accounting manager of Abe
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Policy Speech of Six “Defenses”

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gave his first policy speech to the Diet on October 4 th . As new leader of Japan who had been involved in defense policy, Ishiba insisted on defending six things: rules, Japan, the people, local community, young people and women, and the future. However, his speech did not include some policies which he raised as campaign promises in the presidential election of Liberal Democratic Party last month.   Defending rules meant political reform. Abiding by regulation for political fund is something most needed for LDP to regain confidence of the people, since the slush fund scandal damaged political basis of the party. Referring to “deep reflection,” Ishiba promised that he would make his best for establishing ethics through discussion with lawmakers who had been involved in the scandal. However, the LDP is going to endorse all of those lawmakers as the official candidates in next general election of the House of Representatives later this month.   Defending Ja
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Compromises Seen in Campaign Platform

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba started making party platform with the policy team of his Liberal Democratic Party for coming general election of the House of Representatives voted on October 27. To appeal the voters political reform of the party, the draft of platform insisted on “reborn” of the LDP abiding by the rules. The opposition parties criticized Ishiba’s compromise with the protesters in the LDP by setting higher targets on political reform in their own platforms. Ishiba reportedly abandoned excluding the lawmakers who were involved in the slush fund scandal from official endorsement as LDP candidates in the general election. LDP had imposed penalties on those lawmakers in April, which included stripping the endorsement in the election. If Ishiba excludes some lawmakers who already received punishment from party endorsement, it may be imposing double penalties on them.   Although some candidates in LDP presidential election proposed complete abolishment of the policy activities
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Starting with Low Approval Rate

Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet embarked on with low approval rate, according to polls of news organizations. Approve for Ishiba Cabinet was in the range of upper forties and lower fifties in percentage, while disapproval was in thirties. After the presidential election with unprecedented nine candidates, support for the Liberal Democratic Party was apparently raised, giving the party a sense of confidence for coming general election of the House of Representatives. In the  poll  of  Yomiuri Shimbun  conducted on October 1 and 2, Ishiba Cabinet achieved 51 percent of approval and 32 percent of disapproval. In the last poll in mid-September, the approval rate for Kishida Cabinet was 25 percent and disapproval 63 percent. The approval for current cabinet doubled by replacing Kishida to Ishiba, and disapproval was halved. It is likely that Kishida’s decision to stand down as prime minister was correct for saving public support for LDP administration.   However, compared to former prime ministers r
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Criticisms on Early Election

214 th   session, an extraordinary session, of the Diet was convoked on October 1 st , and it elected Shigeru Ishiba for 102 nd Prime Minister of Japan. Ishiba announced in his press conference that he would dissolve the House of Representatives on October 9 th , and that the general election of the House would be proclaimed on October 15 th   and voted on October 27 th . The opposition parties are frustrated with the scheduling, since Ishiba had stated that he would reserve ample time for discussion in the Diet over his basic policies before the dissolution.   When Shinjiro Koizumi referred to an early election in the discussion of presidential campaign of the Liberal Democratic Party, Ishiba opposed to Koizumi’s idea, arguing that the election should be held after the prime minister and the lawmakers would offer the voters some criteria to decide whom they vote for. Ishiba’s schedule, dissolution on eight days after the election of the prime minister and general election 26 days afte
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Defense and Retaliation of Ishiba Cabinet

Extraordinary Session of the Diet was convoked on October 1 st . Both Houses elected Shigeru Ishiba, the winner of presidential election of Liberal Democratic Party four days before, for 102 nd   Prime Minister of Japan. Ishiba immediately constructed his Cabinet. As long as looking into the members he selected, he insisted on “defense” and “retaliation” in choosing staffs of his administration.   Ishiba is known as a specialist on defense policy. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the State Minister of Defense Agency in Jun-ichiro Koizumi administration, before the agency was promoted to the Ministry of Defense in 2007. He was appointed to Minister of Defense in 2007-2008 in Yasuo Fukuda Cabinet. One of his hobbies is making plastic models of warships.   He focuses on defense policy by appointing former Ministers of Defense in his cabinet or LDP board. Minister of Defense, Gen Nakatani, is another veteran expert of defense policy. When he was at the position, Shinzo Abe cabinet made a deci
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Decision of Early Snap Election

The President of Liberal Democratic Party Shigeru Ishiba decided to call a snap election of the House of Representatives, which will be voted on October 27. While he was considering the schedule to be after detailed discussion over his policies in the Diet, he leaned on early dissolution of the House, accepting offers of LDP leaders. Ishiba mostly finished selection of members of his Cabinet and LDP board, from which his political enemies were excluded. Ishiba is going to be elected 102th Prime Minister of Japan in the first day of an extraordinary session of the Diet convoked on October 1. He will establish his Cabinet with appointment of ministers on the same day, and make his policy speech on October 4. He will take questions on his policy from the parties in Plenary Sessions of both Houses on October 7 and 8, and call dissolution of the House of Representatives on October 9.   The general election of the House of Representatives will be proclaimed on October 15 and voted on October
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Ishiba Builds Basis of His Administration

The President of Liberal Democratic Party, Shigeru Ishiba, constructed basic framework of his administration on the day after he had been elected president. To the post of leading the party, Secretary General, he decided to appoint Hiroshi Moriyama, who has been the Chairman of General Council. He picked Itsunori Onodera for the Chairman of Policy Research Council, and Shinjiro Koizumi for the Chairman of Election Strategy Committee. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi will stay at the position. The influence of former prime minister Shinzo Abe will be removed from Ishiba administration. Moriyama is known as a veteran lawmaker in the LDP, who has a broad connection with people in and out of the party, which was established in his days of consultation and negotiation as the chief of Diet Affairs. After the slush fund scandal, Moriyama faction became the first faction which was officially dissolved in April. Ishiba expects an experienced lawmaker to handle coming elections of both
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Court Acquits Hakamada

Shizuoka District Court acquit Iwao Hakamada, the defendant who had been in a death row, in a retrial on September 26, finding he was innocent in a case of murder in Shimizu City in 1966. The court decided that the evidence submitted to the court had been fabricated by investigation authority, causing extremely long detention of Hakamada based on false accusation. Hakamada’s case highlighted serious violation of human rights and problem of difficulty of filing a retrial.   Hakamada was arrested with suspicion of murder, robbery and arson, as committing murder of four families of senior manager of a miso paste factory, whom he was working for, in 1966. Hakamada admitted his commitment to the police and Shizuoka District Court sentenced death penalty to Hakamada in 1968 and it was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1980.   Later, Hakamada filed retrial twice from 1981, arguing false accusation by police. When Shizuoka District Court decided retrial in 2014, Hakamada was released from jail
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