J Update

Facing the difficulty of energy price hike caused by Russia’s aggression to Ukraine, it was not strange that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Middle East this early summer. Through the three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, Kishida sought stronger connection with the region not only in economic ties but for political partnership. However, those Arab nations were mainly interested in Japan’s technology or investment. Kishida’s geopolitical effort for including the countries called “the Global South” on the side of Western democracy is still halfway there. In  the meeting with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , Kishida emphasized the importance of cooperating together as strategic partners for regional stability. Saudi Arabia is on its process of socio-economic reform titled “ Vision 2030 ,” the national plan started in 2016, aiming at moving the country away from its dependence on oil profits. Referring to a bilateral framework n...

International Atomic Energy Agency submitted the government of Japan  a report  on the safety of discharging “treated water” from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which is still on its process of decommissioning after the severe accident caused by Great East Japan Earthquake twelve years ago. While it evaluated Japan’s discharging plan as relatively safe, saying “the discharge of the ALPS treated water -- will have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment,” a large skepticism spread inside and outside Japan. By inviting the international organization in the dispute over the uncontrollable by-product of cooling the broken reactors down, the Japanese government seems to have made the issue international problem.   The 130-page report was issued with request of the Japanese government to review its discharging plan in 2021, when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that the diluted contaminated water would be released into the sea, because th...

The Liberal Democratic Party is suffering from unprecedented conflict against the long-time coalition partner, Komeito. Annoyed by LDP’s sober reaction over the interparty cooperation for next election of House of Representatives, Komeito announced that it would not support any LDP candidate in Tokyo districts, which could be causing to some defeats of LDP candidates. While the struggle is not supposed to escalate to the extent of dissolution of the coalition so far, some LDP lawmakers criticized Kometo with anger, urging Komeito to leave. It is clear that LDP led by Fumio Kishida has not been taking good care of its partner.   House of Representatives passed an amendment of Public Offices Election Act last November, which would increase ten electoral districts in urban area and decrease ten in rural regions. Regarding the change would be a good chance to raise as much candidates as possible, Komeito planned that it would raise eleven candidates, including one for Tokyo 29 th ...