J Update

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave a   policy speech   to the Diet on Tuesday, unusually delayed from the opening day of an ordinary session. Considering frustration of the public on slush fund scandal in Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida insisted on achieving wage hike more than rise of consumer prices. However, his speech lacked details about the scandal and how to prevent the same kind of illegal activities, which the opposition parties were frustrated with.   Kishida firstly referred to his efforts for relieving the Noto Peninsula suffering from a great earthquake on January 1. Raising the problems of disturbance on sea transportation, damage on lifelines including water supply, isolation of small villages and impact on local communities with aged people, he appealed his decision of appropriating ¥1 trillion for the disaster and establishment of a headquarters for reconstruction in the government. He also praised the support and cooperation of the people to help the pe...

It must be memorized as a regrettable case in the history of Japanese police. A hospitalized man in Kanagawa Prefecture revealed his real identity as one of the members of former terrorist group, who had been wanted for forty-nine years with suspect of being involved in the bombings on a building downtown Tokyo in 1975. He died four days later, before the police reconfirmed his identity. It is unclear whether the police could hear about the details of the crime nearly a half century ago from the dying man.   Satoshi Kirishima had been wanted as a suspect of exploding a hand-made bomb at the office of Institute for Research on Industry and Economy of Republic of Korea in Ginza, Tokyo. There were consecutive bombings against major corporations by leftist sects between 1974 and 1975, including one on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which caused eight deaths and hundreds of injuries. East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front claimed responsibility on those events and Kirishima was regarded as affil...

Kyoto District Court sentenced Shinji Aoba, indicted with crime of mass murder and arson, a death penalty in its trial participated by citizen judges. The court recognized full responsibility of Aoba on setting the building of Kyoto Animation, or Kyoani, on fire and killed thirty-six people in 2019. While the defendant argued mental incompetence at the time, the court dismissed it. It is not clear whether the decision will work as a deterrence against crimes targeting innocent citizens. With sentiment of being stolen his idea in the works of Kyoani, Aoba splashed gasoline on the floor of ground level of the three-story building. The staffs of Kyoani could not escape from the fire and the most of dead people were found around exit to the roof top on the third floor, which they were supposed not to be able to open. Aoba also suffered from heavy burn.   The court determined the incident made by Aoba unreasonable and selfish, ignoring value of human lives, and the defendant would be wo...

Three weeks have passed since M7.6 earthquake hit Noto Peninsula on the new year’s day in 2024. The phase of disaster management is shifting from searching the victims and missing people to recovery and reconstruction. While the amount of victims in shelters increases with unexpected hardships and severe climate of mid-winter, the national and local governments accelerate their measures to help the people in suffered area. According to  the report of Ishikawa prefectural government  as of afternoon January 28, the deaths by the earthquake amounted 236, including 15 of disaster related deaths which means the victims who died with exacerbation of injury or disease. Injured people marked 1,178 and broken houses exceeded 43 thousand. Around 10 thousand of people evacuated and staying in 300 shelters in cities and towns in Ishikawa prefecture.   The crucial uneasiness for the sufferers is scarcity of water. Waterworks system underground was mostly broken by the earthquake all ...

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that an unmanned space probe made in Japan made a touchdown on the moon. It made Japan the fifth country which was successful in landing the moon, following Russia, United States, China and India. While notifying some malfunction of some devices, JAXA stressed the significance of pinpoint landing its team achieved. News media congratulated advanced space technology of Japan. The investigation probe, named Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture last September. While SLIM was flying at fifteen kilometers of altitude, it gradually reduced the cruising speed and successfully landed softly on the surface of the moon before dawn of January 20 in Japan time. The probe keeps on sending data from the moon to the control center on the earth.   JAXA announced that SLIM was successful in “pinpoint landing,” a precise touchdown within one hundred meters from the target. The...

Political Reform Headquarters in Liberal Democratic Party released an  interim report  on measures for reforming political activities of the party, facing broad criticisms against the slush fund scandal in which factions in the party were involved. The report proposes banning fundraising party by factions and detaching factions from money and appointment for the posts of cabinet or party board. However, there has not been much public expectation for the reform to be implemented. The report firstly apologizes to the public on LDP’s scandal, in which factions distributed secret money to their members. “The people doubt LDP politStrong doubts of the people are cast on LDP as a whole with alleged inappropriate accounting over fundraising parties by specific factions,” says the report, emphasizing that the scandal has been about some specific factions.   Arguing that freedom of political activities is indispensable for democracy, the report demands enhancing transparency of po...

The Spring Wage Negotiations started on Wednesday. In the labor-management forum held by Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, both sides concurred on aiming at increasing their workers’ wage to the level higher than last year. The key to success in bringing Japanese economy a “positive cycle” of wage and price is how small- and midsize-businesses can raise their wages. Annual wage negotiations between workers and employers begins with that forum, in which the management side show its basic stance for the negotiations. The Chairman of Keidanren, Masakazu Tokura, insisted on high wage hike beyond the growth of consumer prices. “It is social obligation of the enterprises to aim at wage hike not lagging behind of price increases, with zeal and determination beyond the last year,” said Tokura in the forum.   Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, demands “more than 5%” of wage hike this spring, higher than “around 5%” of last year. “This is a crucial moment to make a change t...

The Bank of Japan  announced  that it would maintain its major monetary easing policy 　 as a result of Monetary Policy Meeting held on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the bank indicated that the consumers price is rising toward the goal, which meant that it is getting close to the time for getting rid of current extraordinarily easy monetary policy. The market expects it to be April. JOB decided to maintain short-term interest rate at minus 0.1 percent, which meant that the bank made no change in its negative interest policy. It also held its upper bound of 1.0 percent for 10-year Japanese government bonds yields, continuing large-scale JGB purchases to keep long-term interest rate low. Those policies were unanimously approved.   The bank published quarterly  Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices  after the meeting. What was paid attention was a phrase in it: “The likelihood of realizing this outlook has continued to gradually rise, although there remain high uncertainti...

The Cabinet Office issued on Monday its estimate of Japan’s primary budget balance which was expected to be in the red in FY 2025. That means that a policy goal of turning the balance into the black by FY 2025 will not be achieved.   The primary deficit of national and local governments will be ¥1.1 trillion in FY 2025   in the most optimistic scenario, not removing the worries about Japan’s fiscal health, which is the worst among the advanced economies. The primary budget balance indicates the situation of financial situation of national or local governments, which explains whether the government can afford to secure necessary budget for various spendings, including social security or building infrastructure, with basic income such as taxes. The black means that the government can handle its policies without debt. The balance of national and local governments has been in the red for decades and the deficit has been appropriated by issuing governmental bonds.   While the ...

Kofu District Court sentenced a death penalty to the defendant, who was charged with murder of two people and arson. The uniqueness of the case is that the defendant was nineteen years old when he committed the crime. Adopting revised Juveniles Act, which regards the people in eighteen and nineteen years old as “special juvenile,” the court disclosed the name of the defendant. Has the court thoroughly considered legitimacy of killing a young person.   According to  the sentence , the defendant intruded into a house in Kofu city, Yamanashi, killed husband and wife, injured their daughter and set fire on the house in October, 2021.  　 While the lawyer argued that the defendant had been mentally depleted at the time, the public prosecutors argued that the defendant could recognize his responsibility, and demanded death penalty.   The chief judge described the case as very malicious and cold-blooded crime based on firm intention for murder, exercised with deliberation an...

Japanese Communist Party appointed a member of House of Councillors, Tomoko Tamura, 58, to be new chairperson of the party. Tamura leads the oldest party in Japan, established in 1922, as the first woman. JCP expects Tamura to refresh the party which has been showing decline of political power. Tamura is going to succeed the policy of cooperation with other opposition parties, which her predecessor, Kazuo Shii, promoted. It has been twenty-three years, since Shii took the chair. In the press conference after the party convention, in which the replacement of chairperson was announced, Shii, 69, explained that he considered baton-pass to new generation and it would pave the way of generational succession. Shii is going to remain as the chair of JCP Central Committee, the post which has been vacant since Tetsuzo Fuwa leave it in 2006.   The party picked Taku Yamazoe, 39, for the successor to Tamura as the policy chief. Former chairman of the party Fuwa, 93, known as a theoretical pill...

The Special Investigation Division of Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office wrapped up its investigation on the slush fund scandal in Liberal Democratic Party on Friday. They indicted some lawmakers with Abe faction and managers who were in charge of accounting of three factions. To take responsibility for eroding confidence on politics, three leaders, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, announced that they would dissolve their own factions. That does not mean LDP’s reform not to repeat the same kind of scandal in the future, anyway. According to  the news reports , the public prosecutors indicted two lawmakers with Abe faction, Yasutada Ono and Yaichi Tanigawa, with charges of violating Political Funds Control Act, which were failing to report funds returned from the faction as the sales of fundraising parties. While Ono was indicted in house with his denial of involvement in the illegal activities, Tanigawa was reported as admitting the charge on him, given summary indictm...

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced to the reporters in Thursday evening that he was considering dissolving Kochi Policy Study Group, or Kishida faction, in Liberal democratic Party. Given a news report which indicated that Special Investigation Department of Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office would indict a former financial officer of Kishida faction, Kishida took the dissolution into account to implement his suggestion for party reform to restore public confidence on politics. The slush fund scandal in LDP is developing into fundamental structure of the ruling party. Asahi Shimbun   reported  in Thursday morning that the public prosecutors had decided to indict an ex-accounting official of Kishida faction with suspicion of violating Political Funds Control Act. It is suspected that Kishida faction failed in reporting ¥30 million, most of which is income from fundraising parties between 2018 and 2020. While Kishida faction recorded the outgoing “kickback” to its memb...

Taking opportunity of new year recess of Diet, Vice-president of Liberal Democratic Party, Taro Aso, visited United States between January 9 and 13. While he made a speech in a thinktank and met with some experts on Japan issue in Washington, DC, he had another secret mission in US: having a meeting with former President Donald Trump. Although the attempt resulted in a failure, it revealed an expectation for reelection of Trump and eagerness to rebuild the connection as early as possible. During the visit of US, Aso had  a meeting  with Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council, Kurt Campbell, discussing on the state visit of Kishida to US in this spring.   In his remarks at Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, a thinktank in Washington, DC, Aso insisted on strong partnership between Japan and US dealing with pressure from China, touching on Taiwan issue saying “We need to firmly put interna...

The Political Reform Headquarters of Liberal Democratic Party, established by LDP president and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for discussing the measures to prevent slush funds scandal, held on Tuesday the fourth meeting. The lawmakers required the party leaders fundamental reform including disband of factions, which are recognized as the basis of wrong political activities. Some affiliated with Abe faction, a seismic center of the scandal, argued that the faction needed to be dismantled, taking responsibility for the scandal. The leaders still insisted on the positive aspect of the factions.   The meeting was held on the basis any lawmakers with LDP could join, collecting over one hundred. The meeting lasted for three hours, closed to the news reporters. Although some of the lawmakers with Abe faction attended the meeting and raised their voices, leaders of the faction, who had been interviewed by the public prosecutors, did not show up. Kishida urged LDP lawmakers to say anything ...

Tokyo District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit of plaintiffs who argued they had been disturbed their right to have impartial trial on Sunagawa Incident in 1957, in which students were arrested with suspicion of trespassing on the base of United States Force. While former defendants of the incident, reversing their status now, argued that the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court at the time had communicated with US side before sentencing, the district court found that the decision of the Supreme Court cannot be said as not impartial. The plaintiffs decided to appeal to high court. In 1957, twenty-three protesters, mostly the college students, were arrested with suspicion of entering a USF base in Sunagawa town, currently Tachikawa city, during their demonstration against expanding the base. Seven among them were indicted. Tokyo District Court found those seven defendants were innocent in 1959, because for US Force to station in Japan violates Article 9 of Constitution of Japan. Then, t...

Lai Ching-te, Vice-president for Democratic Progressive Party administration led by President Tsai Ying-wen, won the presidential election voted on Saturday. Upholding Taiwan’s sovereignty independent from People’s Republic of China, Lai declared “victory of democracy” after defeating other two candidates with opposition parties. Although it is likely that the tension over Taiwan Straits gets high, the political leaders in Japan welcomed victory of Lai. It was a tight three-way race by Lai, Hou Yu-ih with Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je with People’s Party. While Hou criticized DPP’s handling of relations with PRC as heightening tension and appealed his policy strengthening ties with Beijing. Ko demanded changes from bipartisan politics by DPP and KMT. Lai asserted keeping status quo in Taiwan Straits by maintaining defense capability or cooperation with foreign countries.   Although Lai did not achieve simple majority of all voters, it is fair to say that the people in Taiwan chose the w...

Some members of Ground Self-defense Force visited Yasukuni Shrine in the afternoon of January 9 th . Enshrining A-class war criminals in the World War II, the shrine is known as a symbol of Japan’s aggression by the imperial military. While individual visit is not regulated in context of freedom of religion, Ministry of Defense has a domestic rule of prohibiting the members of Self-defense Force to make visit as a unit. There are some evidences that they deliberately planned that visit. The predecessor of Yasukuni Shrine is Shokonsha, a facility which remembered victims of a civil war just before Meiji Restoration. After renamed by Meiji government, it enshrined about 2.5 million of war victims including those at Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War or World War II. Annual visit of the prime minister or some lawmakers in the Diet is controversial, with the argument that it may approve wartime aggression, if they pray for A-class war criminals.   Tens of GSDF members who visited Ya...