J Update

In the three by-elections held on April 28 th , the Liberal Democratic Party suffered from miserable defeats in all districts. However, there is no obvious movement in LDP to replace their president, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. There actually is an argument that LDP lawmakers will face a great disaster in next general election of the House of Representatives under the leadership of Kishida. Frustration is prevalent in the ruling party, which is heading to the presidential election this fall. “I seriously take the results of by-elections,” said Kishida to the reporters in the morning of April 30 th . “The scandal on political funds of LDP affected very much in the elections. I am sorry for the candidates and their supporters.” Kishida insisted his efforts for reform of his party, political reform and economic issues such as wage or price hike to restore public confidence, denying any specific thought of calling snap election.   There has been a speculation before the by-elections ...

Voters showed firm rejection against Fumio Kishida administration and the Liberal Democratic Party. In three by-elections of the House of Representatives on April 28, LDP lost all its seats. The Constitutional Democratic Party won all of those three districts. The results reflected public frustration against Kishida’s handlings on the slush fund scandal in LDP factions and LDP’s slow progress in political reform. The elections became a significant blow to Kishida’s strategy for maintaining his administration.   By-election in district of Shimane-1 was held after the death of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hosoda, who had been the head of Seiwa-kai, or Abe faction. In one-on-one match, Akiko Kamei of CDP defeated Norimasa Nishikori of LDP with a margin of 25 thousand of votes. It was almost the same margin when Hosoda defeated Kamei in last election in 2021. It means that swing voters who voted for Hosoda three years ago shifted to Kamei.   It was the ...

The Vice-president of Liberal Democratic Party, former Prime Minister, Taro Aso, had a meeting with the presumptive Republican nominee for 2024 Presidential election of the United States, Donald Trump, in New York. While Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, enhanced bilateral relationship with US in the meeting with President, Joe Biden, earlier this month, Aso, as a close ally of Kishida, reached Biden’s rival. Although it is obvious that Aso’s approach to Trump should be an insurance in case of Trump’s victory in November, it may deliver a mixed message from Japan to US.   Aso supported former Shinzo Abe administration as Minister of Finance as one of the closest allies. Knowing that political relationship in Japan, Trump welcomed Aso in his office in New York with embracing memories with late Prime Minister Abe. “He’s a highly respected man in Japan and beyond. And somebody that I’ve liked, and I’ve known through our very dear friend, Shinzo,”  said Trump  about the meeting ...

Bank of Japan decided to maintain its monetary policy in the Monetary Policy Meeting held between Thursday and Friday. With the bank’s dovish attitude toward current moves of foreign exchange, Japanese yen depreciated against United States dollar immediately after the decision. BOJ recognizes that the cheap yen has not significantly affected Japanese economy. The statement of MPM was simple. “The Bank will encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0 to 0.1 percent. Regarding purchases of Japanese government bonds, CP, and corporate bonds, the Bank will conduct the purchases with the decisions mad at the March 2024 MPM,” says the statement. That’s it.   In the last meeting in March, the bank introduced major change in monetary policy, terminating its negative interest policy. It also announced that it will continue its JGP purchases with broadly the same amount as before. While it had been expected that Japanese yen would appreciate against US dollar, ye...

Japan Fair Trade Commission   announced   that it issued the Notice of Commitment Procedure to Google LLC. Google submitted to FTC the commitment plan to ensure that the conduct of restricting Yahoo Japan to use technologies for search advertising would be eliminated. FTC approved the plan, recognizing it as sufficient and expectable to be implemented. This is the first administrative action against Google, the United States search giant, by FTC. Google was suspected as having committed the conduct that made Yahoo Japan difficult to provide Mobile Syndication Transactions between 2015 and 2022, restricting the provision of technologies for search engines and search advertising to Yahoo. The restriction was made by amending contract, and FTC has been investigating whether the contract would violate Anti-Monopoly Act.   The technology is used for keyword-targeted search advertising, which delivers advertisement related to the word input in the search engine. If a user imput...

A conference of experts named Population Strategy Council released its report on the forecast of local communities which would disappear with depopulation. According to the report, 744 local governments out of all 1,729 all over Japan are possibly incapable of maintaining its community as independent cities, towns or villages. It indicated that the policies of national government for revitalizing local communities have not worked well. The council was established in July 2023, concerning acceleration of low birth rate and concentration of population in Tokyo area. The chairman of the council is Akio Mimura, former chairman of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the vice-chairman is Hiroya Masuda, former Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications.   The council defined “a local community possibly disappears” as decreasing population of women in the age between 20 and 39 by 50% or more in thirty years from 2020 to 2050. It is based on a notion that depopulation will not...

The working team of Political Reform Headquarters in Liberal Democratic Party wrapped up a draft for amendment of Political Funds Control Act. To enhance transparency of management of political funds, the draft requires each lawmaker to issue “certification” when submitting political fund report. If a false in the report found guilty in the court, the lawmaker will lose the seat in certain conditions. Although LDP explain the draft as a strict rule for not repeat the slush fund scandal, the opposition parties criticize it as insufficient. The discussion over revising Political Funds Control Act is the biggest issue in the Diet after LDP imposed penalties on thirty-nine lawmakers who had been involved in receiving secret fund from the factions in early April. Both Houses of the Diet established special committees for discussing amendment of the act.   The draft proposed by LDP adds a provision requiring lawmaker’s responsibility for overseeing management of political fund report usu...

The Diet members will resume their discussion over stable succession to imperial throne as soon as early may. The leading Liberal Democratic Party recently approved that the discussion would be made along with   the report   of experts’ panel in 2021, in which the experts proposed two options to broaden the category of successors. Although the conservatives in LDP have been reluctant to proceed the discussion, shortage of imperial successors seems to have made them unable to protest.   “The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial Lineage,” says  Article 1 of the Imperial Household Law.    After Emperor Akihito abdicated in 2019, there currently are three males in the Imperial House who can succeed to Emperor Naruhito: Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino; Prince Hisahito of Akishino; and Masahito, Prince Hitachi. As Masahito is 88 years old and Fumihito 58, it is only Hisahito, in the age of 17, who is...

Commission on the Constitution of House of Representatives had the first discussion in current session on April 11 th . Liberal Democratic Party proposed establishing a conference for making draft of provisions for the amendment, while Constitutional Democratic Party criticized LDP of being hasted. It is getting hard for Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, who upholds a goal to complete the amendment by the end of his term as the president of LDP.   Article 96 of the Constitution requires the amendment to be “initiated by the Diet, through a concurring vote of two-third or more of all members of each House” and to achieve simple majority in a special referendum or election designated as such by the Diet. LDP, Komeito, Japan Innovation Party and Democratic Party for the People construct a power for amendment, occupying two-third majority in both Houses.   The amendment process starts with submission of a draft with approval of one hundred or more lawmakers in the House of Representa...

Both Houses of the Diet established special committee for political reform to discuss legislation for regulating inappropriate management of political funds, concerning public distrust on politics generated by the slush fund scandal in factions of Liberal Democratic Party. Although Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, hopes to have a consensus among the parties, it is still unclear whether he can bring the scandal to an end. Ethics of politics have been discussed in the Diet every time LDP had a major scandal, which includes Lockheed Scandal in 1970s or Recruit Scandal in 1990s. Each House already had a committee for discussing political ethics or appropriate election system. In short, establishing special committee is a routine for the ruling party to show regret on their wrongdoings.   One option is to impose heavy penalty on lawmakers who was involved in a scandal. Depriving of the status as Diet member is a focal point of discussion. Not only the opposition parties, but LDP’s coaliti...

Sapporo District Court dismissed a lawsuit of Raporo Ainu Nation, a regional group of indigenous people in Urahoro town in Hokkaido, which demanded confirmation of their inherent right to catch salmon in Tokachi river. While they argued that they had succeeded activity of fishery from their ancestors, the court turned the argument down based on the constitution and laws regulating fisheries. It made a contrast from international trend of broadly acknowledging indigenous people’s right. The lawsuit marked the first example for indigenous people in Japan to demand legal confirmation of indigenous rights. Raporo Ainu Nation sued the government of Japan and Hokkaido in 2021 of not recognizing their right to catch salmon in the lower Tokachi river. “It was baseless that the Japanese government in the Meiji era prohibited Ainu’s salmon fishery in the river,” they  argued . Their argument was not demanding confirmation of right for individuals, but for a tribe.   They argued that the...

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that it started reloading nuclear fuels in the reactor #7 of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant for the first time since the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. Although it has not received an approval from local governments, TEPCO proceeded to the reload for restarting the operation of the plant. It is still doubted that the company, which caused unprecedented nuclear disaster in Fukushima, is reliable for handling a nuclear plant. According to  a news report , Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) approved the reload of nuclear fuels in April 15 th . TEPCO loaded one of the eight hundred and seventy-two nuclear fuel rods, which had been stocked in a pool, which was placed in the reactor. It takes a half month to complete the process. After that, the company will examine how the related devices are working and pull out some control rods, even not reaching a criticality.   TEPCO has not achieved appr...

The Statistics Bureau of Japan released the  Population Estimates  as of October 1 st , 2023. The total population of Japan was 124,352 thousand, decreasing by 595 thousand, or 0.48%, from the previous year. The decrease has been continuing for thirteen consecutive years. Natural decrease, which means the margin between all deaths and births, marked record high of 837 thousand. Deaths surpassed births for seventeen consecutive years. Even how Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, appeals his determination for raising birth rate, low birth rate and aging of Japanese society has not been improved. According to the survey, population of under fifteen years old was 14,173 thousand (-330 thousand) and that between fifteen and sixty-four were 73,952 thousand (-256 thousand). Although the people in sixty-five years old or older decreased by 9 thousand to 36,227 thousand, seventy-five years or older among them marked significant increase by 714 thousand, amounting to 20,078 thousand.   ...

In Japan, a prisoner on death row will know exactly when he dies in the morning of execution day. Two prisoners with death penalty sued the government of Japan that the rule was too cruel. The court decided that the prisoners had no power to dispute current system. The lawsuit gave an opportunity to think twice about death penalty.   The plaintiffs cast a doubt on current rule for execution of death penalty, in which a prisoner on death row would be called by a prison guard in the morning and brought to the execution chamber to be hung. They thought that they would not be able to dispute the execution, while they had a right to do so.   “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty, nor shall any other criminal penalty be imposed, except according to procedure established by law,” says Article 31 of the Constitution of Japan. The plaintiffs argued that the announcement in the morning of execution day would violate the provision and that the rule would not comply with the Int...

The People’s Power Party of Republic of Korea, to which the President Yoon Suk Yeol is affiliated, suffered from a bitter defeat in general election of the National Assembly, giving a significant blow to Yoon. The election was recognized as a mid-term estimation on Yoon administration, which had embarked on May 2022, reflecting low approval of the people against Yoon’s policy handlings. The decline of political power of Yoon, who has been taking moderate stance toward Japan, is an uncomfortable result for the government of Japan. The leading opposition party, the Democratic Party, gained 175 seats out of 300, adding 19 to the majority before election. PPP resulted in saving 108 seats, reducing 6. The Rebuilding Korea Party, a new liberal-leaning party led by former Minister of Justice in previous Moon Jae In administration Cho Kuk, won 12 seats. Possible cooperation between DP and RKP enables “fast track” procedures in the assembly, in which they can pass a bill dismissing opposition o...

A Japanese astronaut may take giant steps on the Moon as early as 2028. Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, agreed with President of the United States, Joe Biden, on extending their global partnership to the space in their summit talk in Washington, DC, on April 10 th . Both governments shared a goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, with Japan’s provision of a pressurized rover. Their global partnership is going to outer space.   The Joint Leaders’ Statement  welcomed the signing of a Lunar Surface Exploration Implementing Arrangement, in which Japan plans to provide and sustain operation of a pressurized lunar rover while US plans to allocate two astronaut flight opportunities to the lunar surface Japan on future Artemis missions. “The United States and Japan plan to deepen cooperation on astronaut training to facilitate this goal while managing risks of these challenging and inspiring lunar surface mis...

While enhancing bilateral security cooperation, the leaders of Japan and the United States agreed on the measures for economic coordination in various area. Those measures were designed for economic security to maintain the productivity of industries. Their common target to deal with was China. The  Joint Leader’s Statement  delivered by Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, and US President, Joe Biden, describes the goal of their economic cooperation. “The United States and Japan aim to maximally align our economic, technology, and related strategies to advance innovation, strengthen our industrial bases, promote resilient and reliable supply chains, and build the strategic emerging industries of the future,” says the statement.   They welcomed investment of private sectors, raising some names of company, to which they would focus on. The statement included Microsoft’s $2.9 billion investments in Japan on AI and cloud infrastructure and Toyota’s additional $8 billion b...