J Update

Having the Upper House election within a month ahead, a national conference of the leaders of business and academics held a discussion of party leaders in Tokyo on June 29 th . Both heads of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ)   dismissed  possibility of having a grand coalition with each other, raising their difference on basic policies. It is likely that the current style of Japanese politics, in which the parties formulate partial cooperation on specific policy, will be maintained under the circumstance of minority government in the Lower House.   The conference is commonly known as ReIWA, an abbreviation of Reinventing Infrastructure of Wisdom and Action. ReIWA is organized in June 2022 by about one hundred members from business sectors, labor unions and scholars to make proposals to the politics. The conference issued policy packages on social security system, fiscal reform or management of political funds, up...

Minister of Justice, Keisuke Suzuki,   announced  that the ministry executed death penalty on Takahiro Shiraishi who was sentenced death penalty in the case of robbery and murder with rape on nine victims. It marked the first example of execution for Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet. Although execution has been a controversial issue, since Iwao Hakamada, who had been in the death row for decades, was proved to be innocent in a murder case, Ishiba government showed willingness to maintain death penalty as the supreme penalty in Japan. According to the sentence of the court, Shiraishi invited people who indicated through social networking service their wishes to die and killed them in his room in Zama City, Kanagawa, between August and October 2017. He raped eight women and choked each of them to the death and cut and abandoned their bodies. One man was also killed by Shiraishi. Those nine victims were between the age of fifteen and twenty-six.   Tokyo District Court sentenced death ...

The Third Petty Bench of Supreme Court   sentenced   on June 27 th  that a decision of government of Japan to reduce welfare benefits from 2013 to 2015 was illegal and invalid. The court found that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) had falsely determined reduction of the benefits beyond its discretion. Although the court dismissed the responsibility of the government for compensation to the plaintiffs, it became a major issue for the government how to adjust the policy of welfare benefits.   After the Lehman Shock in 2008, a lot of workers in Japan lost their jobs and recipient of governmental welfare benefits increased from 1.1 million families in 2007 to 1.5 million in 2011. The Liberal Democratic Party, an opposition party led by president Shinzo Abe against the administration of Democratic Party of Japan, upheld a campaign policy of reducing the benefits by 10 percent in the Lower House election in 2012. Inappropriate reception of the benefit was ...

As the ordinary session of the Diet closed on June 22 nd , the parties entered their campaign for election of the Upper House, which will be voted on July 20 th . Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet is on the edge of losing its majority in addition to the Lower House. However, the opposition parties have no perspective of being united to form a coalition government, even if they defeat current administration. It is possible that the result of the election may affect the formation of coalition, which currently is consisted of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito.   The House of Councillors has 248 seats. They are occupied by the LDP with 114 seats, Komeito with 27, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ) with 38, Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) with 17, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) with 9, Japan Communist Party with 11, and others with 23. It has 9 vacant seats.   The term of each member is 6 years. One half of all the seats are renewed every three yea...

As a business as usual for a prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba had   a press conference   on the day after closing of an ordinary session of the Diet. Although Ishiba managed his minority government in the House of Representatives, the leading coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito could pass FY2025 budget bill by the end of March and avoid non-confidence resolution against Ishiba Cabinet. Ishiba hoped to support every family as a campaign for the Upper House election a month later.   Ishiba stressed his achievement of passing FY2025 budget bill with revision in the Lower House for the first time in 29 years and in the Upper House for the first time ever. “I made efforts to construct a consensus beyond party lines and to make sincere discussion in the Diet,” said Ishiba. Ishiba government could pass 58 bills out of 59 submitted by the Cabinet and all 13 treaties in the session.   The budget bill passed the Diet, because Ishiba accepted a demand of Japan I...

Israel and Iran reached an agreement of ceasefire on June 24 th   with mediation of the United States, after 12-day exchange of fire. Although it tried to keep distance from the conflict, Japan had to make difficult decision as the U.S. was directly involved in the conflict. The conflict also brought some questions in security policy of Japan, which has been willing to build firm security cooperation with the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Israel launched missile attack on nuclear facilities in Iran on June 13 th . Japan immediately took position of criticizing Israel,  condmening  “the use of military means amid the ongoing diplomatic efforts, including U.S.-Iran talks aimed at the peaceful resolution of the Iran’s nuclear issue.” The main concern of Japan at the time was whether the conflict would affect Japan’s economy, which was highly dependent on crude oil from the Middle East.   The condition significantly changed by abrupt military interv...

Okinawa held   the memorial ceremony   for 80 th   anniversary from the end of major organized fight in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. There appeared an attempt of changing interpretation of the history of the battle by a lawmaker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) earlier this year. It is focused that how the people can accurately succeed the facts of war and build a common basis beyond generations.   Starting in March 1945, in the final stage of the World War II, the Battle of Okinawa continued three months, including civilians mobilized by the imperial government of Japan, taking 200 thousand lives on both sides of Japan and the United States. Himeyuri Student Corps was organized by 240 female students and teachers who worked in a hospital and were significantly victimized in the final stage of the battle.   A member of the House of Councillors with the LDP, Shoji Nishida,  argued  in May that exhibition in the museum of Himeyuri Tower was...

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was seriously defeated in   the election   of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly voted on June 22 nd . The voters expressed frustration with inappropriate management of political funds, which was revealed not only among the lawmakers of Abe faction in the Diet, but also the assembly members of Tokyo. It can be a prelude for the ruling party of serious consequence in the Upper House election in July.   Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has 127 seats. To this quadrennial election, 295 candidates ran in 42 districts. Voter turnout was 47.59 percent.   The slush fund scandal of Abe faction affected local politics in Tokyo. The faction distributed 676 million yen to its members as the kickback of sales in fundraising parties for five years. As the scandal harmed the LDP, it was  revealed  in January 2025 that the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members with the LDP also had the same kind of kickback system. The total amount of secret fund was 3...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba managed to survive 150-day ordinary session of the Diet. The session started in January with a minority government in the Lower House. The main reason why Ishiba could come through the session was not because he was successful in policy talks with the opposition parties, but the opposition parties were too fragmented to drag him down from position of the prime minister. The coming Upper House election will be a true examination for Ishiba as the leader of the government.   The biggest concern for Ishiba at the beginning was how he would pass the annual budget by the end of March. To pass the budget bill, Ishiba needed some votes from the opposition parties in the House of Representatives. He had three choices: compromising with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), with Democratic Party for the People (DPP) or with Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai).   Cooperation with CDPJ, the biggest opposition party, means a grand coal...

The head of Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), Yoshihiko Noda,   announced   that he would not submit a con-confidence resolution against Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, in current ordinary session of the Diet ending on June 22 nd . Noda explained a reason why he would rule out the resolution as consideration of international security situation which was too unstable for Japan to have a political vacancy. There remains criticism among the opposition party, accusing weak position of Noda as the leader of top opposition party.   A non-confidence resolution is recognized as the strongest weapon for opposition parties against an incumbent prime minister. Article 69 of  the Constitution of Japan  vests the House of Representatives a power for resignation of the premier. When the house passes non-confidence resolution, the prime minister needs to resign as long as the house is not dissolved. The constitution is also interpreted that the prime minister ca...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba finished his schedule for his debut at G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. The international relations were too complicated for Ishiba to work for enhancing unification of those seven developed countries. It was rather bilateral diplomacy in which Ishiba appealed his personality to Japanese people. On his way to come back to Japan, Ishiba considers campaign strategy for the Upper House election, as he escapes from non-confidence resolution from the opposition party.   The first G7 Summit for Ishiba was held in a severe international security environment. Not only the Ukraine war and Israel’s offense on Gaza was continuing, Israel and Iran were exchanging military strikes each other, beginning from Israel’s attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran. While European countries had concerns about Russian advance to Eastern Europe, the United States were involved in close consultation with Israel over Iranian missile strikes on Israel. The U.S. President Donald Tru...

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Shinjiro Koizumi,   announced   that his ministry would terminate annual publishment of data on rice harvest. The index of rice harvest, as Koizumi explains, has been inaccurate due to some reasons and should be replaced with other data. The index has also been a basis for determining price of rice every year. It is recognized another reform of rice trade by Koizumi.   The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) started announcement of the rice harvest index in 1956 to inform its evaluation of annual rice products in Japan. The index is  calculated  with comparison of average harvests in previous thirty years categorized in one of five classes: bad, relatively bad, average, relatively good, and good. Average is indicated as 100. The ministry explained last year that rice stock would not cause any shortage, because the index in 2024 was 101.   However, actual rice harvest in 2024 was not enough ...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the backdrop of G7 summit meeting held in Kananskis, Canada on June 16 th . Although both leaders hoped to reach an agreement on tariffs at the meeting, they   differed   with some points including tariffs on cars. It is likely that both governments are entering into a long negotiation over gaining as much interest of their own as possible.   After the meeting, Ishiba explained that he could not reach a deal on the package of tariff issue. “Seeking an agreement that would meet Japan’s national interest, I had a frank discussion with President Trump,” said Ishiba to the press. He declined to indicate when those two governments would have an agreement, raising a reason that it would be a negotiation with a counterpart.   Ishiba did not tell the details about the meeting with Trump. On what point they disagreed, on extension of moratorium of “reciprocal tariffs,” and on his perspective of th...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba  announced  that his Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito would include comprehensive benefits in their campaign policies for coming election of the Upper House in July. The benefits will be 20 thousand yen for every citizen, with additional 20 thousand yen for a family with low income or a small child, to support them suffering from price inflation. The opposition parties criticize Ishiba’s decision as populism with discretional spending of national budget. After a meeting with LDP Secretary General, Hiroshi Moriyama, on June 13 th , Ishiba revealed that he ordered Moriyama to consider delivering the allowance policy for the Upper House election. The leading coalition, the LDP and Komeito, had already decided to distribute 20 thousand yen of allowance to each individual and additional 20 thousand yen for the people whose income are as low as to be exempted from paying for resident tax. Ishiba added the benefit for the families with kids.   T...

Israel launched attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran on June 13 th , killing top generals and scientists. Iran immediately retaliated with missiles on the cities in Israel. The exchange of military attacks reflects current failure in nuclear talks within the framework of related countries including the United States. As a country heavily dependent on oil from Middle East, Japan considers measures dealing with possible rise of oil price.   International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  passed a resolution  on the day before Israel’s attack on Iran, which accused Iran of breaching non-proliferation duties. Hastened by a possibility of further development of Iran’s nuclear program, Israel launched attacks on key nuclear facilities in Iran, including one in Natanz. Iran immediately made missile attacks on Tel Aviv and Haifa, causing casualties and deaths. The military engagement is expanding with damages on energy facilities in Iran.   Minister for Foreign Affairs, Takeshi ...

The U.S. President Donald Trump signed an   executive order   which would approve acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel with some conditions. The conditions oblige both companies to abide by a National Security Agreement (NSA), exchanged with the U.S. government and to give the government a “golden share” to reserve a grip on those companies. Having 100 percent of common stock of U.S. Steel, it was reported in Japan that Nippon Steel was successful in that acquisition bid.   Former President Joe Biden  ordered  prohibition of Nippon Steel’s acquisition with a concern that the transaction would threaten national security of the U.S. in January. Trump issued a  memorandum  in April ordering the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review Biden’s order. Nippon Steel, with U.S. Steel, has been requesting Trump administration to approve the deal of purchasing with 100 percent acquisition of U.S. Steel’s share for 14.1 trillion...