J Update

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had a Joint Plenary Meeting of Party Members of Both Houses of the Diet (JPM) on August 8 th . Receiving requests of anti-Ishiba members, the meeting   decided  to ask Presidential Election Committee to confirm how many party members would want an early presidential election. It is quite unclear how an early presidential election will be set and whether anti-Ishiba group will be successful in replacing the Prime Minister. The meeting was held with decision of the party board. The board determined the subject of JPM as review of Upper House election in July and revitalization of the party, to block requests from anti-Ishiba groups for replacement of the president Shigeru Ishiba. Although Ishiba referred to his willingness to stay in his position, discussion at the JPM was focused on whether LDP presidential election should be held before Ishiba’s term as the president expires. Chairwoman of the meeting, Haruko Arimura, wrapped up the discussio...

Ministry for Internal Affairs and Communications released its demographic survey, or   the Vital Survey , of Japan at the time of October 1 st , 2023. Population of Japan declined for sixteen consecutive years, while foreigners in Japan showed significant increase. It is likely that xenophobic sentiment among the Japanese is further growing as some news conservative parties promote policies excluding foreign people from Japan. The statistics were based on demographic data recorded on the Basic Resident Register, total sum of records in the cities, towns and villages all around Japan. Although Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has annual survey of Future Population Estimate, the Vital Statistics annually wraps up the basic contemporary demographic situation.   The population of Japanese citizens was 120,653,227 in October 2023. It declined by 908,574 from the previous year, marking 0.75 percent of reduction. Both the number and ratio of demographic shrinking were the bigge...

The National Council for Minimum Wage submitted a guideline that minimum wage in Japan in 2025 would be 1,118 yen per hour, 63 yen higher than last year. It marked a record hike, with 6.0 percent of growth, in the history of the council. It reflected the policy of Shigeru Ishiba administration to support workers more than employers, succeeding basic policy from his predecessor, Fumio Kishida. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has national and prefectural councils for minimum wage, which are set for negotiation between employers and workers with mediation of public experts such as professors or media leaders. The national council determines a guideline for prefectural councils every year. The prefectural council decides minimum wage in their region with consideration of guideline offered by the national council. New minimum wage is applied to each prefecture normally on October 1 st . An employer cannot hire any workers with a wage lower than determined minimum wage.   In the t...

Hiroshima marked the 80 th   anniversary from atomic bombing on August 6 th , 1945. In the Peace Memorial Ceremony, the Mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, asked political leaders in the world to embrace “heart of Hiroshima,” which sincerely hopes world peace. However, his remarks clarified significant gap between Hiroshima and the world in which threat of using nuclear weapons remains. In his  Peace Declaration  in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on 8:15 a.m. of August 6 th , the exact time an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 80 years ago, Matsui criticized a notion that nuclear weapons can be possessed for protecting a country, referring to military empowerment as seen in Russian invasion to Ukraine or in the Middle East. He urged political leaders in the world to come to Hiroshima and witness the truth of the city suffered from a nuclear weapon.   Matsui stressed necessity for nations to “look beyond narrow self-interest to consider the circumstances of other...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took questions from party leaders on the issues he is in charge at Committee on Budget in the House of Representatives on August 4 th . It was the first opportunity for Ishiba, since a serious defeat in the Upper House election in July, to discuss the policies for which he needed some cooperation with the opposition parties. The opposition leaders focused on implementing their own policies rather than on putting pressure for Ishiba to step down.   It is unusual for a committee in the Diet to have intensive discussion on policies in a short session right after an election in one of the two Houses. Although current extraordinary session was convoked for replacing the chairs and members of each committee in the Upper House, reflecting the result of election, the leading and opposition parties have agreed on having unusual discussion on some issues.   After the ordinary session was closed in late June, Ishiba administration reached a deal with the Uni...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is thinking about how to deliver a message at the 80 th   anniversary from the end of the World War II. While he considered issuing his personal statement without Cabinet Decision on August 15 th , it would invite a firm opposition from the conservative lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party. Ishiba still deliberates to release his message later this year. It has been usual for a prime minister to issue memorial statement every decade. Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama delivered  a statement  at the 50 th  anniversary in 1995, which touched on Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression” following mistaken national policy, and expressed “feeling of deep remorse” and “heartfelt apology” to neighboring countries. Jun-ichiro Koizumi mostly followed Murayama Statement at the 60 th  anniversary in 2005.   Shinzo Abe tried to change the course at the 70 th  anniversary in 2015. It  described  “deep remorse and heart...

A major earthquake with magnitude 8.7   occurred   in seabed close to Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, on July 30 th . The quake caused tsunami in broad coastal area in Japan. The government of Japan issued information about approach of tsunami in the region facing the Pacific Ocean. The government has been enhancing preventive measures against possible great tsunami in Japan. The Kamchatka quake offered an opportunity to review its plan to reduce damages from disaster. The government issued tsunami warning to thirteen prefectures which faced the Pacific Ocean one hour after the earthquake. Japan Meteorological Agency announce that it was possible that tsunami with maximum three meters high may arrive in the coastal area. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States also warned that tsunami would arrive on the coast of Alaska or Hawaii.   Although the epicenter was 1,500 kilometers away from the eastmost point of Hokkaido Island of Japan, tsunami event...

An extraordinary session of the Diet with terms of only five days was convoked on August 1 st . Given the result of Upper House election, in which the leading coalition lost its majority, balance of power among the parties was significantly changed. Shigeru Ishiba administration is likely to spend more political energy than ever to implement its policies, asking cooperation from the opposition parties.   It is usual that an extraordinary session is convoked right after the election. The parties have been discussed which post of committees they would take. They finally  agreed  on distributing 8 chairs out of 17 standing committees to the Liberal Democratic Party and 2 to Komeito, while 3 went to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), 2 to the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and one each to Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) and Sanseito.   The LDP reduced 2 posts from pre-election status. Instead, the DPP and Sanseito gained one seat eac...

Major six parties in the Diet   agreed  on gasoline tax cut by the end of this year. Although a bill for gasoline tax cut was dismissed by the leading coalition in the ordinary session of the Diet earlier this year, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) made a concession, given serious defeat in the Upper House election in July. It marked the first post-election policy deal after the election. The chairs on Diet affairs committee of the LDP, Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) and Japan Communist Party (JCP) signed on an agreement that they would abolish the temporary tax rate on gasoline as early as possible within this year. It is likely that related bill will be submitted to the extraordinary session of the Diet, whish is supposed to be convoked to discuss economic stimulus package this fall. The CDPJ hopes to abolish it by November 1 st .   The temporary gaso...