J Update

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi formed her   Cabinet   right after she was elected in both Houses of the Diet on October 21 st.  Although she was expected to build a gender conscious cabinet as the first woman premier, Takaichi rather focused on integration of her Liberal Democratic Party with consideration of balance of factions. She also distributed the seats of ministers to her colleagues who contributed her victory in LDP presidential election earlier this month.   Five candidates, including Takaichi, ran for LDP presidential election. Among them, Takaichi appointed Takayuki Kobayashi to the policy chief of the LDP. Rest of them, Toshimitsu Motegi, Yoshimasa Hayashi and Shinjiro Koizumi joined Takaichi Cabinet as important ministers. The choices of them indicate Takaichi’s intention to reunite her party, which once divided into five campaigns in the presidential election.   Her choice of Motegi for Minister for Foreign Affairs reflects her expectation to his a...

The Diet elected Sanae Takaichi, the President of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for 104 th  prime minister of Japan on October 21. Takaichi immediately formed her cabinet. Although the LDP reached a policy agreement with Japan Innovation Party (JIP) to establish new coalition, JIP decided not to send a minister to Takaichi Cabinet. It is assumed, anyway, that Takaichi administration is going to take hawkish stance in policies with support of conservative JIP. Takaichi won the election in the Lower House with 237 votes out of 465, leaving behind the leader of Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, with 149 votes. Takaichi was successful in receiving some votes out of LDP-JIP coalition. The opposition parties were not united to vote for a candidate. Takaichi also defeated Noda, with votes of 124 to 46, in the run-off voting of Upper House. There were 75 invalid votes in the Upper House.   Takaichi became the first female prime minister of Japan. However, the Japanese ...

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Japan Innovation Party (JIP)   agreed   on forming a coalition to lead a new government on October 20 th . Explaining their partnership to push Japan forward, the leaders of LDP and JIP shared conservative agenda for their coalition to implement, including constitutional amendment and security policies. The JIP, after all, offered a helping hand to the LDP, which was falling after departure of Komeito. The LDP President, Sanae Takaichi, and JIP leader, Hirofumi Yoshimura, and co-leader, Fumitake Fujita, signed the agreement for coalition. In their press opportunity after the signature, Takaichi stressed that it was a political cooperation between parties with common basic agenda. Yoshimura insisted that they were responsible for building a country which future generations would be proud of.   The agreement noted that the two parties would establish multiple discussion bodies on prohibition of political donation from companies and org...

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama  died  at age of 101 on October 17. He is known as delivering the Murayama Statement for commemoration of 50 th  anniversary of the end of Worle War II on August 15 th , 1995. Although apology on Japan’s past aggression to the neighbor countries were refused by his successors, the Murayama Statement has been a benchmark of Japan’s regret for its deeds in the war. Even the hawkish lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) praised Murayama’s achievement.   Murayama joined Japan Socialist Party (JSP) after his involvement in civil movement for fishermen and was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1972. As a chairman of Diet Affairs of JSP, Murayama led a protest against legislature of United Nations Peace Keeping Operation Cooperation Act, which enabled Japan Self-defense Force to go abroad, which had been recognized as a violation of the Constitution of Japan which was interpreted as prohibiting Japan to sen...

The Liberal Democratic party (LDP) and Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) reached a basic agreement in policies that Ishin hopes to implement through bilateral cooperation with the LDP. Although it had been pushing some policies which the LDP seemed to be hard to accept, Ishin suddenly changed the condition for cooperation with the LDP. Consequently, the President of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Sanae Takaichi, is likely to be elected the prime minister with support from LDP and Ishin.   When the two parties started policy talk on October 16 th , Ishin raised  12 policies  to be implemented when Ishin would cooperate with the LDP, which meant voting for Takaichi in the Diet for prime minister and possibly formulating a leading coalition with Takaichi administration. Those policies included zero percent of consumption tax, reduction of payment of working agers for social insurance, amendment of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan or prohibition of political...

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)   announced  at the hearing of Niigata Prefectural Assembly on October 16 that it would consider to decommission the reactor 1 and 2 of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. Facing firm skepticisms from local community on safety of the power plant, TEPCO offered a bargain to achieve an approval from the local residents for the restart of reactor 6 which is a major hope to improve its financial balance.   In the hearing, the president of TEPCO, Tomoaki Kobayakawa, explained that the company was considering decommissioning of reactor 1 and 2 within eighteen months from restart of reactor 6. Kobayakawa offered 100 billion yen of fund for revitalizing local economy and building facilities to prevent damage of possible accident in the plant. The subsidy will be paid for ten years, based on the income yielded from independence on thermal power generation by fossil fuels.   “We contribute to enhance local economy. We hope the fund will...

Being afraid of losing its government, the Liberal Democratic Party closely approached Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) to secure the seat of the prime minister. The LDP President, Sanae Takaichi,   had  a meeting with the head of Ishin to ask cooperation in policies, offering possible formulation of a leading coalition. Ishin considers voting for Takaichi at the election of prime minister in both Houses of the Diet. Ishin has been said as close to the LDP in conservative agenda. The party embraces amendment of the Constitution of Japan by rewriting Article 9 which is a pillar of Japanese pacifism. Ishin had a close relationship with former Shinzo Abe administration of the LDP. However, joining the leading coalition has been an unrealistic choice, considering opposition to LDP’s junior partner, Komeito, in political stance. Komeito’s departure from the leading coalition, therefore, brought an opportunity for Ishin to establish a new relationship with the LDP. ...

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is managing to recover the loss of its junior coalition partner, Komeito, to maintain its government. The LDP President, Sanae Takaichi,   apologized   to the member of her party for losing its partner. The party started efforts to find an alternative partner to secure the seat of prime minister, and hopefully to fulfill their shortage of seats for a majority in both chambers of the Diet to promote their policies.   “I told that I was responsible for secession of Komeito from the coalition and I apologized,” said Takaichi after LDP plenary meeting by lawmakers on October 14 th , held for explaining why Komeito left the coalition. Takaichi promised that the board members of the party would make utmost efforts to get along with other parties which can share an agreement.   There were various responses from LDP lawmakers on serious erosion of the leading coalition. Some demanded maintaining moderate relationship with Komeito, even afte...

Given an unusual opportunity to grab a leading power by Komeito’s leave from the leading coalition, the opposition parties began to consider a possibility of unified action to elect next prime minister in the Diet. Without Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has further distance from a majority in both chambers. The opposition leaders agreed on having a meeting to discuss how they would vote in the election of prime minister.   In a discussion of Fuji Television on October 12 th , the leader of Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ), Yoshihiko Noda,  told  that the head of Democratic Party for the People (DPP), Yuichiro Tamaki, would be a viable choice for the prime minister. Tamaki had been a target of the Constitutional Democratic Party before Komeito left the leading coalition on October 10 th . CDPJ Secretary General, Jun Azumi,  told  DPP Secretary General, Katsuya Shinba, on October 8 th  that Tamaki could be a candidate of prime minist...

The Legislative Council of Ministry of Justice   released  a draft of revising Car Driving Punishment Act to set stricter rules on dangerous driving causing death. It is aimed at imposing strict punishment on dangerous driving with extremely high speed or with excessive taking of alcohol. Regarding current car accidents caused by reckless driving, including some cases made by foreigners, the ministry is going to raise the level of regulation. Dangerous driving had been generally subjected to “professional negligence” for a long time, since cars became popular for every family in Japan. The government created a concept of “dangerous driving causing death or injury” in 2001, after an accident in which drunken truck driver hit a car and two little girls were killed on a highway. Dangerous driving causes heavier penalty than professional negligence, recognizing malicious violation of law as deliberated, not as careless.   Concerning increase of serious traffic accidents in Ja...

The Royal Swedish Academy   announced  that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry would go to three scientists, including a Japanese who is a Professor of Kyoto University, Susumu Kitagawa. They developed molecular constructions which “can be used harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions. Kitagawa became the second Japanese who was awarded Nobel Prize this year, following Shimon Sakaguchi in Physiology and Medicine.   Multiple Nobel Prize laureates in the same year makes great news for Japanese media. Newspapers reported the decision of Nobel Committee to award Kitagawa with huge headline on October 9 th . They emphasized that Kitagawa is the thirtieth person of Nobel Prize laureate, since Hideki Yukawa received one in physics in 1949 and the ninth in Chemistry.   According to the Nobel Committee, Kitagawa, Richard Robson with University of Melbourne, Australia, and Omar M. Yaghi with University of California, Ber...

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivered on October 10 th   a “ reflection ” on the 80 th  anniversary of the end of the World War II. In the reflection, Ishiba deliberates some reasons why imperial Japan could not avoid entering the war and presented his idea on what was the lesson of it. Although the reflection is categorized as a personal speech of the prime minister with no cabinet decision, there is an argument that it would serve as an official document of prime minister.   Since Tomiichi Murayama issued a statement on 50 th  anniversary in 1995, Jun-ichiro Koizumi and Shizo Abe published official statements with cabinet decisions on August 15 th  in 2005 and 2015. As those statements caused controversy over Japan’s apology to its neighbor countries, which had suffered from Japan’s aggression, the conservative members in the LDP opposed Ishiba’s delivery of 80 th  anniversary statement. Ishiba refrained from issuing an official statement on August 15 t...

The Chief Representative of Komeito, Tetsuo Saito,   told   the President of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Sanae Takaichi, that Komeito would leave the coalition, ending partnership in the leading coalition which began 26 years ago. The main reason was LDP’s reluctance to set stricter regulation on donation from companies and organizations. Losing Komeito, the LDP led by Takaichi enters further unstable situation, in which maintenance of government is highly difficult.   In the meeting with Takaichi, Saito requested the LDP to approve Kometo’s bill of revised Political Fund Control Act. While the bill, which was submitted to the Diet in March 2025, demands the donation to be accepted by party headquarters and only one branch in each prefecture, prohibiting small branches headed by lawmakers or local politicians. The LDP has expanded that kind of small branches to 7,800. Most of those branches will not be able to receive political donations under the regulation of Komeit...

The junior partner of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the leading coalition, Komeito, is reconsidering decades-long relationship with the LDP, after Sanae Takaichi won LDP presidential election. Komeito laid down some conditions to maintain the coalition, indicating possible divorce with the LDP. The Chief Representative of Komeito, Tetsuo Saito, unequivocally   referred to   a possibility that the lawmaker of Komeito will not vote for Takaichi in the election for prime minister in the Diet unless those conditions are fulfilled. The LDP may face serious jeopardy to stay in the ruling position before beginning of Takaichi administration.   Saito had a meeting with Takaichi on October 4th, immediately after the victory of Takaichi, and demanded explanation about her political stance. They were about her visiting Yasukuni Shrine which enshrines war criminals, treatment of foreigners in Japan, and stricter regulation on political donations from companies and organizatio...

Following electing Sanae Takaichi for the new president, the Liberal Democratic Party   renewed   the member of its board on October 7 th . Reflecting contribution to her election campaign, Takaichi picked lawmakers who are close to two heavyweights in the party, Taro Aso and Toshimitsu Motegi, to the position of party leaders. This structure of power inside the party is close to that in former Fumio Kishida administration which were also dominated by Aso and Motegi. New LDP board members are Sanae Takaichi for President, Taro Aso for Vice-President, Shun-ichi Suzuki for Secretary General, Koichi Hagiuda for Executive Acting Secretary General, Takayuki Kobayashi for Chairman of Policy Research Council, Haruko Arimura Chairwoman of General Council, Keiji Furuya for Chairman of Election Strategy Committee, Hiroshi Kajiyama for Chairman of Diet Affairs Committee, and Takako Suzuki for Chairwoman of Public Relations Headquarters.   Basic concept of the selection was very simp...

Karolinska Institutet in Sweden announced that 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine would go to three scientists including Shimon Sakaguchi, Distinguished Professor at Osaka University, on their study in immunology. The Nobel Assembly at the institute recognized that they discovered how the immune system is kept in check. Expecting the discovery to contribute to medical treatment for allergic diseases, the people in Japan congratulated the new Japanese Nobel Prize laureate.   The laureates are Mary E. Brunkow, Senior Program Manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in the United States, Fred Rumsdell from the University of California Los Angeles and Sakaguchi. The prize, 11 million of Swedish kronor, will equally shared by those three laureates.   According to the Nobel Committee, their discoveries were related to peripheral immune tolerance. “The laureates identified the immune security guards, regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking our own b...

The greatest concern for Sanae Takaichi administration, which is expected to be established in mid-October, is how to manage her minority government in both Houses of the Diet. Although Takaichi likes to build up a lager coalition by her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), its partner Komeito and one of the major opposition parties, there is no hopeful perspective to find one for securing a majority. Takaichi looks like having no option other than continuing current policy talks with the opposition parties, conducted by Shigeru Ishiba administration.   Before the voting day of LDP, Takaichi has been willing to formulate a new coalition inviting some opposition power into her possible administration. She said that she  hoped  to find the new partner before she would formulate new cabinet in the extraordinary session of the Diet, as soon as she would be elected new prime minister, succeeding incumbent Shigeru Ishiba.   The first target  is the Democratic Party for the...

The victory of Sanae Takaichi in presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) indicated a preference of conservative agenda among rank and file members of the party. Takaichi is likely to face a difficulty in balancing between implementation of her alleged conservative agenda and necessity to reintegrate her party. Ultra-right stance of her may cause gridlock in promoting policies with support of the opposition parties in the Diet, where the LDP does not have a majority in each House.   The presidential race became a match between anti-Ishiba bloc and pro-Ishiba groups. Among five candidates, Takayuki Kobayashi, Toshimitsu Motegi and Takaichi were categorized as anti-Ishiba lawmakers who embraced frustration against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of his leadership in two national elections in 2024 and 2025. Kobayashi and Motegi supported Takaichi in the run-off election, after they were defeated in the first round.   Shinjiro Koizumi and Yoshimasa Hayashi were th...

The Liberal Democratic Party   elected   Sanae Takaichi for its president on October 4 th . If the opposition parties are not united for one candidate, Takaichi is likely to be elected new prime minister in coming extraordinary session of the Diet in mid- October. Takaichi became LDP’s female president for the first time and is making first female prime minister of Japan. Upholding a number of conservative agenda, Takaichi administration is expected to be highly hawkish one. LDP presidential election is a contest over 590 votes, 295 for lawmakers and other 295 for rank and file party members. If no candidate achieves a simple majority, the election enters a run-off election by two top candidates in the first round. Total votes for the run-off are 342, which are 295 for lawmakers and 47 for LDP local branches allocated every 47 prefectures.   In the first round, Takaichi topped with 183 votes, 64 from lawmakers and 119 from rank and file members. Shinjiro Koizumi followed ...