Japan heads to polls in key test for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
Weak export data last week stoked fears that the world's fourth-largest economy could tip into a technical recession.Despite Ishiba securing an early meeting with Trump in February, and sending his trade envoy to Washington seven times, no agreement has been reached. For voters, tackling rising prices is a also a central concern.The cost of rice, a staple food for Japanese households, has nearly doubled since last year. For the past few months, the government has had to tap into its emergency stockpiles to tackle the shortage. Since last year's lower house election, which saw the coalition fall short of a majority, the LDP has not been able to regain the trust of voters who are disgruntled with stagnant wages and relentless inflation. Meanwhile, the populist Sanseito party, which has been using social media to attract younger voters, has seen a surge in popularity. Polls show its "Japanese First" slogan has struck a chord with some conservatives, although its hardline stance on foreigners has drawn criticism.The party wants "stricter rules and limits" on immigration, opposes "globalism" and "radical" gender policies, and wants a re-think on decarbonisation and vaccines.If Ishiba's ruling coalition fails to secure 50 seats, it will have lost majority in both chambers of parliament, which could threaten his leadership and lead to political instability. Ishiba's centre-right party has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, albeit with frequent changes of leader.The last time the LDP and Komeito failed to win a majority in the upper house was in 2010, having already fallen below the threshold in 2007.That was followed by a rare change of government in 2009, when the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan governed for a rocky three years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Reform's bacon and egg offensive to woo business
Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice is conducting a 'bacon and eggs' charm offensive to woo British businesses ahead of the next election. Tice told The Mail on Sunday that he and other senior party figures, including leader Nigel Farage, had been meeting 'dozens and dozens and dozens' of bosses for breakfast meetings. He said they included chief executives, finance chiefs, chairmen and top lobbyists at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250-listed firms, as well as those at private and foreign-owned companies. It echoes the 'smoked salmon and scrambled eggs' charm offensive by Labour ahead of the last General Election. Tice, pictured with Farage, said the 'penny dropped' for many firms about Reform's potential to form the next government after its landslide success in May's local elections and taking a 14-point lead in the latest national opinion poll. And he dismissed concerns raised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) about whether Reform's sums added up, dismissing the respected economic think-tank as 'the institute for feeble studies'. Tice said: 'Lots of companies recognise we are a serious contender to be the next government, whenever the election is. They are taking it seriously, so want to meet me and understand where we're coming from on a variety of big issues. 'Whether you want to call it the bacon and eggs offensive or whatever, a series of breakfasts and other meetings are going on, and it is going well, and we're doing quite a lot of it.' A well-placed City source who alerted The Mail on Sunday to the meetings suggested there was some scepticism among business leaders about Reform's plans. Firms contacted by this newspaper were tight-lipped over whether they had met Tice. One FTSE 100 director, who asked not to be named, said he had 'not seen him' as part of the drive, but had once bumped into the politician and 'couldn't find anything we could agree on'. However, Tice said the reaction had been positive, particularly relating to plans to scrap the net zero carbon climate goal. 'We understand the language of business,' he said. 'I was chief executive of a billion-pound multinational listed company. Nigel's a businessman. We understand what it takes to save the British economy. 'We are talking about our dead seriousness about scrapping net zero and that is greeted with almost universal joy on a private basis. Privately, they all admit it's bonkers, it's costing them a fortune, it's making them uncompetitive.' Tice said Reform had told oil and gas companies to prepare applications for drilling licences in the North Sea 'so they can be checked and pre-approved before an election and rubber-stamped within a matter of days' if Reform were to win. He added: 'We're not mucking about. We're very clear that things like net zero, ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) – it's all for the birds. It all goes and we will be pretty aggressive on that and anyone who tries to get in our way.' The IFS's analysis of Reform's tax-cutting plans found that raising an individual's annual tax threshold from £12,570 to £20,000 and other measures could cost up to £80 billion a year, and that the party's strategy involved large, unspecified cuts to public services. And Simon French, chief economist at investment bank Panmure Liberum, has warned that Britain could face an 'immediate and violent' sterling crisis if Farage wins power. But Tice dismissed these, calling the IFS estimate a 'back-of-the-fag-packet guess' saying: 'We expect the enemy to do that.' Asked whether business leaders were convinced by Reform's plans, Tice said: 'They get it.' He added that he and Farage were 'probably two of the most successful financial, economic, businesslike MPs they've ever met'.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Big Pharma booms despite Trump tariff headache
Britain's two biggest drug makers are expected to reveal a profit surge this week as demand booms despite a looming threat of tariffs from the US. GSK, led by Emma Walmsley, is expected to report profit of £4.4 billion for the first half of this year on Wednesday, up from £2.9 billion the previous year, while sales are expected to inch up to £15.3 billion from £15.2 billion in 2024. AstraZeneca, the largest company on the London Stock Exchange, is forecast to report a half-year profit of £5 billion, which is £1.1 billion more than the year before, with sales expected to have increased 8 per cent to £20.6 billion. The sector is under pressure due to the threat of tariffs from the US, a critical market for both companies. President Donald Trump this month threatened to slap a 200 per cent levy on drug imports as part of an escalation of his trade war. His threats have pushed many firms to begin moving factories to – and making larger investments in – the US to protect themselves from retaliation. Last week, AstraZeneca announced plans to invest £37 billion in the US, which accounts for 42 per cent of its sales. The move has also fuelled fears it could switch its London stock market listing to the US, which would be a hit to the City. GSK suffered a blow in the US last week when American regulators recommended against approving the relaunch of its key blood cancer drug Blenrep, which had been pulled from the country in 2022 due to concerns about its side-effects.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas
Hong Kong's national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are accused of organising or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say intended to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 after months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. The activists are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial Hong Kong Parliament group, which authorities say aims to achieve self-determination and draft a Hong Kong constitution. Police said the organisation sought to overthrow the governments of China and Hong Kong by unlawful means, and that further arrests may follow. Among those named are the businessman Elmer Yuen, the commentator Victor Ho, and the activists Johnny Fok and Tony Choi. Four of them are subject to previous arrest warrants, each carrying a reward of 1m Hong Kong dollars (£95,000). Among the remaining 15, for each of whom police are offering a reward of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, are those said to have organised or run in the election and been sworn in as its councillors. Feng Chongyi, a China studies professor at the University of Technology Sydney who was also listed, decried the bounty against him as 'ridiculous'. 'They've got the power, they've got the influence overseas, they want to control everything even overseas,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald. The UK's foreign and home secretaries condemned the move in a joint statement, calling the arrests 'another example of transnational repression' and saying it damages Hong Kong's international reputation. '[The UK] will not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas,' they said in a statement on Friday. In response, the Chinese embassy in the UK said the British government's remarks 'constitute a gross interference' in China's internal affairs and the rule of law in Hong Kong. 'China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs … stop shielding criminals,' it said. Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, also strongly objected to the arrest warrants. 'Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy,' she said on X. 'We have consistently expressed our strong objections to China and Hong Kong on the broad and extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security legislation, and we will continue to do so.' The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a 'one country, two systems' formula. Critics of the national security law say government are using it to stifle dissent. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly said the law was vital to restore stability after the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. Police reiterated that national security offences were serious crimes with extraterritorial reach and urged the wanted individuals to return to Hong Kong and surrender. 'If offenders voluntarily give up continuing to violate the crime, turn themselves in, truthfully confess their crimes, or provide key information that helps solve other cases, they may be eligible for reduced punishment,' they said in a statement. Police also said that aiding, abetting, or funding others to participate in the Hong Kong Parliament group could be a criminal offence.
