Latest news with #LDP-Komeito
4 days ago
- Politics
About 200 People Rally to Encourage PM Ishiba to Stay On
News from Japan Society Jul 26, 2025 13:06 (JST) Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)--About 200 people gathered in front of the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Friday evening to encourage embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to remain in office. The demonstration was held at a time when Ishiba is under growing pressure from within his Liberal Democratic Party to step down after the LDP-Komeito coalition lost its House of Councillors majority in Sunday's election. Around 7 p.m. Friday, an organizer of the rally read a statement describing Ishiba as a man of integrity and expressing hope that he will continue to work as the country's leader. Participants shouted responses such as "Hang in there, Ishiba!" and "Don't resign!" Meanwhile, some people at the scene protested the demonstration and urged the prime minister to resign. A notice of the demonstration was posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday night. By the time the demonstration ended around 8 p.m., it had been viewed over 1.75 million times and reposted more than 4,700 times. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's LDP Mulls Timing, Method of Party Presidential Election to Select Ishiba's Successor
The timing of when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his resignation and when that resignation goes into effect will impact when and in what way the Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, will hold an election to choose his successor. Several LDP members have called for a swift resignation announcement by Ishiba and holding of a presidential election. 'The longer the prime minister stays in office, the more we will lose support for the party,' a mid-ranking LDP member said. However, a politically quiet setting is desirable as for instance, the nation will observe the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15. Opinions are divided therefore on the specifics of the ideal schedule of events. A proposal has been floated among LDP executive members to hold the vote in September and convene an extraordinary session of the Diet for the prime ministerial election in October. This assumes that Ishiba stays in office until the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) scheduled for Aug. 20-22, which is the main diplomatic event in August. Considering that the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition holds a minority in both the House of Representatives and House of Councillors, a senior LDP member said, 'we need to set aside enough time to confirm that non-ruling party forces will not unite in the prime ministerial election to replace the government.' Attention is also being paid to how the LDP presidential election will be conducted. According to LDP regulations, the party president can be chosen at a joint plenary meeting of LDP members of both houses of the Diet 'in cases of particular urgency' as the president is unable to fulfill their term. Each LDP member in the Diet can cast one vote and each prefectural chapter three votes, increasing the weight of legislators' votes in this election format. However, if there is sufficient time after Ishiba's resignation announcement, there may be increasing calls for the LDP presidential election held in a 'complete form' that gives party members voting parity with Diet members. In the LDP's presidential election in September last year, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi came out on top in the votes cast by rank-and-file members in the first round of voting. Lawmakers and others supporting Takaichi argued that the next presidential election should be conducted in the complete form to 'listen to the voices of party members, given the party's critical situation.' On the other hand, some LDP executives who are wary of Takaichi's hard-line conservative stance are believed to be aiming to for a general meeting of LDP lawmakers from both houses of the Diet as the way to select the new party president.
Japan Today
7 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Support for PM Ishiba Cabinet hits record-low 23% after election loss
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a press conference at the headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo on Monday. The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet dipped to just under 23 percent, the lowest level since he took office in October, a Kyodo News poll showed Tuesday, underscoring his continuing plight following his ruling coalition's major setback in the weekend House of Councillors election. Although Ishiba is facing growing calls from within his Liberal Democratic Party to step down to take responsibility for Sunday's election drubbing, respondents of the survey were divided on the issue, with 51.6 percent demanding his resignation and 45.8 percent thinking otherwise. On policies regarding foreigners, which took center stage in election campaigning amid a growing number of workers and tourists from overseas, 65.6 percent backed stricter regulations on issues such as immigration control and real estate acquisition, while 26.7 percent did not want any changes, and 4.4 percent called for easing the regulations. The telephone survey was conducted Monday and Tuesday, after the latest national election resulted in the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito losing control of both chambers of parliament, allowing smaller opposition forces, including the right-leaning populist Sanseito party, to expand their presence. Ishiba has expressed his intention to stay in office to avoid a political stalemate in the midst of public struggles over high prices and negotiations with the United States on tariffs as a deadline nears on Aug. 1. The Ishiba Cabinet's approval rating plunged 9.6 points from June to 22.9 percent, surpassing the previous low of 27.4 percent in May. The disapproval rate climbed 14.9 points to 65.8 percent. Support for the LDP also fell 9.0 points to 20.7 percent, the lowest level since Junichiro Koizumi became prime minister in 2001, though the figures are based on different survey methods and exclude the period when the LDP was out of power. Koizumi, who led the party at the time, enjoyed broad Cabinet support during his five-year tenure. The survey also showed that 36.2 percent of respondents, the largest group, want the nation to be steered by "a new framework through political realignment," followed by 28.0 percent who hope some opposition parties will join the LDP-Komeito coalition. The long-ruling LDP still remains the largest force in parliament. But a political deadlock is expected without opposition support, as the upper house, although less powerful than the House of Representatives, is a crucial part of the process to ensure laws and policies are enacted and advanced. It is the first time since 1994 that Japan's ruling parties have fallen short of a majority control of both houses. In a multiple-choice question on which opposition parties the LDP-Komeito coalition should seek closer cooperation with, 35.1 percent selected the Democratic Party for the People, which gained momentum in the October lower house election and again in Sunday's upper house poll. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party, was chosen by 21.9 percent, followed by 20.4 percent who picked Sanseito, a fledgling party that rose to prominence via YouTube. It has drawn voters with its "Japanese First" slogan and warnings of what it calls a "silent invasion" by foreigners. When casting their ballots, 42.3 percent of respondents said they considered each party's policies on foreigners, while 56.0 percent said they did not. As parties ramp up their use of social media and video platforms for campaigning, 64.0 percent said the information did not significantly influence their voting behavior, compared with 34.9 percent who said it did. Asked about the most important issue in the election, 32.2 percent of respondents cited measures to address rising prices, followed by 18.7 percent who chose social security, including pensions, and 11.4 percent who pointed to economic conditions and employment. By political party, support for the CDPJ rose to 10.8 percent, up from 9.2 percent in the June survey. Support for the Japan Innovation Party, the second-largest opposition force in the lower house, stood at 5.2 percent, falling behind the DPP, which saw its backing rise to 15.1 percent. Support for Sanseito surged to 11.8 percent from 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, the share of respondents who identified with no political party dropped to 12.3 percent from 21.1 percent. For the survey, 516 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 3,217 mobile phone numbers were called, yielding responses from 424 household members and 625 mobile phone users. © KYODO
The Mainichi
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Editorial: As Japan enters new multiparty ruling era, cooperation needed to avert dysfunction
Japanese politics has reached a major turning point. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito suffered a crushing defeat in the July 20 House of Councillors election, losing their majority. For the first time since the LDP's founding in 1955, the party now finds itself a minority in both the upper and lower houses of the Diet. The administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has now lost three major elections in a row: last year's House of Representatives election, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, and now the upper house race. Under normal circumstances, Ishiba would be expected to step down. Nevertheless, at a July 21 press conference, the prime minister formally announced his intention to remain in office, citing the fact that the LDP is still the largest party in the upper chamber. But having failed to meet even the self-imposed benchmark of "maintaining a majority," it is unlikely the public will accept Ishiba's decision to stay on. Ishiba's continued tenure lacks public support Since the LDP became a minority in the lower house, the much-anticipated "deliberative Diet" -- a new model of politics based on open debate -- has failed to function. Instead, the prime minister prioritized cobbling together enough votes to pass legislation by engaging in closed-door negotiations with opposition parties. There has been little sign of a commitment to deepening debate in an open Diet. Meanwhile, Japan faces a mountain of challenges, from tariff negotiations with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump and rising prices to a severe regional security environment. Political paralysis cannot be allowed. To break the deadlock of a minority government, the administration must either continue its "partial coalition" approach -- maintaining the LDP-Komeito alliance while seeking cooperation from some opposition parties on individual policies -- or expand the coalition framework itself. On the prospect of expanding the coalition, the prime minister stated, "I am not considering it at this time." In the first place, for opposition parties, cooperating with a coalition government that just suffered a major electoral defeat risks alienating their supporters. If Ishiba clings to power, expanding the coalition will become even more difficult. It may be time to select a new LDP president, refresh the party leadership, and seek new approaches to stabilize the government. Following the upper house election, Japan has truly entered an era of "multiparty politics," in which no party can govern alone. The rise of the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, which attracted voters seeking a break from LDP-Komeito rule, is emblematic of this shift. These parties skillfully used social media to broaden their support, especially among young people. Voter turnout in the upper house election constituencies reached 58.51%, more than 6 percentage points higher than in 2022. By contrast, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party), and the Japanese Communist Party either stagnated or lost seats. Like the LDP and Komeito, they were seen as part of the political establishment. The main opposition CDP in particular failed to become a unifying force. A key concern in this new multiparty era is that political confusion could stall progress on important policies. If parties focus too much on short-term "achievements," there is a risk that long-term challenges involving considerable burdens -- such as social security reform for an aging society and restoring fiscal health -- will be postponed. Opposition parties bear heavy responsibility In the most recent Diet session, with the Ishiba administration leading a minority government, the ruling parties were forced to accept some opposition demands -- such as free high school tuition and raising the income threshold for income tax -- in exchange for passing budgets and legislation. Now that no party holds a majority in either house, the responsibility of opposition parties is even greater. They now have the numbers to effectively shape political decisions, and they must carefully set policy priorities and engage in sincere debate to achieve balanced consensus. During the campaign, the opposition called for cutting or abolishing the consumption tax and scrapping the provisional gasoline tax. But if they continue to leave the question of funding to the ruling parties, they will not be fulfilling their responsibility to the public. On long-term issues, it is also important to establish cross-party forums for discussion, free from partisan interests. If common ground can be found, it could lay the foundation for future coalition governments. In 2012, the then-ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the LDP-Komeito coalition agreed on a comprehensive reform of taxes and social security, including a consumption tax hike. This should be used as a reference for cross-party initiatives. Multiparty politics also reflects the diversification of public opinion. If the parties can create mechanisms for policy dialogue that reflect the voices of the people, it could be an opportunity to restore trust in politics. Now is the time for both ruling and opposition parties to pool their wisdom and prevent political dysfunction.
21-07-2025
- Politics
24 Pct Hope for Change of Govt after Election: Exit Poll
News from Japan Politics Jul 21, 2025 17:30 (JST) Tokyo, July 21 (Jiji Press)--A Jiji Press exit poll has found that 24.3 pct of respondents hope that the current Liberal Democratic Party-led government will be replaced by an opposition-centered government following Sunday's House of Councillors election. Those hoping for the continuation of the current LDP-Komeito coalition government came to 18.4 pct, followed by 9.6 pct who want the Democratic Party for the People to join the LDP-Komeito coalition. The survey also showed that 7.0 pct of respondents hope that the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan will participate in the ruling camp, while 5.1 pct want Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) to form a coalition with the LDP-Komeito pair. Meanwhile, 35.5 pct said they support none of the choices presented in the exit poll or have no idea about the appropriate framework of government after the election for the upper chamber of parliament. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
