Latest news with #TetsuoSaito
11-07-2025
- Politics
2025 POLLS: Komeito, JCP Struggle to Keep Once-Stable Support
News from Japan Politics Jul 11, 2025 19:56 (JST) Tokyo, July 11 (Jiji Press)--After decades of being backed by their unwavering supporter organizations and dedicated party members, Komeito and the Japanese Communist Party are struggling to secure support in the upcoming House of Councillors election. With their support bases aging, the two traditional parties lost seats in last month's Tokyo assembly as new forces emerged and votes were dispersed among many parties. Their proportional representation votes collected in national elections have also been on the decline. Faced with the tough situation, Komeito and the JCP are frantically calling for voters' support in the July 20 election for the upper chamber of parliament in hopes of maintaining their number of seats in the chamber. Speaking to reporters after delivering a stump speech in the western city of Osaka on Thursday, Tetsuo Saito, head of Komeito, said that the Osaka prefectural constituency is seeing a "fierce fight in which it's impossible to predict the number of votes we'll get." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Komeito and JCP struggle with aging support base as Upper House poll approaches
Two political parties that have long been reliant on strong organizational support and dedicated party members — Komeito, a junior party of the ruling coalition, and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) — are facing growing headwinds in the campaign for the Upper House election. With their support bases aging, newer political forces gaining ground and too many parties for voters to choose from, both parties have struggled to maintain voter traction, causing them to lose seats in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election in June. Their share of proportional representation votes in national elections continues to decline as well. 'We're in a fierce battle where it's hard to predict the outcome. We need to give it everything we've got,' Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito told reporters Thursday following a campaign stump in the city of Osaka. Komeito once boasted a rock-solid support base in the Kansai region — touted as 'invincible' — but the party suffered a complete loss in all four Osaka electoral districts in the Lower House election last October. Its proportional representation votes, which were once close to 9 million, dropped below 6 million — a record low. Under Saito's leadership, the party sought to reset its trajectory in the Tokyo assembly election, but for the first time in nine elections, the party failed to get a seat for all of the candidates it fielded. Party officials point to the aging membership of its main backer Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhism group, as a key challenge. 'We're also seeing more cases where supporters (other than Soka Gakkai) are passing away,' one party insider said, underscoring the lack of generational turnover. Meanwhile, the JCP, which marks its 103rd anniversary this year, faces similar demographic difficulties. The party's proportional representation vote count has continued to slide, falling to 3.61 million in the 2022 Upper House election and 3.36 million in last year's Lower House poll. The party's official newspaper, Shimbun Akahata, which has been instrumental in breaking stories such as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's political funds scandal, is now struggling with declining subscriptions and has called for ¥1 billion in donations. The party's longstanding policy of cutting the consumption tax has also lost its edge, as nearly all opposition parties now include similar proposals, diluting the JCP's message amid an increasingly fragmented political landscape. In the Upper House poll, Komeito is aiming to retain its 14 seats up for reelection and set a target of 7 million proportional representation votes. The JCP is aiming for at least eight seats — up from the seven up for reelection — and an ambitious 6.5 million votes in the proportional representation. 'We still have a long way to go. I hope we can expand our support,' JCP leader Tomoko Tamura said at a campaign rally in the city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, on Thursday. Both parties are stepping up efforts to reach out beyond their traditional organizational base, turning to social media in a bid to attract younger voters. Komeito has launched a YouTube sub-channel where its candidates and officials hold talks with prominent online commentators. The JCP, meanwhile, has published a series of short videos addressing common concerns, such as, 'Would Japan become a communist state if we took power?' Party executives appear in the videos to answer those questions. 'We're still figuring things out through trial and error,' Saito said. Translated by The Japan Times
Yomiuri Shimbun
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘We Will Raise Wages': Party Leaders in Japan Appeal to Voters in Campaign Speeches
On the first Sunday of the campaign period for the House of Councillors election, leaders of the ruling and opposition parties gave speeches in various places across Japan, appealing to voters with their proposals to address high prices and other issues. 'We will raise wages and strengthen the Japanese economy. The economy is definitely improving,' said Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in Yokohama. He criticized the opposition parties that are proposing consumption tax cuts, asking, 'Where are they going to find the financial resources [for social security]? Can you define such behavior as anything other than irresponsible?' He also expressed concern about his party's election campaign: 'There are serious headwinds.' LDP coalition partner Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito referenced the fiscal 2025 budget in his speech alongside the prime minister in Yokohama to emphasize his party's ability to implement policies. 'When we say we will do something, we will do it,' he said. Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, spoke about the significance of consumption tax cuts in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. 'Japan has the highest inflation rate among developed countries. The crisis is on your dinner table. We will temporarily reduce the consumption tax rate on food from 8% to 0%,' he said. During his speech in Kyoto, Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, said: 'The burden of social insurance premiums is too great. This burden will continue to increase,' and promised to reduce insurance premiums through social security reforms. Tomoko Tamura, the head of the Communist Party of Japan, said in Yokohama; 'I would like to open the way for consumption tax reductions by any means through the power of the joint efforts of the opposition parties.' In Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, called for income tax cuts. 'We will support the working-age population. I want to restore a society where salaries and pensions increase,' he said. 'We want to increase the amount of money we can spend. We want to abolish the consumption tax,' said Reiwa Shinsengumi leader Taro Yamamoto in Saitama City. 'We are calling for 'Japanese people first.' We want to protect the people's livelihood,' said Sohei Kamiya, head of Sanseito, in Saitama City. The party leaders also engaged in a war of words over the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations on NHK and Fuji TV programs. 'We will not make easy compromises, so it will take time,' Ishiba said. A letter from U.S. President Donald Trump may arrive notifying Japan of tariff rates, but the prime minister insisted, 'We're prepared for any possibility.' Noda said that Ryosei Akazawa, the economic revitalization minister in charge of tariff negotiations with the United States, 'is not functioning' and urged negotiations between the leaders. Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the Conservative Party of Japan, made television appearances. The election will be held on July 20.
Japan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Party leaders skeptical of three-party ruling coalition after Upper House vote
Ruling and opposition party leaders are reacting skeptically or with caution to growing speculation the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito would seek to expand their ruling coalition if they lose their majority in the July 20 Upper House election. The Upper House campaign for half of the 248 seat chamber kicks off Thursday, and for the ruling coalition, 50 is the magic number. If the LDP and Komeito collectively win fewer than 50 seats, they lose their majority. That would force them to either remain a two-party ruling coalition and face the difficult and time-consuming process of gaining agreement from at least one opposition party for every piece of legislation in both chambers, or invite an opposition party into their coalition. Currently, the LDP and Komeito, which lost their majority in the October Lower House poll and must work with other opposition parties in that chamber to pass legislation, hold a majority in the Upper House. During a leaders' debate in Tokyo on Sunday over whether the LDP and Komeito would create a larger coalition by bringing in a third party, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that doing so would be difficult. 'A coalition should be formed based on a certain level of consensus among the parties, not simply to have a coalition,' Ishiba said. Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito added, 'We are not at the stage where we can think about other partners for the LDP/Komeito coalition.' The three main opposition leaders from the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of the People, and Nippon Ishin no Kai also indicated at the same debate they had no plans to formally join the LDP and Komeito. CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda said a coalition was not formed based on just one issue, and that his party aimed to capture a majority in the Upper House. Nippon Ishin head Hirofumi Yoshimura said his party would not enter any ruling coalition, but cooperate on a policy-by-policy basis. DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that his party's decisions were based on what it could accomplish, not who it could work with. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. | JIJI LDP and Komeito leaders are warning their parties that the election will be a difficult one. On Thursday, LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama seemed open to discussing the possibility of including the CDP in a coalition if the LDP and Komeito end up without a majority in the Upper House. That came after Komeito's Saito indicated Wednesday his party was opposed to the idea. Political commentator Tetsuo Suzuki said that while Moriyama has suggested the CDP, other LDP executives have said either Nippon Ishin or the DPP should be the third coalition partner. 'But if we have an LDP/Komeito coalition that adds one of these parties, a lot of compromises between the three would be needed. We have to ask if this kind of politics of compromise is really a good thing,' Suzuki said. If the LDP and Komeito get fewer than 50 Upper House seats, Ishiba — who announced his party's goal was to maintain the ruling coalition majority — will be forced to resign. While the prime minister could also dissolve the Lower House, the LDP would probably try to avoid that because the feeling within the party is that it would lose that election as well, Suzuki added. On the other hand, should the LDP and Komeito collectively win 50 or more seats, they would keep their majority, and Ishiba would probably retain his job, Suzuki said. The political situation would mean the LDP and Komeito could continue to negotiate with the opposition parties on an individual basis through the autumn session of parliament. Finally, while 50 is the critical number for the ruling coalition, 63 is the ideal number for the LDP. Winning at least that many Upper House seats would give it a majority on its own. The LDP could interpret such results as meaning it has a solid base of public support. That might then lead to talk within the party about holding a Lower House election in the hope that the Upper House support results in the LDP — by itself or with Komeito — recapturing that chamber.
Japan Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Former Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi to retire from politics
Natsuo Yamaguchi, former head of Japan's junior ruling party Komeito, will retire from politics upon the end of his current six-year term as a House of Councilors member late next month. Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito told a party meeting on Friday that Yamaguchi, 72, will not run in the upcoming election for the upper chamber of parliament. The former leader previously said that he would not seek a constituency seat in the Upper House poll. But he had remained vague on whether he would run in the proportional representation system. At the party meeting, Yamaguchi said he owed his career as a lawmaker to "support from colleagues." Yamaguchi became Komeito leader after his predecessor, Akihiro Ota, lost in the 2009 election for the House of Representatives, the lower parliamentary chamber. Yamaguchi served as Komeito chief for eight terms, or 15 years, through last September, the longest tenure since the party took its current form in 1998.
