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Yomiuri Shimbun
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Eyes to be on Whether Japan's Ruling Bloc Can Win 50 Seats in Upper House Vote; Opposition Parties Aim to be on the Offensive After Tokyo Election Results
Ruling and opposition parties have accelerated their preparations for the House of Councillors election now that the date has been set for July 20 with official campaigning set to start July 3. Focus will be on whether the ruling parties can win the 50 seats needed to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house. The Liberal Democratic Party, which suffered a major defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on Sunday, is rushing to rebuild itself in preparation for the July 20 election. Opposition parties, on the other hand, have been gaining momentum following the Tokyo election and aim to be on the offensive through candidate coordination and other means. 'We discussed the need to learn from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election and work hard for the upper house election,' said Shinji Inoue, the chairman of the LDP's Tokyo metropolitan chapter and former Expo minister, to reporters after an emergency meeting of the chapter at LDP headquarters on Tuesday. At the meeting, attendees expressed various opinions, including that the LDP's policies did not quite appeal to voters. The number of seats the party won in Sunday's election was a record low for the LDP in a Tokyo assembly election. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also LDP president, said Monday that the goal for the upcoming election is to maintain a majority, or hold at least a combined 125 seats between the LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito. The LDP holds 62 seats that are not up for grabs this election, while Komeito has 13, so the goal can be achieved by winning 50 seats in the upcoming upper house election. 'It's important for the LDP and Komeito to maintain a majority in the upper house to help the government ensure stable management,' Komeito Secretary General Makoto Nishida said Tuesday. This time, 125 seats will be contested, 124 of which are held by members whose terms are set to end and one seat to fill a vacancy in the Tokyo constituency. As winning 63 seats this election would mean winning a majority of the contested seats, some within the LDP are dissatisfied with the goal set by Ishiba. 'That's too low of a target,' a former cabinet minister said. But in light of the major defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, the view that the LDP cannot be optimistic is growing. LDP executives are hoping the poor results in the Tokyo election will have a motivating effect, with one saying, 'With the results of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election being this bad, [our candidates] will have to fight hard in the upper house election.' Meanwhile, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan held an election strategy meeting on Tuesday and confirmed a policy to make every effort to stop the ruling parties from securing a majority in the upper house election. At the start of the meeting, CDPJ chief Yoshihiko Noda, referring to his party's five-seat increase in the Tokyo assembly election, said: 'The approach of protecting people from high prices has proven effective. We will confidently appeal to voters by talking about this policy during the upper house election [campaign] as well.' The CDPJ plans to coordinate and consolidate candidates with the Japanese Communist Party in the two-seat constituencies in which one seat is up for grabs. According to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey, the two parties are competing in seven of the 32 such constituencies, and they are trying to quickly reach an agreement. The Japan Innovation Party plans to announce its campaign pledges for the upcoming election on June 30. It aims to win at least six seats up for grabs. The party is expected to push for a reduction in social insurance premiums, among other items, during the campaign. The Democratic Party for the People, which focuses on supporting young people and those of working age, aims to secure at least 16 seats. DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki criticized the government for scheduling the upper house election in the middle of a three-day holiday. 'If they think that young people won't vote and that parties supported by elderly people will benefit [from such scheduling], they will face a severe backlash,' Tamaki said.
Straits Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba holds on to driver's seat despite bruising election setback
– Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been dismissed as a seat-warmer, as he leads a minority government whose Cabinet ratings are in a perpetual slump since he took office in October 2024. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also suffered a historic rout at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on June 22. The poll is regarded as a bellwether for national politics, and a prelude to an Upper House election on July 20. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Nikkei Asia
23-06-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's Ishiba vows strong economy, facing tough July upper house election
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives a press conference following the end of a 150-day regular parliamentary session on Monday. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai) TAMAYO MUTO TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has resolved to revive the ruling coalition's sliding fortunes before an upper house election that is less than a month away, following an electoral rout in a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly poll on Sunday. Ishiba, who has led a minority government since October and has struggled with a sagging support rate, put the economy at the center of his agenda.
Nikkei Asia
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Ishiba's LDP set to post record-low results in Tokyo assembly vote
Takayuki Morimura, Tomin First no Kai leader, places a flower next to the name of a candidate expected to win in the June 22 Tokyo assembly election. (Photo by Marina Inoue) TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to post record-low results in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, regarded as a bellwether for the July House of Councillors parliamentary race, as he struggles to steer a minority government in national politics. Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, is likely to become the biggest force in the 127-member assembly, underscoring the appeal of her policies centered on quality of life. Tomin translates to Tokyoites.
Yomiuri Shimbun
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Tokyo Assembly Election Candidates Make Last Appeals to Voters on Final Campaign Day in Sweltering Heat
Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election candidates made their final appeals to voters on Saturday, the last day of campaigning for the election on Sunday, while taking precaution against the heat as temperatures rose above 30 C across the capital. A male candidate standing on a sidewalk in Shinjuku Ward wore a white, wide-brimmed hat and vest fitted with cooling fans. He urged the crowd to drink water to stave off heatstroke and vowed in a hoarse voice to 'fight to the very end.' Each party has framed the Tokyo assembly race as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming House of Councillors election, fielding campaign operations as robust as those seen in national elections. Observers are also watching to see whether chronically low voter turnout will improve. Turnout in Tokyo assembly elections has trended downward since peaking at 70.13% in 1959, hovering from 40% to less than 60% since the 2000s. The record low turnout — 40.8% — was logged in the 1997 race. The previous election in 2021 saw the second-lowest voter turnout at 42.39%, a decline attributed in part to voters staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
