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NHK
18 hours ago
- NHK
Women take part for first time in central Japan town's festival
Women have taken part for the first time in a traditional festival in a town in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. The evening event of the two-day Sunari Festival was held on Saturday in the Sunari district of Kanie Town. The festival started with flute music performed by six children and two adults in front of a sacred object of Shinto worship. Later in the evening, a boat decorated with about 200 lanterns cruised up a river to the sound of drums and flute. Seven women joined the men on board. The festival at two local Shinto shrines has been held for about 400 years to pray for bountiful harvests and good health. It is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage as part of the Float Festivals of Japan. The organizers called on women to join for the first time this year as the participants are aging and fewer young people now take part. A woman who took part with her daughter says she wants to liven up the festival together with other people as she will continue to live in this area. The head of the Sunari Cultural Properties Protection Committee, Baba Tsuneyuki, says they are making use of women's power as the number of participants is decreasing. He expressed hope that the festival will keep going.
Japan Times
26-07-2025
- Japan Times
'#Ishiba don't quit': Unlikely support grows for embattled PM
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's future is uncertain but an unlikely campaign for him to stay was growing online this week, including from people who are his natural political opponents. The life raft has emerged since Upper House elections on Sunday deprived Ishiba's coalition of a majority, months after it suffered a similar disaster in the lower chamber. Despite Ishiba, 68, insisting that he has not discussed his resignation with members of his Liberal Democratic Party, multiple reports say that it is just a matter of time. Some conservative members of the LDP are collecting signatures to hold a special meeting to discuss a leadership election to oust Ishiba, Fuji TV reported on Friday. One reported signee is Sanae Takaichi, a hardline nationalist and onetime heavy metal drummer who lost a leadership contest to Ishiba in September. Takaichi, 64, would likely run again to lead the party — and become Japan's first female prime minister if she wins — if Ishiba does depart. The prospect of someone as premier with hawkish views on Japanese history and China has fueled online calls for the moderate Ishiba to remain in power under the hashtag "#Ishiba Don't quit." Some of the calls came from opposition politicians to the left of the LDP, including from a Japanese Communist Party member of a local ward assembly. Ishiba "is the most reasonable LDP leader in recent memory," LaSalle Ishii, a newly elected lawmaker for the Social Democratic Party, said on X. "If he resigns, a far-right government will be born," the well-known comedian and voice actor said. Taro Yamamoto, the leader of small opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, was among the first to voice concern about Ishiba's replacement. "The question is, if he were not to continue, who is going to replace him instead?" he told reporters during a Monday news conference. "His economic policies are no good, but for Ishiba-san to continue, I think it's a safe choice." A few hundred people participated in a rally outside Ishiba's office Friday evening, with some holding up signs urging him to "never give up" and "persevere." Among them was 70-year-old Shigeru Koga, an opposition supporter who until Sunday had been calling on Ishiba's government to be brought down. But five days later, he said Ishiba is "still far better" than alternatives like Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, the popular agriculture minister who Koga called "easily manipulable." "If the Takaichi government materializes, it would further give rise to forces like far-right Sanseito," Koga said, referring to the upstart "Japanese first" party. "To prevent that, and keep Japan safe, Ishiba must be brave and stand firm." Shortly after Sunday's election, a Kyodo News survey put the approval rating for the Ishiba government at just 22.9%. But in that same poll, 45.8% of the public believed there was no need for him to resign. The LDP has governed almost nonstop since 1955, but voters have been deserting the party, including toward fringe groups like Sanseito. Factors include rising prices, notably for rice, falling living standards, and anger at corruption scandals within the LDP. The opposition is seen as too fragmented to form an alternative government. But being in a minority in both houses of parliament means Ishiba's coalition needs support from other parties to pass legislation. This comes just as Japan faces multiple challenges, including a ballooning social security budget to pay pensions for its rapidly aging and shrinking population. A new trade deal announced this week with U.S. President Donald Trump will see Japanese imports face a painful 15% tariff, although this was lower than a threatened 25%.
Japan Times
24-07-2025
- Japan Times
Political turmoil continues as Ishiba's fate hangs in the balance
With voters having delivered their verdict on the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the spotlight is now shifting to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party — where some longtime aspiring leaders are cautiously working to consolidate their positions. While several of the party's local chapters have issued formal demands for the executive leadership to resign, coupled with a growing sense that Ishiba can't remain as head of the party, the weakening of past factional ties is making it difficult for those opposed to the LDP president to join forces. On Wednesday, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly met with some of the lawmakers who had supported her unsuccessful bid against Ishiba for the party leadership last September. Later the same day, Takaichi met with former Prime Minister Taro Aso, who had worked to coalesce support around her candidacy during that leadership race. 'The public has shown us we can't win an election with you as prime minister,' Aso is said to have told Ishiba in an unusual meeting attended by two other former prime ministers — Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida — on Wednesday, according to several media reports Thursday. However, Takaichi's ability to garner widespread support within the party might be affected by the defeat of conservative lawmakers such as Masaaki Akaike and Mio Sugita in Sunday's Upper House election. She had already lost some of her closest supporters in last year's Lower House election. The LDP's conservative camp also lost a number of veterans on Sunday, such as Masahisa Sato, the former head of the party's foreign affairs committee, and former Upper House Speaker Akiko Santo. In addition, the bloc seems to be divided between Takaichi and another aspiring leader, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, who was also unsuccessful in last year's party leadership race. On the other hand, others who are likely also vying for the post — namely farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi — are constrained in their activities by their current roles in government. Discussions over the next few weeks might offer some hint of prospects for the prime minister's future — though Ishiba seems to be in no rush to decide. On Monday, the LDP is expected to formally kick off an assessment of the reasons behind its electoral defeat. Lawmakers will have the chance to let off steam and vent their frustration toward the party leadership — although the form that will take remains unclear at this stage. After that, a short session of parliament will be convened to welcome the newly elected members of the Upper House and elect the chamber's speaker and the chairs of its committees. The thin margin of the electoral loss — the coalition is only three seats short of the 125 needed for a majority — leaves enough wiggle room for political maneuvering. Unlike the session of parliament that opens after the dissolution of the Lower House, the upcoming session doesn't provide for a formal vote on the head of government. That means there's no formal procedure to force Ishiba out in parliament. In August, a somber atmosphere will descend on the country as the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II are marked. Ishiba, whose reflections on the conflict throughout his career are well known , is expected to take part in a number of related events. However, it's still possible that an acceleration of political machinations in the coming weeks could cause further turmoil in the political center of Nagatacho by the Obon holidays in mid-August, when lawmakers traditionally head back to their constituencies, potentially raising the specter of another general election.
