
China says it seeks stable Japan ties, following LDP election defeat
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called the House of Councillors election an internal matter for Japan, but said China stands ready to work with the neighboring country to maintain dialogue and communication at all levels.

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Nikkei Asia
6 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan PM Ishiba's approval rating hits new low of 32%: Nikkei poll
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to make a final decision on his future as early as August. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai) Nikkei staff writers TOKYO -- The approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet hit 32%, the lowest since his government's October 2024 launch, in the latest Nikkei/TV Tokyo survey. On the most suitable person to be the next prime minister, former Minister in charge of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, both of Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, tied for first place at 20% each. They were followed by Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party For the People, at 9%. Ishiba came in fourth at 6%.


Kyodo News
11 hours ago
- Kyodo News
SDF request led to nuclear threat scenario in Japan-U.S. exercise
TOKYO - The Japanese Self-Defense Forces strongly urged the U.S. military during a joint command post exercise last year to mirror any nuclear threat made by China with one of its own, government sources said Sunday. The United States ultimately complied with the request in the simulation exercise that envisioned a potential invasion of Taiwan by Beijing, raising concerns that Japan's push to invoke nuclear deterrence could exacerbate tensions between the United States and China. The request, the first of its kind in a Japan-U.S. joint exercise, was based on Japan's policy of reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection, suggesting that both Japanese government and SDF officials see Chinese nuclear saber-rattling as a real possibility in the event of a Taiwan contingency. The Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Japan and the United States named China as a hypothetical enemy for the first time in the computer simulation exercise "Keen Edge" in February last year. During the exercise, the U.S. Navy set up temporary bases in the Nansei island chain in the Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures in the initial stages of a Taiwan contingency, with the SDF providing logistical support. Later in the drill, the scenario assumed that China hinted at the use of nuclear weapons against the United States and Japan, but the U.S. side initially did not take any measures due to concerns over escalating the situation further, according to the sources. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, ultimately acquiesced to repeated requests by Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of the SDF Joint Staff, for "the United States to counter with nuclear threats to defend Japan." Neither Beijing nor Washington used nuclear arms in the simulation. The two countries announced last December their first guidelines on "extended deterrence," often described as the U.S.'s commitment to using its full range of nuclear and conventional capabilities to defend Japan amid China's growing military activities and North Korea's missile and nuclear development.

15 hours ago
Prominent LDP Members Eye Leadership Post after Ishiba
Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)--With Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation widely seen as inevitable, prominent members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are beginning to step up their efforts to succeed him. Former LDP policy chief Sanae Takaichi, who came in first in the first round of voting in last September's party leadership election but lost to Ishiba in the subsequent runoff, is said to have a strong desire to become the country's first female prime minister. Before the LDP suffered a historic defeat in this month's House of Councillors election, Takaichi said in her home turf in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on July 18, "I've made up my mind." On Wednesday, after the election, Takaichi held talks with about 10 lawmakers close to her, including Upper House member Hiroshi Yamada, at a residential facility for House of Representatives lawmakers in Tokyo. She also met with former Prime Minister and current LDP supreme adviser Taro Aso, who heads the party's only remaining faction. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]