Politicians focus on foreigners ahead of election: Our 5 most-read stories from last week
NHK Party head Tachibana targets Black and Muslim groups in Japan as 'scary'
KAKOGAWA, Hyogo -- House of Councillors election candidate Takashi Tachibana, leader of the political group NHK Party, made xenophobic remarks during a stump speech in this western Japan city July 4, saying, "It's scary when groups of Black and Muslim people hang out in front of train stations." Full story.
Japan political parties pledging restrictions on foreigners with eye on conservative votes
TOKYO -- As the July 20 House of Representatives election approaches, political parties in Japan have been proposing restrictions on accepting foreigners and stricter measures on dealing with them. Sanseito, which is proposing a "Japanese first" policy, has garnered support, and it appears that other conservative parties are also fishing for votes. While foreign workers are increasingly being accepted into Japan to make up for labor shortages, one expert warns that if exclusionism spreads, it could endanger democracy itself. Full story.
'Mom, who gave you these?' Foreigners in Japan with no status wish to work to exit poverty
TOKYO -- In Japan's July 20 upper house election, a number of political parties have pledged restrictions and tighter measures for foreign nationals if they are voted in. Amid this situation, a foreign woman in Yokohama who has lost her residency status and now lives in poverty on "provisional release," expressed her wish to continue living in Japan, saying, "I want my sick child to receive due medical care." Full story.
46% of Japan workers who experienced 'gray zone harassment' considered quitting: poll
TOKYO -- Have you ever witnessed someone at work start a preachy talk reminiscing about the "good ol' days" or offer unsolicited advice? Such behavior, while not qualifying as outright harassment, can cause discomfort, constituting "gray zone harassment." A recent survey by a private firm in Japan has shed light on how this behavior is gradually eroding a working environment. Full story.
Japan sees marriage registration rush on first 'triple 7' day in 30 years
TOKYO -- Japan saw a flurry of marriage registrations on July 7, which marked the first time in 30 years that the Japanese era, month and day all aligned with the number seven, with 2025 being the seventh year of Japan's current Reiwa era. Full story.
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The Diplomat
9 minutes ago
- The Diplomat
Prime Minister Ishiba's Balancing Act on WW2 Remembrance
The Japanese leader revived the phrase 'remorse' in his remarks, while also seeking to appease conservative members of the LDP. Japan's National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead took place on August 15, 2025 at the Nippon Budokan hall. This year, the ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, when Emperor Hirohito declared Japan's surrender in a radio broadcast to the nation on the same day in 1945. About 3,432 attendees, including family members of the war dead, attended to honor the more than 3 million Japanese military personnel and civilians who died during the war, including victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Headlining the event was Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, who gave a speech at the ceremony. Remarks from Japanese leaders about the history of World War II are always closely scrutinized, given the unresolved historical issues that plague Japan's relations with its neighbors, particularly China and South Korea. How did Ishiba approach war remembrance? 'We must never again repeat the horrors of war. We must never again lose our way. We must now take deeply into our hearts once again our remorse and also the lessons learned from that war,' Ishiba said in his speech. This is the first time a prime minister has used the phrase 'remorse' at the memorial ceremony in 13 years. The phrase was last mentioned in 2012, by then-Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko at the 67th anniversary. Notably, Noda is from the Democratic Party of Japan; after the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power, prime ministers such as Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio did not mention 'remorse' in their speeches. (Abe had used the word in his speech in 2007 during his first term, but not in later terms). Therefore, Ishiba's use of the phrase deviated from his recent LDP predecessors. In his speech, Ishiba also stressed Japan's commitment to peace. 'No matter how much time passes, we will hand down across generations the sorrowful memories of the war and our resolute pledge to renounce war, and we will remain steadfast in our actions to foster lasting peace,' he declared. Expressions like 'never repeat the ravages of war' have been used by prime ministers since 2015. 'These expressions describe consequences, but [Ishiba's reference to a] 'resolute pledge not to wage war' emphasizes that war itself must not be initiated,' an aide to Ishiba explained. Ishiba also stressed the importance of ensuring that future generations understand 'the sorrowful wartime memories,' a reference to historical education. He reportedly had told close associates that the 80th anniversary will almost certainly be the last milestone year before the war generation fades into history. Ishiba is probably influenced in this line of thinking by former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei, whom he regarded as a political mentor and shared similar thoughts. Ishiba's worry about the lessons of war being forgotten makes sense. In fact, more than half of the participants at the 80th anniversary ceremony were born after the war, and for the first time, no participants were spouses of the war dead. As the generation with direct experience of the war disappears, the risk is that it will fade from memory. A survey by the Japanese Red Cross Society found that 25.8 percent of participants did not know when the war ended (August 15, 1945), while 21.7 percent and 27 percent, did not know the when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), respectively. Yet Ishiba's remarks also reflect a balancing act, as he tried not to antagonize more conservative members of his party. Despite expressing remorse, Ishiba did not explicitly apologize and did not directly mention Japan's invasion and aggression, or the suffering of other nations. Also, he chose not to issue a Cabinet-endorsed statement, unlike past leaders who released them for the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries. This gives his expression of 'remorse' more a personal feel, rather than being the official position of the Japanese government. The same day that Ishiba spoke at the ceremony, his agriculture minister, Koizumi Shinjiro, along with former economic security minister Kobayashi Takayuki and right-wing lawmakers, prayed at the Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine honors 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. It has been seen as a symbol of militarism by Japan's Asian neighbors and a source of diplomatic friction. Koizumi became the first minister confirmed to have visited Yasukuni Shrine since Ishiba took office. His father, Koizumi Junichiro, visited the shrine every year when he was prime minister, which was also criticized by Chinese and South Korean officials. Ishiba himself chose not to visit the controversial shrine, but he sent a 'religious ornament' as an offering. Ishiba's speech conveyed that deep reflection on the war can help prevent another one – and he stressed the need to pass down this reflection to younger generations. His choices during the 80th anniversary probably reflected a strategic attempt to balance competing imperatives: conveying his personal views toward the war (by using the phrase 'remorse'), appeasing the LDP's conservative members and support base (by not issuing a Cabinet-endorsed statement and sending a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine), and at the same time, avoiding more serious diplomatic frictions with Asian neighboring (by staying away from the Yasukuni Shrine himself).
Asahi Shimbun
10 minutes ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump administration vying to own a big stake in Intel after SoftBank's $2 billion bet on company
SAN FRANCISCO--U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday confirmed the U.S. government is vying for a 10% stake in Silicon Valley pioneer Intel in an unusual deal that would deepen the Trump administration's financial ties with major computer chip manufacturers and punctuate a dramatic about-face from the president's recent push to oust the company's CEO. The ambitions that Lutnick confirmed in a televised interview with CNBC came the day after various news outlets reported on the negotiations between the Trump administration and Intel. The investment would be made by converting federal government grants previously pledged under President Joe Biden's administration into a bushel of Intel stock that would turn the U.S. government into one of the company's largest shareholders. 'We think America should get the benefit of the bargain,' Lutnick told CNBC as he explained why President Donald Trump is pushing for the deal. 'It's obvious that it's the right move to make.' Intel declined to comment on the negotiations with the Trump administration. The notion of the U.S. government holding a huge stake in Intel would have seemed inconceivable back in the company's heyday when its processors were powering a personal computer boom that began in the mid-1970s. But Intel has been mired in tough times after missing mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhone's 2007 debut. Intel has fall even farther behind in recent years during an artificial intelligence craze that has been a boon for two of its once-smaller rivals, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. The Trump administration is hitching a ride on their success by imposing a 15% commission on their sales of their chip sales in China in exchange for their export licenses. Those fees are expected to translate into billions of dollars in additional government revenue. The U.S. government's negotiations to become a major Intel shareholder are coming on a heels of a $2 billion investment Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group disclosed late Monday that it plans to make in the Santa Clara, California, company. Softbank is accumulating its 2% stake in Intel at $23 per share — a slight discount from the stock's price when its investment was announced. Intel's shares surged nearly 7% to close at $25.31 on the news of Softbank's big bet on Intel, coupled with Trump's designs on the company. SoftBank invests in an array of companies that it sees as holding long-term potential. It has been stepping up investments in the United States since Trump returned to the White House. In February, its chairman Masayoshi Son joined Trump, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle in announcing a major investment of up to $500 billion in a project to develop artificial intelligence called Stargate. 'Semiconductors are the foundation of every industry, Son said in a statement. 'This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.' Trump's interest in Intel is also being driven by his desire to boost chip production in the U.S., which has been a focal point of the trade war that he has been waging throughout the world since he returned to the White House earlier this year for his second term in office. 'We want Intel to be successful in America,' Lutnick said during his CNBC interview. Boosting domestic production of computer chips also ranked high on the Biden administration's agenda, which resulted in the 2022 passage of the CHIPS and Science Act. Intel was among the biggest beneficiaries of the program, but it hasn't been able to revive its fortunes while falling behind on construction projects spawned by the CHIPS program. The company has received about $2.2 billion of the $7.8 billion pledged under the incentives program — money that Lutnick derided as a 'giveaway' that would better serve U.S. taxpayers if it's turned into Intel stock, which he said would be in the form of non-voting shares so the government wouldn't be able to use the stake to sway how the company is managed. But Intel's ongoing struggles also means the U.S. government is taking on a risky investment. The company is in the midst of its latest turnaround attempt under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was hired in March to shake things up. Tan's turnaround effort so far has been focused on a cost-cutting spree that is gutting the company's workforce and further delaying construction on a chip plant in Ohio that has been in the works since 2022. Intel's market value is hovering around $110 billion, only a slight uptick from where it was when Tan arrived and leaving it more than 60% below its peak reached about a quarter-century ago during the early phase of the internet boom. In another strange twist to the new alliance, President Donald Trump had demanded that Tan resign in an August 7 post spurred by concerns about investments that Tan had made in China chipmakers while he was working as a venture capitalist. But Trump backed off after the Malyasia-born Tan professed his allegiance to the U.S. in a public letter to Intel employees and went to the White House to meet with the president, who applauded the Intel CEO for having an 'amazing story.' That truce apparently sparked the negotiations that may culminate in the U.S. government owning a chunk of Intel. Although rare, it's not unprecedented for the U.S. government to become a significant shareholder in a prominent company. One of the most notable instances occurred during the Great Recession in 2008 when the government injected nearly $50 billion into General Motors in return for a roughly 60% stake in the automaker at a time it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The government ended up with a roughly $10 billion loss after it sold its stock in GM.
Nikkei Asia
40 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan PM signals alignment with NATO on Ukraine security
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speads to reporters about the Ukraine situation on Aug. 19. (Photo by Ken Suzuki) JUNNOSUKE KOBARA August 20, 2025 07:21 JST TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has indicated his country may play some kind of role in security guarantees for Ukraine, in a show of unity with NATO as Tokyo eyes the war's implications for security in Asia.
