Princess Kako pays courtesy call on Brazilian president
The second daughter of Crown Prince and Princess Akishino visited the presidential office in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday. The princess conveyed her gratitude for the warm welcome she has received in Brazil.
Lula visited Japan as a state guest and met with Emperor Naruhito in March. He told the princess that the Emperor was very kind, affectionate and receptive.
The princess also visited Brazil's Congress earlier in the day. There, she attended a ceremony commemorating 130 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Brazil.
The princess said she hopes the relationship between the two countries will continue to deepen and remain long-lasting.
She said she envisions a future in which people from both countries continue to deepen their exchanges and remain close to each other.
The princess is scheduled to stay in Brasilia until Thursday. On Friday, she is expected to visit Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, upon which a giant statue of Christ overlooks the city.
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Japan Times
21-07-2025
- Japan Times
Brazil's top court defies Trump and signals no retreat on Bolsonaro
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat against Brazil over a legal probe into his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, caught the Supreme Court in Brasilia off guard. The top court is in recess during July — not all its judges were even in the country — making it difficult to convene to formulate a response. But a group of justices including Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the former president's case, immediately began discussing a response aimed more at asserting national sovereignty than easing tensions with the U.S. Just after Trump threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil on July 9, this group advocated for the court to issue a statement challenging the U.S. president's assertion of a "Witch Hunt,' according to two people with knowledge of how the events unfolded. In the end, Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso agreed in a call with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the first response should come from the political sphere, a third person said, all of them asking not be named discussing private deliberations. Lula then made the point, in a statement that evening, that Brazil is "a sovereign country with independent institutions.' The reaction was calibrated to underline the division between the executive and the judiciary in Brazil, and how the U.S. demands had overstepped that mark. Yet it also shows a shared determination to fight back rather than give in to his demands that the Bolsonaro case be dropped. "If there was some expectation that the threats would generate some fear in the Brazilian Supreme Court, the effect is the opposite,' said Thiago de Aragao, head of Arko International, a Washington-based consultancy. "Their willingness to go through this all the way to the end is much higher, especially because they want to demonstrate their sovereignty and independence.' Alexandre de Moraes during a session at the Supreme Federal Court in Brasilia on June 9 | Bloomberg That reality signals turbulence ahead between Latin America's economic and political heavyweight helmed by a seasoned leftist leader and an unapologetically mercantilist U.S. under a president who is now largely unfettered by legal constraints. Since then, Trump reiterated his tariff threats in an open letter, Brazil's top court ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor alleging a flight risk, and the U.S. State Department revoked U.S. visas for Moraes and other justices. Early warnings It's a clash of personalities and political cultures that's been building for some time. Since early this year, officials from the U.S. embassy in Brasilia had reached out to Brazil's Supreme Court to warn that the ongoing investigation into whether Bolsonaro had sought to overturn his 2022 election loss threatened to harm trade relations, according to one of the people with knowledge of the conversations. Brazil's Supreme Court didn't reply to a request for comment. The U.S. embassy said it has made clear its "concern about the politicization of the investigations' involving Bolsonaro and his supporters. The issue has been raised "during interactions with Brazilian authorities, for some time now,' according to the July 18 statement issued by the embassy's press office in Portuguese. Brazilian justices aware of the advisories initially shrugged them off as absurd. There was no way, they reasoned, the U.S. would intervene in what was ultimately a domestic legal affair, one of the people said. But if Brazilian judges had underestimated the White House, it quickly became clear that Trump, too, had miscalculated. To the majority of the court's members, the Bolsonaro case is part of a larger fight to safeguard a relatively young democracy the former Army captain allegedly put in peril. And unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, which helped clear the way for Trump's return to power despite charges that he illegally conspired to overturn his 2020 defeat, Brazil's has no intention of giving in. Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president (center) during a break at the Supreme Federal Court in Brasilia on June 9 | Bloomberg The court's determination is typically ascribed — by supporters and critics alike — to Moraes, the crusading justice overseeing both the coup trial and spearheading an aggressive campaign against social-media disinformation that has also drawn the ire of Trump and members of his movement. As part of his efforts, the 56-year-old judge has ordered the removal of accounts accused of spreading fake news from platforms like X, Rumble and Meta's Facebook. He's clashed with rightwing journalists and commentators who say he's abusing his power to target political opponents, and last year waged a public tussle with Elon Musk after banning access to X in Brazil. His prominent role in Brazil's most high-profile legal fights has turned him into the supervillain of Bolsonaro's movement: Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of the former president, has spent months in the U.S. lobbying Washington to put sanctions on the judge. Moraes has declined requests for comment. U.S., Brazil parallels In reality, the majority of the court's 11 members are united in the belief that they are waging an existential fight for Brazilian democracy — one with implications that stretch far beyond Brazil's borders. It's a view that solidified in the wake of the 2023 insurrection attempt in which thousands of Bolsonaro supporters ransacked major government buildings, including the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and Congress — events that drew natural comparisons to the Capitol riots in Washington that followed Trump's 2020 defeat. Even the dates were similar: the U.S. rioting came on Jan. 6; Brazil's attempted coup was Jan. 8. 'The Justice' sculpture outside of Brazil's Supreme Court in Brasilia | Bloomberg As clear as the parallels are, the responses from the country's Supreme Courts couldn't be much different. The U.S. tribunal ruled in 2024 that Trump enjoyed some immunity from criminal charges over his efforts to overturn the results, effectively killing chances of a trial before last year's election. His subsequent victory put an end to the case altogether. "I see Brazil with mechanisms to protect its democracy that are much efficient what we've seen in the U.S.,' said Robert Dias, a professor of constitutional law at Getulio Vargas Foundation law school in Sao Paulo. "The American constitution only has force when institutional actors are loyal to it.' Brazil, by contrast, moved swiftly: In 2023, its electoral court — a separate body made up of a rotating cast of Supreme Court justices — barred Bolsonaro from holding office for eight years for spreading voter fraud conspiracies, ending any chance of a swift return to the presidency. The judicial system has moved similarly rapidly to find the culprits the Jan. 8, 2023, insurrection in Brasilia. Federal police recommended the coup attempt charges in November 2024. Within months, the Supreme Court had approved them and set the stage for a trial. More outspoken by tradition than their American counterparts, the justices have left little doubt about their motivations: They want to conclude the trial before Brazilians vote again in October 2026. That has added fuel to claims that they've predetermined the outcome and robbed Bolsonaro of due process. But in recent days, judges have pushed back, arguing that their aggressive approach was necessary to avoid the sort of democratic collapse that has happened elsewhere. "An independent and active court was necessary to prevent the collapse of institutions, as has occurred in several countries around the world, from Eastern Europe to Latin America,' Chief Justice Barroso wrote in a letter published on its website on July 13. "The Supreme Federal Court will judge independently and based on the evidence.' Eduardo Bolsonaro stands as Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 22. | Bloomberg Despite the July recess, Moraes continued working, and Bolsonaro's case proceeded as normal. The Prosecutor General's Office submitted its closing arguments on July 14, requesting his conviction for the attempted coup. The Supreme Court is expected to return from recess in August and likely to conclude the case soon. What remains uncertain is how far Trump is willing to go to support Bolsonaro. Eduardo Bolsonaro and conservative digital influencer Paulo Figueiredo, grandson of the last president of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985, spent the past several days in Washington in meetings at the State Department and, according to them, at the White House. In a sign of Trump's unconventional diplomacy, Eduardo and Figueiredo have become key sources of information about Brazil for his administration, according to diplomatic sources. "Everyone's position was unanimous: There will not be a millimeter of concession unless Brazil takes the first step,' Figueiredo said Wednesday of the meetings held in Washington. "The warning we heard was: 'If things continue at this pace, President Trump may take additional measures, which could even involve the financial market.'' Donald Trump has, so far, said he won't back down. "It is my sincere hope that the Government of Brazil changes course, stops attacking political opponents, and ends their ridiculous censorship regime,' Trump wrote in the letter addressed to Bolsonaro Thursday night. "I will be watching closely.'
The Mainichi
20-07-2025
- The Mainichi
What to know about the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro
WRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro will wear an electronic ankle monitor on orders from the Supreme Court, where he is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election. The case received renewed attention after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods to Bolsonaro's judicial situation, which Trump called a " witch hunt." The Supreme Court's order for Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, among other restrictions, came after Federal Police and prosecutors said Bolsonaro is a flight risk. Authorities, listing multiple social media posts, also accused Bolsonaro of working with his son Eduardo to incite the United States to interfere in the trial and impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. On Friday, the U.S. State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, prompting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva 's to condemn what he called the unacceptable interference of one country in another's justice system. Here's what you need to know about Bolsonaro's trial: The charges against Bolsonaro The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage, and deterioration of listed heritage sites. A federal police investigation placed Bolsonaro at the top of a criminal organization that had been active since at least 2021. Police say that after Bolsonaro's loss to Lula, the organization conspired to overturn the election result. Part of that plot included a plan to kill Lula and a Supreme Court justice, the prosecution alleges. It also says that the Jan. 8 riot when Bolsonaro supporters ransacked top government buildings a week after Lula took office was an attempt to force military intervention and oust the new president. Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet says Bolsonaro's actions "were not limited to a passive stance of resistance to defeat, but were a conscious effort to create an environment conducive to violence and a coup." In the court order unsealed Friday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro and his son may also have committed the crimes of coercion during a legal proceeding, obstruction of an investigation involving a criminal organization and attack on Brazil's sovereignty. What Bolsonaro says Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he's the target of political persecution. He has echoed Trump and called the trial a "witch hunt." The far-right former leader has now been barred from using social media, but on Thursday, he said on X that "those who challenge the system are being punished, silenced, and isolated." Regarding the restrictive measures carried out on Friday, Bolsonaro called them a "supreme humiliation." "I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that," he told journalists in Brasilia. Next steps After the prosecution called for a guilty verdict in its final allegations issued Tuesday, the defense will soon present its case, likely in the coming weeks. The panel of Supreme Court justices that opened the trial against Bolsonaro will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. Experts say a decision is expected before the end of the year. A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years, which could, along with guilty verdicts on other charges, bring decades behind bars. But Antonio Jose Teixeira Martins, a law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said Bolsonaro could be detained even before there's a verdict. "Whether this happens or not depends on how events unfold from now on, that is if these new measures prove sufficient to guarantee public order, the application of criminal law and prevent the risk of escape," Teixeira Martins said. Brazil's top electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system.
The Mainichi
20-07-2025
- The Mainichi
Trump's tariff threat pushes Lula's popularity and worsens legal troubles for Brazil's ex-leader
SAO PAULO (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump may have thought that pressuring Brazil with higher tariffs would help his ally, the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the move apparently backfired. Last week, Trump sent a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatening a 50% import tax and directly linking the decision to Bolsonaro's trial, which he called a "witch hunt." "This trial should end immediately!" Trump wrote Thursday evening in a second letter, this one addressed to Bolsonaro. He added that he had "strongly voiced" his disapproval through his tariff policy. Rather than backing down, Brazil's Supreme Court escalated the case, worsening Bolsonaro's legal troubles. On Friday morning, federal police raided Bolsonaro's home and political office. The former president was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, banned from using social media, and hit with other restrictions. Meanwhile, President Lula -- who was facing higher unpopularity, growing opposition in Congress and increasing risks to his likely reelection bid -- seems to have gained politically from the situation. Now the 79-year-old leftist Lula, in office for the third non-consecutive term of his long political career, is seeing renewed acceptance, congressional support against Trump and pleas to run one last time to defend Brazil's sovereignty. Back in the game Lula has appeared more energized in public since Trump's announcement. At a national students assembly Thursday, he wore a blue cap reading "Sovereign Brazil Unites Us" -- a contrast to MAGA's red cap. "A gringo will not give orders to this president," he told the crowd, and called the tariff hike "unacceptable blackmail." The impact on Lula is not a first. Trump's actions targeting other countries have boosted ideological rivals in Canada and Australia instead of strengthening his allies at a local level. Private pollster Atlas said Tuesday that Lula's unpopularity had reversed course after his spat with Trump. Lula's job approval went from at 47.3% in June to 49.7% since the tariffs battle began. The poll of more than 2,800 people was conducted July 11-13, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points. The study also said 62.2% of Brazilians think the higher tariffs are unjustified while 36.8% agree with the measure. Even Bolsonaro's former vice president, Sen. Hamilton Mourao, criticized Trump's move as undue interference in Brazil's politics, though he said he agreed the trial against the far-right leader is biased against him. Social media analytics firm Palver analyzed 20,000 messages about Trump on WhatsApp, Brazil's most widely used communication platform, a day after Trump's announcement. Its analysis said right-wing users dominated viral content, but spontaneous conversations leaned left, mocking Bolsonaro as submissive and defending Brazil's sovereignty. "Trump has put Lula back in the game," said Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former spokesman for the Brazilian presidency who only weeks ago argued that Lula had lost his front-runner status in the presidential race as he struggled to deliver on his promises on the economy. "Trump handed it to Lula on a silver platter," Traumann said. Business leaders who until recently sided with Bolsonaro are having to court Lula to negotiate with Trump. Agribusiness, Brazil's largest economic sector and a traditional right-wing stronghold, united to criticize the U.S. president's move. Industry groups were quick to denounce the tariffs as politically motivated and lacking any commercial justification. National outrage "In general, with the major exception of a more radical conservative wing, (Trump's move) generated national outrage for violating Brazil's sovereignty," lawmaker Arnaldo Jardim, a member of the congressional agricultural caucus, told The Associated Press. Jardim, who pushed for the approval of a reciprocity bill that could be used by Lula if there's no agreement until the Aug. 1 deadline, hardly sides with the president. "Even among sectors that initially thought this could benefit Bolsonaro, many had to reconsider their positions," he said. Top congressional leaders who recently helped nix a Lula decree to raise a transactions tax were moving toward a head-on collision with him. After Trump's announcement, they signed a joint statement agreeing with Lula's promise to use the reciprocity law against the U.S. In another change, Brazil's Congress decided to start moving on Lula's plan to give an income tax break to millions of poorer Brazilians. Many politicians said that such initiative was dead after Lula became the first president in three decades to have a decree annulled by lawmakers. Bolsonaro remains on trial At the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is only getting deeper into trouble as his trial continues. Earlier this week, Brazil's chief prosecutor called for a guilty verdict, accusing the former president of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, among other charges. The defense will next likely present its case in the coming weeks, after which the panel of Supreme Court justices in the trial will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. The former president also suffered more consequences -- the court's latest restrictions on Bolsonaro, including the ankle monitor, are part of a second investigation against one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker who currently lives in the United States and is known for his close ties to Trump. He has been under scrutiny for allegedly working with U.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees criminal cases against Bolsonaro, said his and his son's actions attempted to pressure the Brazilian judiciary by involving the U.S. The court's decision cited both Trump's letter to Lula and several social media posts by the Bolsonaros in support of sanctions against Brazilian officials and speaking favorably about tariffs. "A sovereign country like Brazil will always know how to defend its democracy and sovereignty," de Moraes said. "The judiciary will not allow any attempt to subject the functioning of the Supreme Court to the scrutiny of another state through hostile acts." Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia, the country's capital, that the ankle monitoring was a "supreme humiliation." "I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that," the former president said. In a statement, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused de Moraes of trying to criminalize Trump and the U.S. government. "Since he has no power over them, he decided to make my father a hostage," the younger Bolsonaro said of the judge.
