'Mr. Japan' refuses to call Trump 'daddy,' and good on him
William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."
If only Shigeru Ishiba had gifted Donald Trump a fancy 747 jet. Or if the Japanese prime minister were willing to call the U.S. president "daddy," Tokyo might be having an easier 2025.
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Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Sizing up the forthcoming Upper House election
This month, the Japanese public will be going to the ballot boxes to vote for members of Japan's Upper House. In the past, these elections have been moderately important — and far less so compared to Lower House votes. However, based on the current state of politics in Tokyo, this is the most consequential Upper House election since 2007, when the outcome catalyzed the toppling of the Liberal Democratic Party-led government. The stakes in this election are equally as high as they were back then. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba needs a win to secure longer-term viability as the country's leader. The ruling coalition is already struggling with a minority government and stands to lose even more legislative power in this vote. As for the opposition parties, this election is a battle to do something they have long been unable to do: position themselves as the standout alternative to the LDP. They all now have less than three weeks to win over the Japanese public. Upper House elections are fundamentally different from Lower House votes in terms of the number of seats and regularity. The Upper House is composed of 248 seats with lawmakers serving six-year terms. Unlike the Lower House, which can be dissolved by the prime minister or via a no-confidence motion, Upper House elections are held every three years, with only half the seats up for a vote to preserve stability in governance. In other words, for the forthcoming election, only 124 of the 248 seats are up for grabs. Based on their constitutionally mandated authorities, the Upper House is the weaker of the two houses in the Japanese Parliament. The Lower House has the ability to overrule decisions from the Upper House, it proposes the budget and every prime minister since the promulgation of the constitution has been a Lower House politician. Because of this, Upper House elections have always been about one thing: securing a simple majority. The goal for the ruling coalition is to preserve that majority rule so that whatever bills make it through the Lower House can be rubber stamped in the Upper House. The goal for the opposition is to win the Upper House majority to disrupt the legislative efforts of the ruling coalition. This means that the Upper House can frustrate lawmaking by voting against Lower House-passed bills and forcing the ruling coalition to cobble together a two-thirds vote to overturn the Upper House decision. The opposition winning a majority in the Upper House can be a death knell for the ruling coalition, as evidenced in the late 2000s. In 2007, the Democratic Party of Japan won the majority in the Upper House, handing them an essential tool for disrupting the ruling coalition's legislative designs. The LDP-led government had already been on the decline and the inability to achieve meaningful progress in the Parliament — particularly after the Lehman Shock in 2008 — expedited the public's declining confidence in the party's ability to lead Japan. By the next Lower House election in 2009, the LDP lost total control to the opposition for the first time since 1993. Understanding this, one of the implied tasks for Lower House lawmakers is that they must stump for Upper House politicians. After all, if they want their legislative priorities realized, they need help from their Upper House counterparts. So, while this is a vote for only 124 seats out of the total 713 in the two houses of Parliament, it is an 'all-hands-on-deck' situation. This is even more so in the forthcoming election than previous Upper House votes. The current situation has forced the LDP into negotiations and consultations with opposition parties unlike anything it has experienced before. Meanwhile, public faith in Ishiba's government and the LDP remains relatively low. The only saving grace for the LDP is that public approval has not yet found a home in a single opposition party. Major political competitors will seek to change that with this forthcoming election. For Ishiba, this election will seal his fate as the leader of the LDP and prime minister of Japan. He is already a polarizing figure inside the LDP and there are others like former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi vying to succeed him. While the LDP was willing to privilege stability under Ishiba despite his inability to excite the Japanese public ahead of the last snap election, consecutive campaign failures would provide an opportunity for intraparty opponents to make political moves. The bar for Ishiba remains the same as any Upper House election: ensure the LDP-Komeito coalition maintains the majority. He has already enjoyed a bump in the polls owing to progress on the highly visible issue of rice prices in Japan, but he will spend the next few weeks avoiding any contentious topics. This includes things such as tariff negotiations and defense spending discussions with the United States, which are political landmines for the prime minister. Instead, observers should expect Ishiba to put his full weight behind policy measures aimed at relieving economic pressure on individual households. The ruling coalition will throw its full weight behind campaign efforts because they cannot afford to lose any more legislative power. The coalition has been in a downward spiral with regard to voter confidence. The public handed the LDP and junior partner Komeito a defeat in the October 2024 Lower House election owing to waning confidence in their ability to lead the government. The negotiation requirements inherent to a minority government have only further disrupted the coalition's ability to implement its policy and lawmaking priorities, which may negatively impact the coalition's chances of success in the forthcoming vote. Losing the Upper House would only frustrate its efforts further, contributing to even less voter confidence that may be just what the opposition needs to wrest control. To break this cycle, the LDP and Komeito will need to go beyond their traditional power bases. While both parties maintain large vote-getting apparatuses throughout the country, they must find new ways to appeal to nontraditional support blocs. The focus on alleviating economic burdens versus global geopolitical issues will help, but there is still a question of how the LDP and Komeito will modernize their engagement with voters via social media and in their messaging efforts. Meanwhile, the opposition parties must use this election to stand out from the pack. Despite the LDP's negative trends in public approval over the past few years, opposition parties have neither coalesced as a viable coalition nor stood out as individual challengers. Continued failure to seize these political opportunities may well give the LDP the space needed to correct its internal policy challenges and regain just enough voter confidence to start reversing its public image. The two conventional contenders in the forthcoming race are the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People. The CDPJ has returned to its DPJ roots by leaning on former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's leadership as an alternative to LDP-led rule. Meanwhile, the DPP has doubled down on Yuichiro Tamaki despite his widely publicized extramarital affair, which sidelined him briefly between 2024 and 2025. It is betting that his centrist approach and willingness to work across the aisle in Parliament can lift it beyond fringe status — a party that has stayed relevant mainly by exploiting the LDP's weakness as a minority government. Neither the CDPJ nor the DPP has figured out yet how to excite broad masses of Japanese voters, but they will be scrambling during the next three weeks to do so. As for unconventional contenders, the right-wing populist party Sanseito is drumming up unexpected support. Coming off a surprising showing in the Tokyo municipal elections, Sanseito is heavily leveraging social media to continue its momentum through the Upper House race. This new group of prospective lawmakers is counting on their promise of 'Japan First' policies to peel conservative voters away from the mainstream parties. Of course, this would not be the first time a new party roars onto the political scene only to fizzle out after poor showings at national-level elections, so Sanseito will be fighting hard to avoid that outcome. Given all these circumstances, this is shaping up to be one of the most unusual Upper House elections in decades. With stakes at play, it will certainly be one of the most impactful. Michael MacArthur Bosack is the special adviser for government relations at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies. He previously served in the Japanese government as a Mansfield fellow.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japan's Do It Yourself Party: Who we are and where we are headed
Ahead of the Upper House elections on July 20, Sanseito, the party I lead, has adopted the slogan 'Japanese First' and is fielding candidates in all electoral districts. Together with proportional representation, we aim to win six seats. Our slogan is not xenophobic by any means, and instead focuses on the needs of the Japanese citizen first, which the ruling party, pursuing a globalist agenda, has increasingly forgotten. While Sanseito is gaining voters and news coverage nationwide, some may still have questions about who we are, what we stand for and how we got started. The Sanseito — or 'do it yourself' — party was formed in April 2020 by a group of citizens under the slogan: 'If there is no party you want to vote for, let's create one from scratch.' In a true grassroots movement, the party was launched by ordinary citizens, most of whom had no political experience at the national or local level. The results were impressive. Without relying on major supporters, such as large corporations or religious groups, Sanseito secured more than 1.7 million votes in our first national election in 2022, just two years after becoming an organized party. I was elected to the Upper House at this time and have served as a member of the House of Councilors as well as the president of the party beginning in 2023. I was re-elected as party president in 2025. Following the election of three other members to the Lower House in 2024, our party currently has four members in the national legislature and operates 287 regional branches across Japan. More than 140 of our members have been elected in local elections, serving in local assemblies throughout the country. Our core philosophy is 'to protect Japan's national interests and bring about harmony in the world.' Our platform explicitly states the goal of achieving a harmonious society centered around the emperor and valuing traditional culture. Our party focuses on three key policy areas: 'education and human development,' 'food and health,' and 'national security.' As a father of three small children (and planning for more) all living in the countryside, these issues and commonsense approaches — explained below — are near and dear to my heart. Education and human development Promote education that fosters not only academic ability but also a love for family and community and pride in one's country, encouraging students to learn independently. Provide monthly subsidies of ¥100,000 to families with children under the age of 15 as part of child-rearing support. Food and health Support agriculture that does not rely on pesticides and chemicals and prioritize preventive medicine that contributes to the health of the people and the reduction of medical expenses. Improve the treatment of workers in primary industries (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) and aim to achieve 100% food self-sufficiency. Review the excessive influence of the World Health Organization (WHO) and pharmaceutical companies on pandemic policies and reconsider vaccination policies. National security Reduce the burden on households by gradually abolishing the consumption tax (equivalent to Japan's value-added tax) and lowering social insurance premiums. We will impose restrictions on foreign capital investment in real estate and infrastructure to protect national sovereignty and security. We will tighten regulations on voting rights and eligibility for election for immigrants and foreign residents. We will call for a review of radical policies related to gender and gender issues (As well as DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) promotion policies). Regarding climate-change measures, the party advocates moving away from decarbonization policies that ignore economic rationality. With these policies, Sanseito's impact is increasingly being felt in local elections, achieving 19 wins out of 21 elections (a win rate of over 90%) since the start of 2025. In recent elections in several smaller cities, the party has won the most votes and secured the top spot, rapidly expanding its support base in local communities. Moreover, in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, our party's candidates won three of the four seats we vied for, with the fourth candidate losing by a thin margin. Public opinion polls, which have gotten the attention of foreign observers and commentators, also show an upward trend in support rates. In a survey conducted by major Japanese media in June 2025, the party's support rate reached 3.9%, nearly tripling from the previous year's 1.3% and rising to fourth place among all parties. Sanseito already has over 80,000 members and supporters and our reach on social media platforms such as YouTube is also notable. The official Sanseito channel has over 270,000 subscribers, making it one of the largest among Japan's major parties. The party's unique election strategy, which combines grassroots networks with online outreach capabilities, is drawing significant attention. More and more voters are aware of our policies, energy and diversity among age groups, backgrounds and experiences — including supporters in international marriages and with much international travel and work under their belts — and want us to help promote commonsense and immediate change for the country. Japan has been very much open to foreign nationals and there has been a huge rise in the number of overseas workers in recent years. As with Europe and the United States, however, excessive immigration has become a problem causing issues in law and order. Because of this, we are simply calling for stricter rules and limits on the number of immigrants. This policy is supported by the Japanese public. With regard to other excesses of the globalist agenda of the ruling party, examples include the privatization of public enterprises such as the postal reform in 2006 under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Now, there's chatter of dismantling the agricultural cooperative, with Koizumi's son Shinjiro Koizumi at the helm of the farm ministry. Privatization will result in profits flowing overseas. Japan's 'green transformation,' or GX, policies have also become excessive, with renewable energy surcharges alone costing taxpayers ¥3 trillion a year. And the forced promotion of electric vehicles has inflicted significant damage on the Japanese automotive industry, causing some associated interests to flow overseas. Our efforts over the past five years have shown that the Japanese voter is not apathetic, as some tend to believe. If anything, they are highly committed and passionate about their communities and country and are very concerned about the direction Japan is heading. It is normal for any nation's citizens and voters to feel this way. Along with them, Sanseito seeks to change the direction in which the country is headed and bring power back to the people. Sohei Kamiya is the president of Sanseito and a first-term member of the House of Councilors. He previously was the founder of the Ryoma Project and a member of the Suita City Assembly. He runs the Channel Grand Strategy on YouTube.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Lawmakers' average income flat at ¥25.13 million
The average income of Japanese lawmakers in 2024 stood at ¥25.13 million ($174,679), almost unchanged from the previous year, both chambers of the parliament said Monday. The top earner among Diet members was Kenji Nakanishi of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party with ¥662.45 million, mostly from capital gains and dividends from his shareholdings. Four lawmakers earned over ¥100 million, and all of them were LDP members. The highest income among opposition party lawmakers was ¥87.54 million, earned by Kenko Matsuki of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. By party, the LDP had the highest average income, at ¥28.22 million, followed by the Democratic Party for the People, at ¥24.64 million, Nippon Ishin no Kai, at ¥23.08 million, and the CDP, at ¥21.88 million. Among the members of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato was the top earner, at ¥225.93 million. Kato earned ¥199.31 million from the sale of land inherited from his parents. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi came second, at ¥33.09 million, followed by digital transformation minister Masaaki Taira, at ¥32.86 million. Ishiba, also LDP president, ranked fourth among the Cabinet members with ¥30.41 million. Ishiba was the top earner among the leaders of eight Japanese political parties, followed by Tetsuo Saito, chief of Komeito, with ¥28.25 million, and Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, with ¥25.84 million. The income of Ishiba was pushed up by growth in miscellaneous income, including writing, speaking and television and radio appearance fees, and royalties, according to the reports on lawmakers' incomes for last year. The average income of lawmakers was ¥26 million for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, and ¥23.87 million for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber. The tally covered 339 Lower House lawmakers and 233 Upper House members, who held their seats throughout 2024. The income of Diet members is disclosed every year under the law on disclosure of lawmakers' assets, which was enacted in 1992. Supplementary reports, required to declare newly acquired assets, were submitted by 80 Lower House members and 85 Upper House members. Reports listing the names of companies and organizations from which lawmakers received compensation were also released.
