Ishiba instructs LDP executive to include cash handout in election pledge
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday he had instructed the Liberal Democratic Party's executive to include cash handouts as part of its election campaign pledge to aid households coping with inflation.
The handout would be ¥20,000 ($139) per person and an additional ¥20,000 would be added on top of that per child or low-income earner, Ishiba said.
The handout plan could add to concerns over the government's already tattered finances, as lawmakers seek to appease voters ahead of an Upper House election slated for July.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
29 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Upper House Election Date Likely July 20; CDPJ Inclined to Forgo No-confidence Motion
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Diet Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo The government and ruling parties have decided to hold the House of Councillors election on July 20, with official campaigning to begin on July 3, sources said. The plan will be approved by the Cabinet soon. The officials concluded that it will be unnecessary to extend the current Diet session, which is scheduled to end on June 22, even if the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submits a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet during session. The Public Offices Election Law stipulates that the upper house election must be held within a 24-to-30-day period after the Diet session ends. If the current Diet session ends on June 22, the voting day will be finalized for July 20, which is a Sunday in the middle of a three-day weekend. According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, this will be the first time that a national election, excluding by-elections, will take place on the second day of a three-day weekend since 1952, when such record-keeping began. The CDPJ chief Yoshihiko Noda is believed to be inclined to forgo the submission of the no-confidence motion. Many within the government and the ruling parties believe that the largest opposition is unlikely to submit it. If the CDPJ does not submit the no-confidence motion, the Diet session is expected to end smoothly. If the motion is submitted, opposition parties might be able to pass it under the minority government. However, the ruling parties believe it is possible the motion would be unable to garner enough votes thanks to the Japan Innovation Party, with which the ruling parties continue to hold policy negotiations. Noda met CDPJ Secretary General Junya Ogawa and other party executives on Friday night to discuss how to deal with a no-confidence motion. They agreed to make a final decision after carefully looking at the progress of the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations, according to sources.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Israel's attacks on Iran hint at a bigger goal: regime change
Israel's surprise attack on Iran had an obvious goal of sharply disrupting Tehran's nuclear program and lengthening the time it would need to develop an atomic weapon. But the scale of the attacks, Israel's choice of targets, and its politicians' own words suggest another, longer-term objective: toppling the regime itself. The strikes early on Friday hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists, blows that appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region — factors that could destabilize the Iranian leadership, experts said. "One assumes that one of the reasons that Israel is doing that is that they're hoping to see regime change," said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior official under President George W. Bush. "It would like to see the people of Iran rise up," he said, adding that the limited civilian casualties in the initial round of attacks also spoke to a broader aim. In a video address shortly after Israeli fighter jets began striking Iranian nuclear facilities and air defense systems, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the Iranian people directly. Israel's actions against Iran's ally Hezbollah had led to a new government in Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, he said. The Iranian people had an opportunity too: "I believe that the day of your liberation is near. And when that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again," Netanyahu said. But despite the damage inflicted by the unprecedented Israeli attack, decades of enmity toward Israel — not only among Iran's rulers but its majority-Shiite population — raises questions about the prospect for fomenting enough public support to oust an entrenched theocratic leadership in Tehran backed by loyal security forces. Singh cautioned that no one knows what conditions would be required for an opposition to coalesce in Iran. Friday's assault was the first phase of what Israel said would be a prolonged operation. Experts said they expected Israel would continue to go after key Iranian nuclear infrastructure to delay Tehran's march to a nuclear bomb — even if Israel on its own does not have the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he drew on a graphic of a bomb used to represent Iran's nuclear program as he addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York in September 2012. | REUTERS Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel's first salvos targeted senior figures in Iran's military and scientific establishment, took out much of the country's air defense system and destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Iran's nuclear site. "As a democratic country, the State of Israel believes that it is up to the people of a country to shape their national politics, and choose their government," the Israeli Embassy in Washington said. "The future of Iran can only be determined by the Iranian people." Netanyahu has called for a change in Iran's government, including in September. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, while acquiescing to Israel's strikes and helping its close ally fend off Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, has given no indication that it seeks regime change in Tehran. The White House and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. Israel has much further to go if it is to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, and military analysts have always said it might be impossible to totally disable the well-fortified sites dotted around Iran. The Israeli government has also cautioned that Iran's nuclear program could not be entirely destroyed by means of a military campaign. "There's no way to destroy a nuclear program by military means," Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 13 TV. The military campaign could, however, create conditions for a deal with the United States that would thwart the nuclear program. Analysts also remain skeptical that Israel will have the munitions needed to obliterate Iran's nuclear project on its own. "Israel probably cannot take out completely the nuclear project on its own without the American participation," Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told reporters on Friday. While setting back Tehran's nuclear program would have value for Israel, the hope for regime change could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, potentially throwing the Iranian security establishment into confusion and chaos. "These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime," said Shine. "In the ideal world, Israel would prefer to see a change of regime, no question about that," she said. But such a change would come with risk, said Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East who is now at the Atlantic Council. If Israel succeeds in removing Iran's leadership, there is no guarantee the successor that emerges would not be even more hard-line in pursuit of conflict with Israel. "For years, many in Israel have insisted that regime change in Iran would prompt a new and better day — that nothing could be worse than the current theocratic regime," Panikoff said. "But history tells us it can always be worse."
Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Tokyo police wary of lone-wolf attacks as election campaigning begins
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 12:38 | All, Japan Campaigning began Friday for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, with the capital's police stepping up measures to thwart possible lone-wolf attacks after incidents involving notable politicians in recent years. Top politicians are set to converge on Tokyo for a close contest seen as a bellwether for the national House of Councillors election this summer, in which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to struggle. "We are mobilizing the organization's full strength. We cannot create conditions that allow for the 'unexpected,'" a senior official of the Metropolitan Police Department said. Stump speeches are a mainstay of Japanese elections, offering candidates a chance to get their message across and granting voters opportunities to meet their potential representatives. Politicians have been targeted while campaigning in recent years, with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fatally shot during a stump speech in the city of Nara before the 2022 House of Councillors election. During an election-related appearance in Wakayama, also in western Japan, in 2023, an explosive device was hurled toward then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. More recently, a man tried to attack Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office and the LDP's headquarters while the premier was away campaigning for last October's House of Representatives election. The suspects charged in all of the cases are believed to have acted alone. Since the Abe and Kishida incidents, police have urged campaign organizers to step up security. The senior police official said it is becoming standard for members of the public to face inspections such as bag checks at stump speeches and people have become more cooperative since the high-profile incidents. To ensure security during campaigning in the capital, Tokyo police created a section in April to identify potential lone-wolf attackers by monitoring social media and collating information from other departments. Police also reached agreements with three real estate industry groups in May for the sharing of information about suspicious noises and odors in buildings, after cases in which assailants manufactured weapons and explosives in their apartments. The police will also approach individuals loitering near locations where politicians are scheduled to appear, the official said, adding, "Anyone engaging in suspicious activity will be questioned and asked to have their belongings checked." Related coverage: Campaigning begins for Tokyo assembly vote, ahead of upper house race Japan ruling bloc OKs campaigning on cash handouts in summer election Trial to run political ads at Japan convenience stores canceled
