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The Mainichi
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Editorial: LDP, Japan need new politics amid PM Ishiba's inevitable resignation
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation has become unavoidable. The ruling coalition has now suffered crushing defeats in both chambers of the Diet, losing its majority. Having been handed a vote of no confidence by the electorate, this outcome is only natural. Following last autumn's loss in the House of Representatives election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito again failed to secure a majority in this month's House of Councillors race. Including the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, the Ishiba administration has now lost three major elections in a row. Yet even now, the prime minister insists, "What matters most is avoiding a paralysis of national politics," and clings to his post. Such remarks, which seem to ignore the weight of the election results, have sparked fierce backlash both inside and outside the party. LDP prefectural chapters across the country are demanding Ishiba's swift resignation. The movement to oust him has accelerated, with mid-level and younger lawmakers calling for the party leadership election to be moved up. Declaration to stay on ignores public will Ishiba, whose base within the party has always been weak, owed his past prominence in leadership races to strong support from local party members. But after repeated election defeats, even these supporters have abandoned him, leaving him politically cornered. With the resolution of Japan-U.S. negotiations over President Donald Trump's tariffs -- which Ishiba described as a "national crisis" -- now resolved, the prime minister's justification for staying on has also evaporated. Ishiba is expected to announce his resignation in response to the LDP's review of its upper house election defeat, which is to be compiled in August. Ishiba was originally chosen as prime minister in hopes of fundamentally reforming "LDP politics." For years, he had criticized the government from within the party for being out of touch with the public. But since taking office, he has appeared to be swallowed up by the LDP's old logic. He has betrayed the public's hopes for a fundamental change in the political status quo. The clearest example is the "money in politics" issue. Ishiba was reluctant to break with the LDP's money-driven culture, which came under fire in the party's factional slush fund scandal. Even after the lower house defeat, he showed little willingness to take responsibility, and sought to preserve corporate and organizational donations that could distort policy. As the nation's leader, Ishiba also failed to present a clear national vision. He kept his own views on diplomacy and national security under wraps, and even his signature regional revitalization policies amounted to little more than a rehash of past efforts. The "Ishiba touch" was never on display. When the LDP was reduced to a minority in the lower house, Ishiba called for a "deliberative Diet" in which ruling and opposition parties would scrutinize each other's proposals to produce better policies. In reality, however, he prioritized cobbling together enough votes to pass LDP legislation, repeatedly compromising in closed-door talks with some opposition parties. This was a clear case of saying one thing and doing another. The LDP has long weathered criticism by simply regularly swapping its leader. The public has seen through the Ishiba Cabinet as just another "pseudo-regime change," leading to widespread disappointment. Time to restore trust in politics The LDP has long led postwar politics as a national party that listens to a wide range of voices. The upper house election has laid bare that this foundation is dissolving. Support groups have weakened, and the old method of exchanging policy favors for "votes and money" no longer works. During the "lost 30 years" following the collapse of Japan's bubble economy in the early 1990s, the party failed to directly address the public's anxiety about their daily lives. As a result, emerging parties have siphoned off support from young people, independents and the middle class, who believe Japan's vitality has been sapped. In the increasingly multiparty upper house, both ruling and opposition parties engaged in a "battle of appeals" during the latest election, touting policies including tax cuts and tougher immigration controls with little regard for funding. But drifting toward such easy populism will prevent the LDP from fulfilling its responsibilities as a governing party. The party must also confront medium- and long-term challenges head-on, such as building a sustainable social security system for a shrinking population, restoring fiscal health, and responding to growing international tensions. Such efforts will also lead to the stabilization of people's lives for the future and the restoration of trust in politics. The real question for the LDP now is whether it can achieve true self-reform and be reborn as a new national party. Simply changing the party leader to create an illusion of renewal will not work. If the LDP does not intend to hand over power to the opposition, it must present a new, broadly supported government framework and a clear direction for the country.
Yomiuri Shimbun
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba Orders Support for Smaller Businesses in Face of U.S. Tariffs; Informs Party Leaders of Deal's Details
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with the leaders of seven ruling and opposition parties on Friday at the Diet building, where he offered details on the tariff agreement reached with the United States earlier this week. Earlier on Friday, Ishiba instructed relevant ministers to devise support measures for small and midsize enterprises in the face of U.S. tariffs, at a meeting of the comprehensive response headquarters for U.S. tariffs at the Prime Minister's Office. 'We were able to reach an agreement that allows both Japan and the United States to secure their national interests, while still protecting what needed to be protected,' Ishiba said at the beginning of the meeting with the party leaders. The prime minister reportedly sought understanding for the agreement from the leaders, namely the heads of ruling coalition partner Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People, Reiwa Shinsengumi, the Japanese Communist Party and Sanseito. The meeting lasted about 70 minutes. To try to alleviate the impact of new U.S. tariffs on Japan's economy, Ishiba told ministers to ensure that small and midsize companies receive aid through support offices that have been set up at about 1,000 locations nationwide. This aid includes financing and help retaining employees. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that Washington will review its tariffs on Japan if it thinks the country is not fulfilling the agreement. Consequently, Ishiba also told the ministers to manage implementation of the agreement. At the meeting of the comprehensive response headquarters, Ishiba stressed the significance of the deal. 'The agreement is extremely important for ensuring Japan's economic security and economic growth going forward,' he said, adding, 'I will work to implement the agreement and further develop Japan-U.S. relations in every area.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Prime Minister Ishiba to Step down: Make Announcement Early to Allow Quick Formation of New Administration
Perhaps Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is thinking that he cannot toss out his administration given the schedule of important domestic and diplomatic events ahead. However, if Ishiba, having now become a lame duck, delays the announcement of his resignation, he will only prolong the political chaos. Ishiba initially indicated he would stay in office after his ruling coalition suffered a crushing defeat in the House of Councillors election, but now he likely is resolved to step down. It is believed that the conclusion of tariff negotiations with the United States prompted his decision to resign. However, on the surface, Ishiba still asserts a desire to run the government. During a meeting with three former prime ministers — Taro Aso, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida — he made no clear statement on whether he would step down, he said. In the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including in its local organizations, there is a growing movement calling for Ishiba to step down. In accordance with party rules, a campaign has begun to collect signatures to bring forward the party presidential election. If a majority of the party's Diet members and representatives from its prefectural chapters support this motion, a presidential election is supposed to be held. When the party presidency becomes vacant part way through a presidential term, for example, the party rules allow for the LDP's Diet members to vote on a leader at a general meeting of lawmakers in both houses, with no vote by rank-and-file members. This is meant to minimize as much as possible the risk of a political vacuum. With Ishiba's three consecutive losses as LDP president — in last year's House of Representatives election, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election and the recent upper house election — it is obvious that he no longer has the people's trust. It is quite natural that there is a movement within the LDP calling for Ishiba to step down. However, Ishiba has indicated he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump after an agreement was reached in Japan-U.S. tariff talks. In August, memorial services are scheduled to be held on the anniversaries of the end of World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), in which Japan has long taken the lead, will be held in Yokohama from Aug. 20 to 22. Ishiba plans to attend all of these events. Lawmakers close to Ishiba believe that a formal announcement of his resignation will be made after these events. However, if he delays his announcement, the party will not be able to officially start the process of choosing a new president. Japan's credibility abroad will suffer if intra-party strife intensifies and politics continues to be unstable. It would also be difficult for the ruling parties, which now comprise a minority in both houses of the Diet, to find a partner with whom to work toward a new coalition. In fact, Yoshihiko Noda, president of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has called for Ishiba's resignation, saying, 'Will he stay in office by ignoring the will of the people?' Seiji Maehara, co-representative of the Japan Innovation Party, has also rejected the idea of forming a coalition with the Ishiba administration, and indicated that if the JIP were to cooperate, it would be with a 'post-Ishiba' LDP. In order to quickly choose a new party president who can readily cooperate with the opposition, Ishiba should announce his resignation soon, taking the formal agreement in Japan-U.S. tariff talks as his main achievement in office. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 25, 2025)
The Mainichi
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan PM vows 'steady' implementation of US tariff deal
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday he wants to oversee the "steady" implementation of a recently clinched trade deal with the United States as the embattled leader met with opposition leaders amid pressure from inside his own party to resign. Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, told reporters after the meeting that Ishiba seemed to show a "strong desire" to stay on as premier to see the agreement take effect despite the dismal outcome for the prime minister's ruling coalition in Sunday's upper house election. Some opposition party leaders, meanwhile, said Ishiba failed to allay their concerns about the agreement and the fact that it has not yet been put into writing. The leaders' talks, lasting more than an hour at the Diet, were the first since Japan and the United States clinched the trade agreement in Washington on Tuesday, days after the House of Councillors election. "My worries instead deepened," Tamaki said after the meeting. "We don't know whether the negative impact on the economy and companies can be minimized with the deal." The trade agreement sets 15 percent auto and "reciprocal" tariffs on Japan, lower than U.S. President Donald Trump had envisioned. It also includes a scheme for $550 billion worth of Japanese investment in the United States. "We have come to an agreement with the United States that protects the national interests of both nations," Ishiba told his fellow party leaders at the Diet. The tariff deal, after rounds of talks at the ministerial and summit levels, came at a sensitive time for Ishiba, with his Liberal Democratic Party suffering its worst election performance in years and the ruling camp including its junior coalition partner, Komeito, now left without majority control of both houses of parliament. He has so far sought to brush aside calls from some LDP members to step down, saying that he should tackle the challenges facing the country. The lowering of the auto and reciprocal tariffs to 15 percent from a combined 27.5 percent and a proposed country-specific 25 percent, respectively, gave some relief to Japanese automakers and other exporters, lifting Japanese share prices. A day after the deal was announced, however, the United States said Japan will buy $8 billion in U.S. farm and food goods, such as corn, soybeans, fertilizer and bioethanol. It also said the Asian ally will increase purchases of U.S.-made commercial aircraft, including 100 Boeing planes, and defense equipment worth "additional billions of dollars annually." Japanese government officials have said there is no discrepancy between the two nations regarding the agreement. At a government task force meeting earlier in the day, Ishiba instructed officials to take all possible steps to cope with the impact of the U.S. tariffs, which economists expect will still slow the export-driven economy. Yoshihiko Noda, head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the tariff agreement should be formalized in writing at a bilateral summit. Speaking to reporters, he also revealed that he stressed the need for the government to draw up an economic package to address the tariff fallout. Ishiba did not make any mention of compiling a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year through next March or whether he will step down or not, according to Noda.
Yomiuri Shimbun
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's LDP Mulls Timing, Method of Party Presidential Election to Select Ishiba's Successor
The timing of when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his resignation and when that resignation goes into effect will impact when and in what way the Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, will hold an election to choose his successor. Several LDP members have called for a swift resignation announcement by Ishiba and holding of a presidential election. 'The longer the prime minister stays in office, the more we will lose support for the party,' a mid-ranking LDP member said. However, a politically quiet setting is desirable as for instance, the nation will observe the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15. Opinions are divided therefore on the specifics of the ideal schedule of events. A proposal has been floated among LDP executive members to hold the vote in September and convene an extraordinary session of the Diet for the prime ministerial election in October. This assumes that Ishiba stays in office until the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) scheduled for Aug. 20-22, which is the main diplomatic event in August. Considering that the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition holds a minority in both the House of Representatives and House of Councillors, a senior LDP member said, 'we need to set aside enough time to confirm that non-ruling party forces will not unite in the prime ministerial election to replace the government.' Attention is also being paid to how the LDP presidential election will be conducted. According to LDP regulations, the party president can be chosen at a joint plenary meeting of LDP members of both houses of the Diet 'in cases of particular urgency' as the president is unable to fulfill their term. Each LDP member in the Diet can cast one vote and each prefectural chapter three votes, increasing the weight of legislators' votes in this election format. However, if there is sufficient time after Ishiba's resignation announcement, there may be increasing calls for the LDP presidential election held in a 'complete form' that gives party members voting parity with Diet members. In the LDP's presidential election in September last year, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi came out on top in the votes cast by rank-and-file members in the first round of voting. Lawmakers and others supporting Takaichi argued that the next presidential election should be conducted in the complete form to 'listen to the voices of party members, given the party's critical situation.' On the other hand, some LDP executives who are wary of Takaichi's hard-line conservative stance are believed to be aiming to for a general meeting of LDP lawmakers from both houses of the Diet as the way to select the new party president.
