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Nikkei Asia
2 days ago
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay on, seeks support at ruling party meeting
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday reiterated his intention to stay on as he sought support from party lawmakers, many of whom have been urging him to resign after a recent crushing election loss. At the Liberal Democratic Party's first meeting of lawmakers for both houses since the July 20 House of Councilors election, Ishiba apologized for the dismal outcome but warned of potential political paralysis in his latest attempt to justify his decision to remain in the job. "It's my intention to fulfill my responsibility for the people and the country by never creating a political vacuum," said Ishiba, who is LDP chief. He added that he will make "maximum efforts" to make sure that voters can feel that the LDP has changed following the election loss, in which the ruling coalition missed its target of retaining at least an overall majority in the upper house. LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, the party's No. 2, said he will finalize his decision on whether to stay on or not after completing by the end of August an internal review of why the LDP suffered its worst election showing in years. Despite Ishiba's renewed push for support from fellow LDP members, his resignation is seen as increasingly inevitable sooner or later. The LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, have already lost their majority in the more powerful House of Representatives after last year's election, meaning that opposition support is required to pass bills and budgets. Ishiba, who became LDP chief and prime minister last year, has said it is important that he remains in office to navigate the country through what he has described as a "national crisis," citing rapidly changing political situations such as U.S. tariffs. But pressure from within the LDP to step down has shown little sign of easing, with some party lawmakers distancing themselves from Ishiba while there is also discontent in some local chapters. Monday's meeting was held on the last day of the six-year terms of half of the upper house's 248 members. Depending on how Ishiba handles the meeting, calls for his resignation could grow. Some party members have signed documents to demand the LDP hold a decision-making plenary meeting of lawmakers from both houses to demand a leadership election at an early date. Signatures from a third of party lawmakers are required to demand such a gathering. Those joining the move are LDP members who stood behind the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, who was gunned down during a campaign speech in 2022. Lawmakers with close ties with heavyweights such as former Prime Minister Taro Aso and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who competed against Ishiba in the LDP presidential race last year, are also among the group. Potential candidates to replace him have been on the move in recent days. Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, Ishiba's archrival, who ran unsuccessfully against him for the top party post, has held talks with people close to her as well as her supporter Aso. In the latest upper house election, emerging forces including the right-wing populist party Sanseito are believed to have siphoned conservative support from the LDP. With the rising cost of living and lackluster wage growth in real terms continuing to hurt households, the ruling coalition sought to woo voters with a promise of cash handouts while opposition parties called for reducing or abolishing the consumption tax. With the LDP's internal confusion and wrangling out in the open, the public appears split over whether Ishiba should resign. Hundreds of people took to the streets outside the prime minister's office Friday to ask him not to step down, with the hashtag "Don't quit Ishiba" trending on social media. A recent Kyodo News poll found 51.6% in favor of Ishiba's resignation, compared with 45.8% who saw no need for it.
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
IMF advises Japan to avoid broad tax cuts and handouts
Japan should avoid broad tax cuts and cash handouts, as they could worsen the country's already precarious fiscal conditions, International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said Thursday. "Our advice to Japan is that, given this limited fiscal space, it's essential that ... any fiscal response to shocks is both temporary and also targeted," Kozack told a regular news conference in Washington. "Generalized subsidies and tax cuts, in our view, should be avoided." The suggestion came after Sunday's election in the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of parliament, resulted in a disastrous loss for the ruling bloc, likely increasing pressure for greater fiscal spending. Tackling inflation was a major campaign issue in the Upper House race. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, pledged to give cash handouts while opposition parties called for reducing or abolishing the consumption tax. Japan's long-term interest rates rose in interdealer trading after the election due to worries about fiscal expansion. The nation's outstanding debt is the highest among major economies, standing at more than double the country's gross domestic product. "Japan has limited fiscal space ... because of high public debt," Kozack said, recommending that any fiscal stimulus measures to address economic shocks should be temporary and targeted at vulnerable households and companies. Broad tax cuts and benefits are "not an efficient use of Japan's limited fiscal space," the spokesperson added. She said Japan should urgently develop a "clear fiscal consolidation plan," considering that Japan's outstanding debt will likely increase further due to growing interest payments on Japanese government bonds amid rising interest rates, and that social security costs will inevitably rise due to the aging population.
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Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
[Robert J. Fouser] Japan lurches right
To date, an election for the House of Councilors, the upper house of the Japanese Diet, would not have been big news, but results from the recent election on July 20 changed that. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito party, lost their majority while recently formed populist far-right parties performed surprisingly well. In particular, the Sanseito party led by right-wing provocateur Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats, pushing up its total in the chamber from one seat to 15. The upper house is the weaker of the two houses of the Diet, but the results offer insight into the direction of Japanese politics. They were also a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after less than a year in office. What happened in Japan and where is the nation headed? Since the right-wing populist wave that began in 2016, first with the Brexit vote in the UK and then with the election of Donald Trump as president in the US, populism has swept across Europe and attracted support in other important democracies, such as Brazil and, to a lesser extent, South Korea. Only Japan, long noted for its stable, consensus-driven politics, seemed immune. Not anymore. The reasons for the right-wing turn mirror those in other places: economic insecurity, fear of immigrants and the rise of alternative media. These trends feed on each other, giving life to politicians who rage against immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, the mainstream media, big tech, green policies and whatever else 'globalists' support. In the process, fringe conspiracy theories grow and become mainstream. The right-wing populist script is similar but takes on a different cast as it spreads from one country to another. In Japan's case, the Sanseito emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic with YouTube videos promoting conspiracy theories and vaccine skepticism. Kamiya threw anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment into the mix and campaigned on the slogan 'Japanese First.' He has stated that he drew inspiration from Donald Trump's MAGA movement in the US. Support for the Sanseito in Japan came primarily from younger voters who feel that the 'Japanese dream' of a stable job, a house and a secure retirement is slipping away from them. After years of stable prices, inflation has hit 3 percent, and home prices are rising while wages remain stagnant. The influx of foreign workers exacerbates feelings of insecurity. Younger generations elsewhere share these feelings but have different outlets for expressing them. In the US, Trump consistently underperformed with younger voters in 2016, 2020 and 2024. His strongest support has come from voters 45 and older. Younger voters in the US lean left and have fueled progressive insurgencies in the Democratic Party. In South Korea, meanwhile, younger voters have split by gender, with more men supporting the conservative People Power Party and women supporting the Democratic Party of Korea in ever larger numbers. In the German election earlier this year, the youth vote split into two extremes. The left-wing Die Linke won the most youth support, whereas the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland came a close second and mainstream parties did poorly. In Japan, older voters continue to support the LDP and the slightly center-left Constitutional Democratic Party, the main opposition party. While the LDP saw a sharp drop in percentage of votes, the CDP remained stagnant. The Japanese Communist Party, meanwhile, which attracted younger voters in the late 20th century, has failed to do so in recent years, and its core support base continues to age. To young voters in Japan, as elsewhere, the established mainstream parties represent the status quo that they want to change. In theory, the two left-leaning parties, the JCP and the smaller left-wing Reiwa Shinsengumi party should appeal to younger voters because they support drastic change. The problem is that younger voters view them as old and tired as well, with little chance of getting close to power. This leaves the far-right as the most attractive vehicle for young people seeking easy answers to their worries. The Sanseito and the other far-right party, the Conservative Party of Japan, together won 17 percent of votes in electoral districts, and 21 percent of the national proportional vote. Those numbers put them behind only the LDP in terms of votes earned, which suggests that they have staying power. Japan has clearly entered a period of political instability. The big question is what the center will do. Will it embrace a new direction that renews the 'Japanese Dream'? Or will it hunker down on the past and let the far-right grow? Robert J. Fouser, a former associate professor of Korean language education at Seoul National University, writes on Korea from Providence, Rhode Island. He can be reached at robertjfouser@ The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed.
Morocco World
7 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
Morocco Launches $5.6 Billion Wastewater Treatment Program
Rabat — Morocco's Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit has announced a massive new national program worth MAD 56 billion ($5.6 billion) to accelerate wastewater treatment and liquid sanitation projects across the country. Speaking during an oral question session at the House of Councilors on Tuesday, Laftit outlined the ambitious 2025-2034 program that will tackle one of Morocco's most pressing environmental challenges. The minister indicated that the program includes 389 projects already underway or starting soon, plus 694 new projects focusing on sewage networks and treatment plants. The government is set to fast-track urban projects, completing them by 2029 instead of the original 2034 deadline, with the goal to free up resources to focus on rural areas afterward. 'We aim to connect 90% of urban areas and 80% of rural areas to liquid sanitation networks,' Laftit said. The program also has ambitious targets of reducing pollution by more than 80%. The North African country's strategy has already allocated over MAD 48 billion ($ 5.33 billion) for wastewater projects through the end of 2024, completing MAD 25 billion ($ 2.78 billion) worth of projects, while the remaining MAD 23 billion ($ 2.55 billion) is still in progress or starting. The state contributed more than MAD 17 billion ($ 1.89 billion) through the Liquid and Solid Sanitation Fund, with MAD 11 billion ($ 1.22 billion) already mobilized. The Interior Ministry added over MAD 3 billion ($ 333.58 million) through territorial communities' share of value-added tax. Laftit outlined that the program has already equipped 223 cities and urban centers out of 385 with sanitation networks and wastewater treatment plants. The already established facilities serve 21 million people, bringing Morocco to an 84% national connection rate. Meanwhile, work continues in 72 additional cities and centers, while the government has scheduled 90 new cities and centers for the 2025-2034 period. In rural areas, Morocco's ambitious program has equipped 43 rural centers with sewage networks and treatment plants, benefiting 105,000 people. Construction started in 170 centers serving 442,000 people, with plans to reach 1,207 rural centers by 2040. Morocco's water reuse has seen significant improvement, with 53 million cubic meters of treated wastewater in 2024, which was used to irrigate 30 golf courses and green spaces in 16 communities, in addition to supporting six industrial projects. New projects under construction will add 18 golf courses and serve 40 territorial communities. By 2040, Morocco plans to reuse 537 million cubic meters of treated wastewater annually. Laftit described the efforts as part of a comprehensive development vision that considers environmental and social dimensions, aiming to achieve territorial justice and better water resource management amid growing pressing climate challenges. The massive investment reflects Morocco's commitment to addressing water scarcity and environmental protection while supporting economic development across urban and rural areas. Tags: wastewater managementwastewater treatmentWater challenges
Japan Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
47% turn to social media and videos for voting decisions: exit poll
A Jiji Press exit poll has found that 46.9% of respondents turned to social media and video-sharing sites for information when deciding which party to vote for in Sunday's House of Councilors election in Japan. Meanwhile, those who did not use such services at all or very much totaled 50.0%. Of those who turned to social media and video-sharing sites, the largest proportion, at 23.9%, cast proportional representation votes for Sanseito, a small party that expanded its Upper House presence markedly in the election. The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) came next at 16.5%, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party at 11.5%, Reiwa Shinsengumi at 8.8% and the Conservative Party of Japan at 8.2%. The share stood at 7.0% for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), 5.9% for Nippon Ishin no Kai, 4.4% for political organization Team Mirai and 3.7% for Komeito. Of those who did not use such services for their voting decisions, 28.5% voted for the LDP, 17.4% for the CDP, 9.7% for the DPP, 8.1% for Nippon Ishin and 7.9% for Komeito.
