Latest news with #IchiroAisawa
Japan Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Parties remain apart on social media rules for elections
During a television debate Saturday, senior officials of ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed on the need to regulate election misinformation on social media, but were far apart over specific measures. "We first need to use existing laws and regulations, such as the public offices election law and the Penal Code," Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System, said. "It is very important to clarify the responsibilities of social media service providers." Noting that people may vote based on what they read on social media, even when accuracy is unknown, Hiroshi Ogushi, executive deputy president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that "it is necessary to introduce regulations in light of the links between social media and elections." Hitoshi Aoyagi, policy chief of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai, agreed, saying, "Freedom of expression does not mean that anything is allowed." Hirotaka Ishikawa, secretary-general of Komeito in the House of Councillors, said, "It is very important to strike a balance between the enhancement of regulations and freedom of expression." Meanwhile, Motohisa Furukawa, acting leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, said, "We should be cautious about (social media) regulations at this point." "Social media has the advantage of reducing the distance between politics and voters," he said, suggesting that the government should first ask related businesses to take countermeasures. Satoshi Inoue, the Japanese Communist Party's secretary-general in the Upper House, said, "We should put efforts into ensuring that people's voices are accurately reflected in politics by guaranteeing suffrage and freedom of expression." Akiko Oishi, co-leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi, an opposition party, said there have been cases in which derogatory information was spread by those with abundant financial resources. "We should establish an appropriate legal framework," she added. The TV debate took place as the country marked Constitution Day on Saturday.
03-05-2025
- Politics
Japan Parties Apart on Social Media Regulations over Elections
News from Japan Politics May 3, 2025 18:44 (JST) Tokyo, May 3 (Jiji Press)--Senior officials of Japan's ruling and opposition parties in a television debate Saturday broadly agreed on the need to regulate false social media information regarding elections but were apart over specific measures. Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System, said, "We first need to use existing laws and regulations, such as the public offices election law and the Penal Code." "It is very important to clarify the responsibilities of social media service providers," he said. Noting that people may vote based on social media information whose authenticity is unknown, Hiroshi Ogushi, executive deputy president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that "it is necessary to introduce regulations in light of relations between social media and elections." Hitoshi Aoyagi, policy chief of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), agreed, saying, "Freedom of expression does not mean that anything is allowed." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
70 lawmakers make cross-party visit to war-linked Yasukuni shrine
KYODO NEWS - 13 hours ago - 14:21 | All, Japan A cross-party group of around 70 Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday attended the spring festival at the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, regarded as a symbol of the country's past militarism by its Asian neighbors. Group member Ichiro Aisawa, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a press conference, "We should never forget the history of how the spirits of many fallen heroes laid the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Japan after the war." Yasukuni, however, has long been a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea, as the shrine honors Japan's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by a post-World War II international tribunal, along with about 2.4 million war dead. On Tuesday, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, who was narrowly defeated by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in last year's LDP presidential race, also visited the shrine. She has been labeled a "right-wing" nationalist by Chinese state-run media. The group's visit came a day after Ishiba sent a ritual offering to the shrine to mark the festival. He is not expected to make an in-person appearance during the three-day event through Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The cross-party group usually visits the shrine for the spring and autumn festivals as well as the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15, despite backlash from China and South Korea, where resentment of Japanese wartime militarism runs deep. For last year's fall festival, the group did not organize a visit to Yasukuni as the event coincided with campaigning for the Oct. 27 general election, in which the ruling bloc led by Ishiba's LDP lost its majority in the House of Representatives. Japan had invaded and occupied a wide area of China by the end of the war and ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Related coverage: Japan PM Ishiba sends offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine, no visit eyed Japan PM to forgo visit to war-linked Yasukuni shrine for spring rite False report on Yasukuni visit "regrettable": Japan government spokesman
22-04-2025
- Politics
70 Japanese Lawmakers Visit Yasukuni Shrine
News from Japan Politics Apr 22, 2025 13:33 (JST) Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)--Some 70 lawmakers of both chambers of Japan's parliament on Tuesday visited together war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its spring festival. They are members of a suprapartisan group promoting visits to the Shinto shrine in the Kudankita district in the Japanese capital's Chiyoda Ward. Yasukuni Shrine is regarded as a symbol of Japan's past militarism by neighboring countries including China and South Korea as it enshrines Class-A war criminals along with the war dead. Among the visitors were members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), also an opposition party. "The foundation of today's stable, thriving and peaceful Japan was laid by the spirits of many war dead," LDP lawmaker Ichiro Aisawa, who serves as deputy head of the suprapartisan group, told a press conference after the visit. "We visited the shrine with the hope that such history will never be forgotten." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Today
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
70 lawmakers make cross-party visit to Yasukuni Shrine
Japanese lawmakers are seen at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday, after offering prayers on the occasion of its three-day spring festival. A cross-party group of around 70 Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday attended the spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, regarded as a symbol of the country's past militarism by its Asian neighbors. Group member Ichiro Aisawa, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a press conference, "We should never forget the history of how the spirits of many fallen heroes laid the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Japan after the war." Yasukuni, however, has long been a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea, as the shrine honors Japan's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by a post-World War II international tribunal, along with about 2.4 million war dead. On Tuesday, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, who was narrowly defeated by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in last year's LDP presidential race, also visited the shrine. She has been labeled a "right-wing" nationalist by Chinese state-run media. The group's visit came a day after Ishiba sent a ritual offering to the shrine to mark the festival. He is not expected to make an in-person appearance during the three-day event through Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The cross-party group usually visits the shrine for the spring and autumn festivals as well as the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15, despite backlash from China and South Korea, where resentment of Japanese wartime militarism runs deep. For last year's fall festival, the group did not organize a visit to Yasukuni as the event coincided with campaigning for the Oct. 27 general election, in which the ruling bloc led by Ishiba's LDP lost its majority in the House of Representatives. Japan had invaded and occupied a wide area of China by the end of the war and ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. © KYODO
