Latest news with #IshibaCabinet
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
DPP eager to discuss no-confidence motion with CDP
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki has said the party will decide whether to submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet jointly with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan through discussions with the biggest opposition party. "I would like to hear the CDP's thoughts and strategy regarding whether it will or will not submit a no-confidence motion," Tamaki said at a news conference in the city of Osaka on Saturday. "We are not in a situation where we can fully trust the Ishiba administration," he said. Meanwhile, former CDP head Yukio Edano indicated a cautious stance. "If we think only about our party, we should certainly submit (a no-confidence motion)," Edano told reporters in the city of Miyazaki the same day. But he also said, "That will not serve national interests," adding that CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda is probably thinking the same way. Noda told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday that he has yet to decide whether to submit a no-confidence motion against the Ishiba Cabinet.
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Ishiba eyes dissolving Lower House in wake of possible no-confidence motion
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering dissolving the House of Representatives and holding a snap election if the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) submits a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet, government and ruling party sources said Tuesday. Ishiba is apparently sending a warning to the CDP at a time when battles between the ruling and opposition camps are intensifying ahead of the June 22 end of the current ordinary session of the Diet, or Japan's parliament, and the subsequent House of Councilors election this summer. Since the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition currently lacks a majority in the Lower House, a senior government official said, "Dissolving (the Lower House) would be the only option, as a no-confidence motion, if submitted, is expected to be approved (in that chamber)." Ishiba has repeatedly told his aides that he would dissolve the chamber, according to the sources. In the opposition camp, only the CDP has 51 or more Lower House members, a requirement for introducing a no-confidence motion. If a no-confidence motion passes the Lower House, the prime minister would have to dissolve the chamber or resign, along with his Cabinet members. Recent media polls suggest public support for the Ishiba Cabinet remains low but is showing signs of bottoming out. A senior administration official said the ruling bloc's share of seats in the Lower House is "unlikely to decrease further" if the next general election is held soon. There are also political calculations that the ruling bloc would be able to criticize the CDP for creating a political vacuum by submitting a no-confidence motion amid a mountain of challenges, such as elevated rice prices and tariff negotiations with the United States. At a news conference on Tuesday, Shunichi Suzuki, chair of the LDP's General Council, said that the prime minister "should confidently face the people's judgment" if a no-confidence motion is submitted. The same day, CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda told a party meeting that he will make "an appropriate decision at the appropriate time." Some in the CDP are concerned about the party's sluggish approval ratings and slow preparations for the next general election. A CDP member who has served as a Cabinet minister said the party's current leadership is unlikely to submit a no-confidence motion, citing its recent deal with the ruling coalition on the pension reform bill. Meanwhile, others in the CDP are calling for a tougher stance against the administration in the lead-up to the Upper House election. CDP heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa told reporters that the party "would not be qualified as the leading opposition party if it is shaken by threats."
Japan Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Ishiba Cabinet approval falls to 20.9% in new poll
The public approval rating for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet dropped to 20.9% in May, marking its lowest level since he took office in October last year, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Thursday. The figure fell by 2.2 percentage points from April. Meanwhile, the disapproval rating rose 1.7 points to 52.9%. When asked about the ongoing Japan-U.S. negotiations over high U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration, 27.1% of respondents said they have hopes, while 53.7% gave the opposite answer. On reasons for supporting the Ishiba Cabinet, with multiple answers allowed, 9.2% of respondents backing it said there is no one else suitable to be prime minister, and 5.4% said Ishiba is trustworthy. On the other hand, 31.1% of those not backing the Ishiba government said they have no hopes for it, while 21% said Ishiba lacks leadership and 20.9% disapproved of the Cabinet's policies. The survey also showed that 21.4% of respondents expressed hopes that the government will be led by current opposition parties after this summer's election for the House of Councilors. The figure was higher than 20% in favor of a continuation of the current coalition government of Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito. Those hoping to see the Democratic Party for the People join forces with the LDP-Komeito coalition accounted for 11.7% of the total. Meanwhile, 8.9% said they want the ruling coalition to be joined by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and 7.6% hope that Nippon Ishin no Kai will join the ruling camp. Still, the LDP garnered the biggest support when respondents were asked which party they plan on voting for under the proportional representation system in the Upper House election, standing at 19.7%, down 0.9 points. Those who named the DPP came to 11.2%, up from 10.6% in April, while the CDP was backed by 9.4%, up from 7.8%. Meanwhile, 4.4% chose Komeito, 4.1% Nippon Ishin, 3.7% Reiwa Shinsengumi, 2% Sanseito, 1.7% the Japanese Communist Party, 0.9% the Conservative Party of Japan and 0.7% the Social Democratic Party. The LDP also had the biggest support as a political party in general, with 17.2%, down 0.2 points. The DPP came second with 5.7%, up 0.3 points, followed by 4.4% for the CDP, up 0.6 points. Support stood at 3.7% for Komeito, 2.3% for Nippon Ishin, 1.9% for Reiwa Shinsengumi and 0.9% for both the JCP and Sanseito. The Conservative Party of Japan and the SDP marked 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, 58.5% said they do not back any particular party. The interview survey, conducted over four days through Monday, covered 2,000 people age 18 and older across the country. Valid responses came from 58.8%.
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Nervous parties gird for a high-stakes Upper House vote
At this point in the run-up to a national election, one of the major parties typically feels optimistic and looks forward to the results. Not this time. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is still reeling from the massive defeat in the Lower House election last October, an early and ill-conceived election called by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that led to the LDP, which had then held a majority on its own, and more shockingly the ruling coalition as a whole, losing its majority. Since then, nothing positive has occurred for the inexperienced and poorly led Ishiba Cabinet. The LDP is more divided today than it has been in decades. The mismanagement of the political funds reporting scandal by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and then Ishiba, also led to their decisions to isolate the entire conservative wing. The more recent, clumsy attempt to reach a trade understanding with the U.S. continues to cast a shadow. Ishiba refused to employ the LDP's most experienced U.S. trade negotiators in the talks because they belonged to the party's conservative wing or were seen as personal rivals. Naturally, Ishiba's polling numbers remain firmly in the danger zone, a situation that, in the past, prompted the LDP to elect new leadership, especially before an important election. With Ishiba in place, the fear that the LDP could next lose its current majority in the Upper House in July is pervasive. That would push the LDP out of the government altogether and force it to assume an opposition role as it did in 2009. The only thing that could prevent this would be a dramatic realignment of the political parties. One might expect the opposition to relish the opportunity to expose the LDP's weak leadership and apparent internal dissension. However, the largest opposition party, the left-of-center Constitutional Democratic Party, which scored big in October's Lower House contest, is facing major policy disputes. Those disputes burst into public view when co-founder and former CDP leader Yukio Edano told former CDP Executive Deputy President Kenji Eda, who chaired a group looking into reducing consumption tax rates at least for food, that he should leave and form another party if he wanted to resort to "tax-cut populism." That has led to reports of a possible split between the CDP's Edano-led progressive and soft-on-China wing and the more conservative and harder-on-China bloc headed by party chief Yoshihiko Noda. Given these disputes and the lack of progress to date in coordinating the election with other opposition parties, there is growing concern within the CDP that it will lose seats in the upcoming election. Things are not much better for the second-largest opposition party, the conservative-leaning, Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai. It failed to meet lofty expectations in the Lower House election, losing five seats and falling to 38. After the election, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura replaced the party leader. As head of a minority government, Ishiba had to accept at least some proposals from an opposition party to get the 2025 fiscal year budget passed by the end of the March deadline. Ishin invested significant effort negotiating with the LDP to include policies important to its platform. But in the end, it lost out to the smaller Democratic Party for the People, which succeeded in getting its proposals included in the 2025 budget. Led by the charismatic Yuichiro Tamaki, the more conservative center-right DPP had a strong showing in the Lower House election, quadrupling its seats to 28. It now appears to be the only party genuinely enthusiastic about its chances for further gains in the Upper House this July. The current atmosphere feels similar to the political climate of 2009. The July election could mark a turning point, bringing major shifts and potential realignments. Here are a few possible outcomes. Unless the LDP quickly replaces Ishiba with someone perceived as stronger and more appealing to the electorate, the LDP and Komeito are likely to lose their majority in the coming Upper House election. The ruling parties then become a minority in both the Lower and Upper Houses, so what happens next becomes the big question. Should the fears of the CDP and Ishin be realized, they will each lose seats to the smaller opposition parties and the DPP might well emerge as the big winner once again, along with some minor gains for each of the fringe far-left and far-right parties. That will trigger a feverish period of intense negotiations, with the DPP's Tamaki becoming a kingmaker. If the results for the inherently unstable CDP prove poor enough, it will undergo yet another leadership change. However, this time, it could lead to its splintering into two distinct wings. Essentially, the CDP was a marriage of convenience among the various pieces that emerged from the former Democratic Party of Japan, pieces that had never really gotten along. If Ishin's results disappoint again, it will also undergo another leadership change and likely retreat to its Osaka base of power, backing off from the national scene more or less. A window of opportunity then opens for the LDP. A day late and a dollar short — Ishiba will be replaced by a caretaker leader. It will have to be open to accepting whatever Tamaki demands for the DPP to join the ruling coalition, up to and including having Tamaki become the new ruling coalition's leader and prime minister. If the election turns out as described, the only other option for the LDP, besides the above, is to go into opposition and rebuild. The last time, Shinzo Abe managed to lead them back to power. Does the party have anyone who can do that now? Edo Naito is a commentator on Japanese politics, law and history. He is a retired international business attorney and has held board of director and executive positions at several U.S. and Japanese multinational companies.
