Latest news with #Liberal Democratic Party
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Eight opposition parties agree to push for extra gasoline tax to be scrapped
Eight opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to push for scrapping the provisional add-on gasoline tax rate on Nov. 1. At the day's meeting among policy chiefs, the parties, including the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), affirmed a plan to jointly submit a bill to implement such a tax cut during an extraordinary parliamentary session slated to be convened Friday. The opposition parties are hoping to raise public expectations for political change, as the ruling coalition no longer holds a majority in either chamber of parliament after losing their combined majority in the July 20 election for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber. Meanwhile, the CDP is aiming to foster trust among opposition parties. Tuesday's meeting was attended by policy chiefs from the CDP, Nippon Ishin no Kai, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, Reiwa Shinsengumi, the Japanese Communist Party, the Conservative Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party. The CDP plans to call on the ruling camp of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito to hold talks on ways to ensure the abolition of the provisional gasoline tax rate. "We'll strongly push for the enactment (of the bill) during next month's extraordinary parliamentary session," CDP policy chief Kazuhiko Shigetoku told reporters after the meeting. "We'll not allow the tax cut to be postponed beyond Nov. 1," he added. As the LDP has expressed reluctance to scrap the extra gasoline tax rate starting in November, talks between the ruling and opposition parties may stall.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
At LDP's post-election meeting, calls intensify for Ishiba's resignation
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba faced a rising tide of dissent and a chorus of calls to resign Monday in the first showdown between the party's lawmakers and its executives following the loss of its Upper House majority. 'I'd like him to say he is leaving as soon as possible, though it doesn't need to be now,' Lower House lawmaker Hiroyuki Nakamura told reporters as he left the party headquarters 45 minutes into the meeting. 'Party executives bear the responsibility of failing to improve the party's standing,' Upper House member Yohei Wakabayashi said, adding that 80% of lawmakers who spoke in the meeting asked Ishiba to resign.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Inflation, political turmoil won't put investors off Japanese property
Japan has entered a period of profound change. Inflation has returned after decades of deflation and stagnation. Japan's relations with the United States, which helped underpin the post-war global order, have deteriorated dramatically. A culturally homogenous nation is experiencing an epic boom in tourism More surprisingly, a country renowned for political stability is at risk from the anti-establishment populism that has upended politics in other advanced economies. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the upper house of parliament in an election on July 20. New parties – in particular a hard-right, anti-immigrant party called Sanseito – made strong gains by capitalising on public disquiet over the surge in prices and the influx of foreign tourists and migrants, accentuating the double-edged sword of inflation. The two sides to rising prices – especially their causes and side effects, which include the 28 per cent fall in the yen versus the US dollar since March 2022 – are particularly apparent in Japan's property sector. The prospect of a virtuous cycle of rising prices and wages that stimulates domestic demand and facilitates structural reforms is one of the big themes in Asian real estate. Private equity fund KKR, a big investor in Japanese real estate, said last year that 'Japan's economic reawakening and the big shifts occurring in Japanese society make for attractive investment opportunities'. The country's commercial property investment market accounted for more than a third of transaction volumes in the region in the first quarter of 2025. Moreover, rental growth has taken hold, with rents for grade A offices in Tokyo increasing at one of the fastest paces among the major office markets in the Asia-Pacific region in the second quarter of 2025. Rent increases in Japan's professionally managed rental housing, or multifamily, sector have become a key driver of investment, helping to compensate for the sharp fall in rental yields.
Japan Times
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Japan Times
‘Mr. Japan' bends the knee — and falls on his sword
"Mr. Japan' finally has his trade deal, after three months of talks. It looks like it will be his final act. After a third successive blow from the Japanese electorate, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba blinked in trade talks with the U.S. He spent months seeking a complete removal of the levies that U.S. President Donald Trump held over the country, including those already imposed on cars. "We will never accept tariffs, especially on autos,' Ishiba said in May, declaring the issue his red line. With vehicles long the main source of Trump's ire — perhaps understandably, given that they account for more than three-quarters of the trade deficit — getting the president to back down was always going to be a tough ask, especially considering Japan's lack of leverage. But after Sunday's hammering in the Upper House election, which has left the prime minister with a minority in both houses of parliament and arguably the worst electoral record of any Liberal Democratic Party leader in history, Ishiba has seemingly accepted his fate. That's why he agreed to the deal that will include 15% tariffs across the board, including on cars. With this last piece of business concluded, local media indicates that less than a year into his term, Ishiba will soon announce his resignation. (The prime minister has subsequently denied the reports, which were made by multiple independent outlets.) Trade envoy and close aide Ryosei Akazawa painted a positive picture. It was "mission completed' in the tariff talks, he cheerfully said in a post on X, pointing to a picture hung in the White House of Ishiba and Trump speaking at the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. He also denied any link between the agreement and the election results. Certainly markets were pleased, with automakers surging after being freed from months of uncertainty. Toyota Motor rose by the most in nearly 40 years; the Topix headed for an all-time high. And perhaps it's as good a deal as Japan could expect. As with all these agreements, the devil is in the details: It still puts a 15% levy across the board on imports. While that's less than the 25% "reciprocal' tariff that was threatened, and most importantly less than the 25% already imposed on auto imports in May, it'll still be damaging for exporters. There's an odd promise of $550 billion in investment in the U.S. and a more logical agreement for Japan to buy more U.S. rice. The part about Japan opening "to trade including cars and trucks' is confusing, given that there are no barriers currently in place. But perhaps Ishiba has done what he should have in the beginning and simply told Trump what he wants to hear — knowing it won't, indeed can't, be delivered. But the agreement also removes the last piece of leverage the prime minister had left — the "national crisis' he said must be prioritized ahead of infighting. That's been enough to keep the target off his back until now. But after Sunday's results, it's clear he can't be allowed to do any more harm. In just 10 months, his weak leadership has resulted in an unstable political landscape that threatens to damage Japan for years. Conservative voters have deserted the LDP in droves — and headed to some disturbingly populist places. The landscape is so fractured that there also isn't a viable opposition to take over, meaning the forecast is for parliamentary gridlock. That's why the LDP needs to win voters back. With the trade deal about to be done, Ishiba should leave as as soon as possible. Many conservatives are eyeing the anniversary of the end of World War II next month, fearing he will further alienate right-leaning voters by undoing the groundbreaking statement by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the 70th anniversary a decade ago. It's not Ishiba's fault that relations with the U.S. have been so tarnished. That blame lies with Trump. And by removing the uncertainty around tariffs, he will finally have done some good for the country. But he will leave Japan in a weaker position than when he took office — and in search of direction once again. Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas.
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japanese leader Ishiba vows to remain despite speculation, says he will focus on new US trade deal
TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday vowed to remain in power to oversee the implementation of a new Japan-U.S. tariff agreement, despite media speculation and growing calls for him to resign after a historic defeat of his governing party. Ishiba met with heavyweights from his Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, and former Prime Ministers Taro Aso, Fumio Kishida and Yoshihide Suga at party headquarters. He told reporters afterward that they didn't discuss his resignation or a new party leadership contest, but only the election results, voters' dissatisfaction and the urgent need to avoid party discord. Despite his business-as-usual demeanor, Ishiba is under increasing pressure to bow out after the LDP and junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in Sunday's election in the 248-member upper house, the smaller and less powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament, shaking his grip on power. It came after a loss in the more powerful lower house in October, and so his coalition now lacks a majority in both houses of parliament, making it even more difficult for his government to pass policies and worsening Japan's political instability. Ishiba says he intends to stay on to tackle pressing challenges, including tariff talks with the U.S., so as not to create a political vacuum despite calls from inside and outside his party for a quick resignation. Ishiba 'keeps saying he is staying on. What was the public's verdict in the election all about?" said Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the surging Democratic Party for the People, or DPP. At the LDP, a group of younger lawmakers led by Yasutaka Nakasone started a petition drive seeking Ishiba's early resignation and renewal of party leadership. 'We all have a sense of crisis and think the election results were ultimatum from the voters,' he said. Japanese media reported that Ishiba is expected to soon announce plans to step down in August. The conservative Yomiuri newspaper said in an extra edition on Wednesday that Ishiba had decided to announce his resignation by the end of July after receiving a detailed report from his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, on the impact of the U.S. tariffs on the Japanese economy, paving the way for a new party leader. Ishiba denied the report and said that he wants to focus on the U.S. trade deal, which covers more than 4,000 goods affecting many Japanese producers and industries. He welcomed the new agreement, which places tariffs at 15% on Japanese cars and other goods imported into the U.S. from Japan, down from the initial 25%. Still, local media are already speculating about possible successors. Among them are ultraconservative former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who lost to Ishiba in September. Another conservative ex-minister, Takayuki Kobayashi, and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are also seen as potential challengers. In Sunday's election, voters frustrated with price increases exceeding the pace of wage hikes, especially younger people who have long felt ignored by the ruling government's focus on senior voters, rapidly turned to the emerging conservative DPP and right-wing populist Sanseito party. None of the opposition parties have shown interest in forming a full-fledged alliance with the governing coalition, but they have said they are open to cooperating on policy. People expressed mixed reaction to Ishiba, as his days seem to be numbered. Kentaro Nakamura, 53, said that he thought it's time for Ishiba to go, because he lacked consistency and did poorly in the election. 'The (election) result was so bad and I thought it would not be appropriate for him to stay on," Nakamura said. "I thought it was just a matter of time.' But Isamu Kawana, a Tokyo resident in his 70s, was more sympathetic and said if it wasn't Ishiba who was elected prime minister last year, the result would have been the same. 'I think he got the short end of the stick," Kawana said. ___ Reeno Hashimoto contributed to this report. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
