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Japan Times
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces intense pressure within the Liberal Democratic Party to take responsibility for three election defeats by resigning. But he remains at bat following his third strike as the head of the LDP — the party's July 20 Upper House election loss. Ishiba's first strike came after becoming LDP president in September last year, when he led the party to a Lower House election a month later in which it lost its majority. The second strike came when the LDP was dealt a huge blow in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, during which it lost nine seats and was relegated to becoming the second-largest party in the assembly, behind Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First). In a meeting with party executives and angry LDP lawmakers on Monday, Ishiba resisted calls for him to resign, saying he would stay on as party president and prime minister in order to prevent a political vacuum from forming. 'It's important that public opinion and our party's views are aligned,' Ishiba said, adding that an appropriate decision on his future would be made with these and other factors in mind. Recent media polls suggest that the public is not as anxious as many in the LDP to see Ishiba resign over the electoral losses, which past party presidents have often done. The LDP is also expected to complete its own evaluation of the Upper House results, and why it lost, by mid-August. Ishiba is likely to wait until the party's conclusions are official before formally deciding his future. Ishiba says that his insistence on remaining, at least for now, is also due to specific policy issues. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he wanted to make sure the 15% tariff deal with the U.S. is implemented. He said it was vital to examine the impact of the agreement on the roughly 4,300 domestic items covered by it. Pro-Ishiba demonstrators concerned about who might succeed him in the event that he steps down urge the prime minister to stay on during the rally on Friday. | AFP-JIJI Another reason Ishiba isn't bowing to pressure to resign is a busy August schedule. He'll likely attend events related to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, such as memorial services for victims of atomic bombings in Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, as well as a ceremony commemorating Japan's war dead on Aug. 15. The Bon summer holidays follow soon after, and then Ishiba will welcome African leaders to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development that takes place from Aug. 20 to Aug. 22. Once August ends, any push for a leadership change becomes tricky as the political world prepares for the opening of the autumn session of parliament. The timeline is sure to be on the minds of LDP members seeking to oust Ishiba as quickly as possible. These include Sanae Takaichi, a former economic security minister and a conservative, and Toshimitsu Motegi, a veteran leader and a former party secretary-general. Both are trying to boost their standings within the party and among the public by criticizing Ishiba, who is in no hurry to let either of his rivals take over. While many LDP members agree Ishiba needs to go, the party — still reeling from the three election losses — has not rallied around a single rival candidate due to its own internal divisions. To win an LDP presidential election, a candidate needs to win a majority of votes from party parliamentarians and local chapters in the first round, or in a runoff between the top two first-round finishers. Yet even if an Ishiba rival manages to rally enough supporters to win the LDP presidency, the prime minister job is not guaranteed due to the party's lack of any parliamentary majority. Anyone replacing Ishiba would have to secure votes from at least one of the main opposition parties to become prime minister. For that to happen, LDP executives and opposition parties would first need to hammer out a deal right after a presidential election takes place. That could prove difficult to do quickly before the start of the autumn session of parliament, and would risk internal dissent within the LDP as well as create political problems for an opposition party leader who must convince members to vote for an LDP candidate to become prime minister rather than one of their own. Many want to see Ishiba strike out, but replacing him may not guarantee a more stable LDP or a more stable political situation. Staff writer Gabriele Ninivaggi contributed to this report.
Khaleej Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Tokyo voters punish Japan ruling party ahead of national election
Voters in Tokyo knocked Japan's ruling party from its position as the largest group in the city assembly, results showed on Monday, a warning sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's unpopular government before July elections. Japanese media said it was a record-low result in the key local ballot for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has led the country almost continuously since 1955. Public support for Ishiba, who took office in October, has been at rock-bottom for months, partly because of high inflation, with rice prices doubling over the past year. The LDP took 21 Tokyo assembly seats in Sunday's vote, including three won by candidates previously affiliated with the party but not officially endorsed following a political funding scandal. This breaks the party's previous record low of 23 seats from 2017, according to the Asahi Shimbun and other local media. Ishiba described the results as a "very harsh judgement". "We will study what part of our campaign pledge failed to resonate with voters and ensure we learn from this," he told reporters on Monday. Tomin First no Kai, founded by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, increased its seats in the 127-member assembly to 31, becoming the largest party. The funding scandal "may have affected" the result, Shinji Inoue, head of the LDP's Tokyo chapter, said Sunday as exit polls were released. Policies to address inflation "didn't reach voters' ears very well" with opposition parties also pledging to tackle the issue, Inoue said. Cost of living Within weeks Ishiba will face elections for parliament's upper house, with reports saying the national ballot could be held on July 20. Voters angry with rising prices and political scandals deprived Ishiba's LDP and its junior coalition partner of a majority in the powerful lower house in October, marking the party's worst general election result in 15 years. Polls this month showed a slight uptick in support, however, thanks in part to policies to tackle high rice prices. Several factors lie behind recent shortages of rice at Japanese shops, including an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide, and panic-buying after a "mega-quake" warning last year. Some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. Not including volatile fresh food, goods and energy in Japan were 3.7 percent higher in May than a year earlier. To help households combat the cost of living, Ishiba has pledged cash handouts of 20,000 yen ($139) for every citizen ahead of the upper house election. 'Severe' result Masahisa Endo, a politics professor at Waseda University, described the Tokyo assembly result as "severe" for the ruling party. "Tokyo is not a stronghold for the LDP, but it's possible that its support is weakening across the nation," he said. Even if Ishiba fails to win an upper-house majority, it is hard to see who would want to take his place, while Japan's opposition parties are too divided to mount a credible challenge to the LDP's power, Endo told AFP. The opposition Democratic Party For the People (DPP) won seats for the first time in the Tokyo assembly vote, securing nine. The DPP's campaign pledge for the July election includes sales tax cuts to boost household incomes. Sunday's voter turnout rate was 47.6 percent, compared to the 42.4 percent four years ago, according to local media. A record 295 candidates ran -- the highest since 1997, including 99 women candidates, also a record high. The number of women assembly members rose to 45 from 41, results showed.
Yomiuri Shimbun
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election: LDP's Struggle Highlights Public Dissatisfaction with Politics
The harsh election results likely reflected public dissatisfaction with the running of the current administration, in addition to the issue of politics and money. The Liberal Democratic Party must take the voice of the voters seriously. Voting and ballot counting for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election took place with a record 295 candidates running for 127 seats. The LDP, the largest party in the assembly, faced a tough race and looked set to lose a significant number of seats. The Tokyo-based regional party Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group) is likely to become the largest party. The LDP had been facing headwinds even before the election. This was because the issue of party factions failing to include required information in their members' political funds reports had also spread to the LDP group in the assembly. Moreover, the approval rating of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet has remained low. In an attempt to change the situation, the LDP appealed to the public with measures against soaring rice prices under newly appointed Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, but it seems that the impact was limited. The poor showing seems to be due in part to the central government's erratic policy moves. Ishiba has announced that a ¥20,000 cash handout would be provided to everyone in the country as a measure to combat high prices. He has said that will be a key pledge in next month's House of Councillors election. The government had considered providing cash handouts this spring but decided against it due to unfavorable responses in opinion polls. The government's willingness to turn to a simple cash handout as a countermeasure against opposition parties and an election strategy may have been seen as irresponsible in the eyes of Tokyo residents. The latest election was viewed as a prelude to the upper house election. Many voters in Tokyo have no party affiliation and are said to be more likely to attach importance to developments in national politics when casting their ballots. The election results could affect the prime minister's ability to lead. The election campaign was lackluster. Many Tokyo residents cited high prices and wage increases as key issues. Partly in response, each party included measures to reduce housing and education costs in their campaign pledges, making it difficult for voters to see the differences in the policies. Election campaigns in the capital, which faces many challenges such as dealing with the low birth rate and the aging population, as well as compiling disaster prevention measures, draw much attention nationwide. It is regrettable that the debate among candidates lacked energy. A key issue is whether the LDP, Tomin First and Komeito, all of which support Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, can maintain their joint majority. Of these three parties, Tomin First looks set to increase its seats. It appears that, now in her third term, Koike has earned a certain degree of approval in the running of her administration. In recent elections, the use of social media and video-sharing sites has grown rapidly. While these platforms are easy to use, there is also a danger that false or unverified information could influence election results. Starting with this election, four companies that are members of The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association, including The Yomiuri Shimbun, have begun a fact-checking initiative to assess the accuracy of online information. Fair elections based on accurate information are a lifeline for democracy. The hope is that this understanding will be shared also in future elections. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 23, 2025)
Arab News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Tokyo voters punish Japan ruling party ahead of national election
TOKYO: Voters in Tokyo knocked Japan's ruling party from its position as the largest group in the city assembly, results showed Monday, a warning sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's unpopular government before July elections. Japanese media said it was a record-low result in the key local ballot for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has led the country almost continuously since 1955. Public support for Ishiba, who took office in October, has been at rock-bottom for months, partly because of high inflation, with rice prices doubling over the past year. The LDP took 21 Tokyo assembly seats in Sunday's vote, including three won by candidates previously affiliated with the party but not officially endorsed following a political funding scandal. This breaks the party's previous record low of 23 seats from 2017, according to the Asahi Shimbun and other local media. Ishiba described the results as a 'very harsh judgment.' 'We will study what part of our campaign pledge failed to resonate with voters and ensure we learn from this,' he told reporters on Monday. Tomin First no Kai, founded by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, increased its seats in the 127-member assembly to 31, becoming the largest party. The funding scandal 'may have affected' the result, Shinji Inoue, head of the LDP's Tokyo chapter, said Sunday as exit polls were released. Policies to address inflation 'didn't reach voters' ears very well' with opposition parties also pledging to tackle the issue, Inoue said. Within weeks Ishiba will face elections for parliament's upper house, with reports saying the national ballot could be held on July 20. Voters angry with rising prices and political scandals deprived Ishiba's LDP and its junior coalition partner of a majority in the powerful lower house in October, marking the party's worst general election result in 15 years. Polls this month showed a slight uptick in support, however, thanks in part to policies to tackle high rice prices. Several factors lie behind recent shortages of rice at Japanese shops, including an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide, and panic-buying after a 'mega-quake' warning last year. Some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. Not including volatile fresh food, goods and energy in Japan were 3.7 percent higher in May than a year earlier. To help households combat the cost of living, Ishiba has pledged cash handouts of 20,000 yen ($139) for every citizen ahead of the upper house election. Masahisa Endo, a politics professor at Waseda University, described the Tokyo assembly result as 'severe' for the ruling party. 'Tokyo is not a stronghold for the LDP, but it's possible that its support is weakening across the nation,' he said. Even if Ishiba fails to win an upper-house majority, it is hard to see who would want to take his place, while Japan's opposition parties are too divided to mount a credible challenge to the LDP's power, Endo told AFP. The opposition Democratic Party For the People (DPP) won seats for the first time in the Tokyo assembly vote, securing nine. The DPP's campaign pledge for the July election includes sales tax cuts to boost household incomes. Sunday's voter turnout rate was 47.6 percent, compared to the 42.4 percent four years ago, according to local media. A record 295 candidates ran — the highest since 1997, including 99 women candidates, also a record high. The number of women assembly members rose to 45 from 41, results showed.
Malay Mail
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Tokyo voters deal blow to ruling LDP in key poll ahead of national vote
TOKYO, June 23 — Voters in Tokyo decisively knocked Japan's ruling party from its position as the largest group in the city assembly, results showed Monday, a warning sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's unpopular government before July elections. Japanese media said it was a record-low result in the key local election for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has led the country almost continuously since 1955. Public support for Ishiba, who took office in October, has been at rock-bottom for months, partly because of high inflation, with rice prices doubling over the past year. The LDP took 21 Tokyo assembly seats in Sunday's vote, including three won by candidates previously affiliated with the party but not officially endorsed following a political funding scandal. This breaks the party's previous record low of 23 seats from 2017, according to the Asahi Shimbun and other local media. Tomin First no Kai, founded by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, increased its seats in the 127-member assembly to 31, becoming the largest party. 'This was a very tough election,' Shinji Inoue, head of the LDP's Tokyo chapter, said Sunday as exit polls showed a decline in the party's seats. The funding scandal 'may have affected' the result, while policies to address inflation 'didn't reach voters' ears very well' with opposition parties also pledging to tackle the issue, Inoue said. Within weeks Ishiba will face elections for parliament's upper house, with reports saying the national ballot could be held on July 20. Cost of living Voters angry with rising prices and political scandals deprived the 68-year-old's ruling coalition of a majority in the powerful lower house in October, its worst general election result in 15 years. Polls this month showed a slight uptick in support, however, thanks in part to policies to tackle high rice prices. Several factors lie behind recent shortages of rice at Japanese shops, including an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide, and panic-buying after a 'mega-quake' warning last year. Over this time some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. Not including volatile fresh food, goods and energy in Japan were 3.7 per cent higher in May than a year earlier. To help households combat the cost of living, Ishiba has pledged cash handouts of ¥20,000 (RM595) for every citizen ahead of the upper house election. The opposition Democratic Party For the People (DPP) won seats for the first time in the Tokyo assembly vote, securing nine. The DPP's campaign pledge for the July election includes sales tax cuts to boost household incomes. Sunday's voter turnout rate was 47.6 per cent, compared to the 42.4 per cent four years ago, according to local media. A record 295 candidates ran — the highest since 1997, including 99 women candidates, also a record high. The number of women assembly members rose to 45 from 41, results showed. — AFP
