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EDITORIALS
Sep 23, 2003

Mr. Koizumi gets down to business

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reshuffled his Cabinet Monday after his victory in Saturday's Liberal Democratic Party presidential election. The new Cabinet demonstrates the prime minister's determination to push his mandate without being swayed by forces that oppose his policy line.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2001

Pressure on Nukaga to quit in KSD row

Fukushiro Nukaga, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal affairs came under growing pressure Saturday to resign for accepting funds from the scandal-hit industrial insurance foundation KSD and is receiving little support from his Liberal Democratic Party colleagues.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2001

Ministry shakeup just a beginning

The government reorganization that took effect last Saturday is designed to create an administrative system more responsive to the needs of the times, with politicians, not bureaucrats, taking the initiative in shaping public policy. In the most drastic bureaucratic reform in half a century, the number...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2000

Hashimoto faction wins big in shakeup

Policy continuity, factional power plays and surprise appointments characterized the new Cabinet launched Tuesday by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who hopes his new team will help him and his Liberal Democratic Party survive the months leading to next summer's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Resignation of Nonaka deals new blow to Mori

Embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who narrowly survived a recent no-confidence motion, was dealt another serious blow Friday with the sudden resignation of Hiromu Nonaka, secretary general of his Liberal Democratic Party.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2000

The prime minister's empty chair

Four weeks after former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was hospitalized with a stroke on April 2, the administration headed by new Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, appears to be functioning in a business-as-usual manner. In the past month, however, government...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 1999

Coalition's anticlimactic debut

The curtain rose Thursday on the new conservative coalition government to reveal just one more unimpressive performance of the same old political drama. Much had been said and written about the apparent significance of the realignment, but it seems to have ended up as essentially just another political...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1998

Analysis: Leadership remains tied to factional politics

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1997

Prime minister may get a chance to speak

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller non-Cabinet allies agreed Oct. 21 that Article 4 of the Cabinet Law should be rewritten to empower the prime minister to propose policy-related topics during Cabinet meetings.But the LDP failed to reach a consensus with the Social Democratic Party...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1997

LDP allies want Koko Sato to resign

The two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Sept. 16 to demand the resignation of Koko Sato, who was appointed head of the Management and Coordination Agency last week even though he was convicted in the 1970s Lockheed bribery scandal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 24, 2023

Why a snap election might be looming for Japan

Kishida has denied that he is considering a snap election; but then again, so does every Japanese prime minister when asked about the timing for such a vote.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2021

The state of play for the LDP's factions after October's Lower House election

The big winner appeared to be the party's largest faction, now headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while the one led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also strengthened its presence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 9, 2021

Kishida's top diplomat pick highlights growing confidence

Kishida picking Yoshimasa Hayashi to be the foreign minister was a great choice for him. Had Hayashi and others not pushed Kishida, he may not have sought the country's top leadership job.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Oct 1, 2021

How Kishida can avoid becoming another revolving-door prime minister

The new LDP president will focus on expanding his power, implementing policies that benefit the electorate and ensuring success in the upcoming elections before widening his policy window.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 3, 2021

Can Suga lead beyond September or is he destined to be a short-term PM?

Entering a high-stakes election year, the prime minister will be faced with a series of uphill battles over the global health crisis, his policies — and his own political fate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 15, 2020

For Japan's new Constitutional Democratic Party, the hard work starts now

As the largest opposition party formally kicks off it faces no shortage of challenges, including corralling established figures not accustomed to being on the same side.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2020

All you need to know about how Abe’s successor will be chosen

The choice is neither up to the Japanese people, nor is it something to be decided in the Diet. Instead, the decision rests solely within the LDP.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2020

Resetting the political calendar after COVID-19

Politics are still politics even in the COVID-19 pandemic, and they will still go on, albeit with a new calendar in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020

A Tokyo prosecutor's delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism

Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2020

With Javid's departure, Johnson has seized control

Sajid Javid's replacement, Rishi Sunak, is less likely to stand up to No. 10 and Dominic Cummings. U.K. spending may become more lavish as a result.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 16, 2019

Are press activities being undermined in Japan?

The Foreign Ministry ordered freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka to surrender his passport after he tried to leave Japan on Feb. 2 for Yemen, which is in the midst of a civil war. The ostensible reason for the order is that Tsuneoka in January attempted to travel to Yemen through Oman, which refused...
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2017

Too much power for the prime minister?

If there is room for abuse, discussions are needed on whether the prime minister's power to dissolve the Lower House should be restricted.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2016

Polls show Abe is riding out storm of bad news

The opposition camp is failing to gain any traction with the public by lashing out at Abenomics or the scandals that have beset the Abe administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2015

Opposition bloc slams scandal-hit government for shying away from extra Diet session

The opposition camp asks the Lower House speaker for an extraordinary Diet session to hear information about TPP and the policies of new Cabinet members.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2013

Mr. Abe's constitutional runaround

Shinzo Abe's choice for Cabinet Legislation Bureau chief gives away his intention to seek a constitutional justification for Japan's right to 'collective self-defense.'
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 1, 2012

Vows DPJ made to get in sounded too good to be true

Goshi Hosono, the handsome policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is one of the few politicians who has retained his popularity despite predictions the party is headed for a crushing defeat in the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 19, 2012

Mishmash jumble of systems is recipe for a do-little Diet

Given the momentous fiscal and social problems Japan was facing even before Fukushima, even foreign residents — who can't vote — may be wondering what on Earth Japan's elected officials are doing to solve the nation's many ills.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2011

Noda taps Edano for trade minister

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday appointed former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano to replace trade minister Yoshio Hachiro, who stepped down after only eight days in the post over his controversial remarks on the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

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