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If the Liberal Democratic Party does not perform well and loses seats in the coming election, Shigeru Ishiba’s tenure may be one of the shortest in modern Japanese political history.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba faces challenges from the opposition — and his own party

Ishiba needs to be ready for challenges coming from all directions: outside the country, from the opposition and from his own party.
Support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet dropped to 30.8% in July, a survey shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2023

Poll shows Kishida Cabinet approval down to 30.8%

The slide in support may have reflected the string of problems related to My Number personal identification cards.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 4.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2023

Kishida Cabinet approval drops to 26.6%: Jiji poll

The rate of disapproval grew 8.1 points to 47.4%, the highest since Kishida became prime minister in October 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2023

Next LDP leadership race looms over Kishida's reshuffle plans

The prime minister looks set to retain two veteran Liberal Democratic Party leaders in their posts in a Cabinet and LDP leadership reshuffle.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2023

Appointment fuels speculation of LDP-Komeito-DPP coalition

On Friday, Wakako Yata, a former lawmaker who previously served as vice president of the DPP, was named special adviser to the prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Bill that would hike Kishida and Cabinet's pay clears Lower House committee

The plan has been met with fierce backlash from opposition parties, with lawmakers lambasting the government for its “poor political judgment.”
Gen Nakatani, then-special adviser to the prime minister for international human rights, speaks at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2022
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 1, 2023

Kishida’s puzzling decision to ax his human rights adviser

Why did the prime minister eliminate the post of special adviser on human rights from the Cabinet and what does this mean for Tokyo's foreign policy?
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

Funding scandal deepens as parliament session draws to a close

The probe into a Liberal Democratic Party funds scandal looks likely to deepen in the coming days, making the political scene increasingly unpredictable.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024

Israel’s war Cabinet in turmoil, but Netanyahu seen as secure

Two of the three members of Israel's war Cabinet have now spoken out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies.
Shigeru Ishiba, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party holds a news conference after the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2024

Ishiba gets down to the business of forming new administration

The incoming prime minister has reportedly decided to keep Yoshimasa Hayashi in the key post of chief cabinet secretary.
While Shigeru Ishiba’s victory suggests a shift within the Liberal Democratic Party, he still faces challenges from those who remain loyal to the old party guard. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 29, 2024

Japan’s perennial political underdog finally gets a win

Ishiba margin of victory was slim, meaning that there is still a sizable portion of the party who will be resistant to his initiatives.
Marco Rubio debates Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary race. The president-elect has named the senator from Florida as his prospective secretary of state.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2024

Trump’s Cabinet picks make clear his priorities. Allies get ready.

Trump claims a mandate — winning the popular vote and both Houses of Congress — but his margin of victory is smaller than he will admit.
Photographs of (clockwise from top left) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Justice Minister Park Sung Jae, former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo are displayed on a screen during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Five minutes to martial law: Yoon stunned his Cabinet with snap move

As South Korea waits for another bid to impeach President Yoon, more details are emerging of what happened in the hours surrounding his declaration of martial law.
Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney speaks on the day he announces that he is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, in Edmonton, Alberta, on Jan. 16.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 26, 2025

Trudeau’s Cabinet lines up behind Carney as ex-banker brushes up on French

The support shows that many believe the former central banker is the best bet to counter Donald Trump’s trade threats and boost the Liberal Party’s electoral fortunes.
Yuko Obuchi, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and the House of Representatives, speaks during the party's annual convention in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 27, 2023

Future female PM candidates in spotlight as Cabinet reshuffle looms

At present, women account for only about 10% of the lawmakers in the Lower House, while the proportion stands at some 27% in the upper chamber.
JAPAN / Politics / Notebook
Sep 13, 2023

What Kishida’s reshuffle says about female participation in politics

Political family ties of most of the female appointees speaks to the difficulty women face in entering the political arena.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday after a major reshuffle of his Cabinet.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

Japan voters unhappy with Kishida's price policies, poll shows

About 77% of respondents to the survey said they didn’t rate his price policies positively, compared with 17% who said they did.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 10, 2023

CDP dithers over no-confidence motion against Kishida Cabinet

The CDP leadership is expected to make a decision on a no-confidence motion after monitoring sentiment in other parties as well as public opinion.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2024

Record-low public support sends shockwaves through LDP

The falling support for the LDP is primarily due to a political funds scandal involving the party's powerful factions.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the oath of office ceremony for his second term as South African President, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 19.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2024

South Africa opposition debuts in Ramaphosa’s unity cabinet

The announcement of the new executive followed more than a week of negotiations.
Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet marked a new low of 15.5% in July, Jiji poll shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's approval rating sinks to 15.5%, poll shows

The results marked a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party since it returned to power in December 2012.
Despite Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's serious and studious personality, he is by nature a nonconformist and is less socially inclined compared to other politicians.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 3, 2024

The Shigeru Ishiba I personally know

Ishiba takes pride in his mottos and interests, remains steadfast in his beliefs and stays true to his path.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 28, 2024

Ishiba hints at possibility of double election next summer

An Upper House poll is scheduled for next July, and Ishiba hinted at the possibility that a Lower House election might coincide with that poll.
A boy runs with a Palestinian flag atop a mound of rubble at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday following the announcement of a ceasefire amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Israeli Cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire accord due to take effect Sunday

The six-week ceasefire, which will also see a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges, could pave the way to ending the 15-month war.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunge amid gift voucher snafu

Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
A gender-equality supporter protests against discrimination at an event held in Tokyo for International Women's Day in March 2021
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s gender gap has never been wider. Can Kishida close it?

The government emphasizes the need to improve gender equality, but correcting Japan's dismal record requires a nuanced approach.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Defense chief retracts comments implying LDP vote would be good for SDF

Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces Law explicitly forbids SDF personnel from engaging in political activity, with the exception of voting.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

Parliamentary Vice Minister Taro Yamada steps down over affair

The first Cabinet resignation since a mid-September reshuffle deals a blow to Kishida at a time when public support rates have plummeted.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 10, 2023

Cabinet approves ¥13.1 trillion extra budget to finance fresh stimulus

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appears to be eager to regain popularity with the relief package, but voters aren't convinced.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan