Tag - ldp

 
 

LDP

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi during a meeting last month in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024
LDP and opposition far from consensus over corporate donations
At this point, there is no prospect of any bill securing a majority and the focus is on whether parties can compromise with each other and reach an agreement.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024
Approval rate of Ishiba's Cabinet dips to 26.8%, poll shows
The Cabinet's approval rate has remained under 30% for months, including under Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida.
The Lower House Budget Committee clears the 2024 supplementary budget on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024
Lower House passes ¥13.9 trillion supplementary budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government made concessions to the opposition to secure support for the budget, which includes an economic stimulus package.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says he will urge a stepped up debate on  allowing the option of dual surnames for married couples.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 10, 2024
Ishiba vows to spur LDP debate on dual surname option
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will urge a working group within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party "to increase the frequency and maturity of discussions."
The Liberal Democratic Party proposed abolishing the system of political activities funds — criticized as a hotbed for slush funds — and obligating party members to submit balance reports to a publicly accessible online database.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 9, 2024
LDP submits bill banning most political funding but leaves 'loophole'
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hopes to pass the bill this year, but that may not be possible with opposition parties holding out for a further ban on corporate donations.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a Liberal Democratic Party meeting of regional chapter secretaries-generals in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 8, 2024
Ishiba vows to show resolve in run-up to Upper House poll
Ishiba vowed to strengthen the party ahead of next summer's House of Councilors election.
A Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Monday. The Liberal Democratic Party will hold a meeting on Dec. 20 to discuss the use of social media in election campaigns.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2024
LDP to hold meeting on social media use in election campaigns
The meeting on Dec. 20 comes ahead of major polls next year in which the party aims to win new supporters online and take measures to counter disinformation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024
Ishiba raised most funds among Japanese party leaders in 2023
An LDP chief has topped the rankings list for 10 years in a row.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2024
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
The prime minister reiterated his skepticism about abolishing corporate donations to political parties.
Lower House member Hiroaki Tabata holds a news conference on Friday in Toyama.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2024
LDP member reportedly tried to hide membership scandal
Hiroaki Tabata admitted during a news conference Friday night that his office had signed people up for LDP membership without their consent.
The largest corporate donors to the ruling LDP were Toyota Motor and Sumitomo Chemical, with ¥50 million each.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2024
LDP received ¥2.4 billion in corporate donations in 2023
The figure is down 1.9% from the previous year, the first decline in three years, according to political funds records released Friday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 29, 2024
Ishiba sticks to the basics in second policy speech
Rather than expand on his broader vision, Ishiba chose to focus on less-contentious individual policy matters.
Members of the Self-Defense Forces march at the GSDF Camp Asaka, which straddles Tokyo and Saitama, on Nov. 9. As part of a five-year defense buildup launched in 2022, the government has said it will raise personal income, corporate and tobacco taxes to cover the added costs.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
Japan wobbles on tax hikes to pay for historic defense buildup
A decision on raising taxes to help cover rising defense spending may be delayed again, a senior ruling coalition official has said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to face intensified pressure from opposition parties after his ruling coalition lost its majority in the powerful House of Representatives in an election last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2024
Japan's parliament opens extraordinary session
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to face intensified pressure from opposition parties.
In last month’s Lower House election, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who also serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, excluded members implicated in a slush funds scandal who refused to attend a Lower House ethics hearing earlier this year from the party’s proportional representation candidates list.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2024
More scandal-hit LDP lawmakers to attend Upper House ethics hearing
The lawmakers could be at a disadvantage in next summer's Upper House election if they do not attend the hearing.
DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024
DPP’s Tamaki leverages new position with energy proposal
Yuichiro Tamaki has been a long-time advocate of nuclear power and the reactivation of Japan’s halted nuclear power plants.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024
False report on Yasukuni Shrine visit 'extremely regrettable,' top spokesperson says
Kyodo news had reported on unconfirmed information that a parliamentary vice foreign minister had visited the shrine in 2022.
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024
The derailing of potential female prime ministers
Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Thursday to discuss political reform.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2024
Corporate donations remain sticky point in political reform talks
The opposition wants such donations banned but the ruling coalition maintains that a ban would curtail the political freedom of the private sector.
Former Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto (center) enters the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 25, 2024
Former Japanese lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto denies accepting bribes
Akimoto said that he received the payment in question, but added that the money was "neither a reward for a job nor a benefit."

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake