Tag - ldp

 
 

LDP

Masatoshi Akimoto
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2023
Ex-energy firm chief says lawmaker bribed for Diet interventions
Known as an advocate of renewable energy, Akimoto, 48, left the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and resigned as parliamentary vice foreign minister.
A gasoline station in Tokyo on Wednesday advertises its regular gasoline price as ¥186 per liter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2023
Kishida announces extension of measures to bring gas prices down
The subsidy program will be extended until the end of the year and will be beefed up starting next week.
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.
Natsuo Yamaguchi speaks to reporters earlier this month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2023
Komeito chief postpones China visit at Beijing's request
The Chinese side informed Komeito that "the timing is not appropriate considering the current situation of Japan-China relations."
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2023
LDP and Komeito to revive Tokyo election cooperation
The move came after the Komeito side softened its stance toward the LDP after friction earlier this year.
Members of the Self-Defence Forces during a ceremony in Tokyo in 2017
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2023
Government advocates allowing export of some lethal weapons
The ruling coalition will discuss how to revise the guidelines for the country's three principles on defense equipment transfers.
Akira Amari, a former Liberal Democratic Party secretary-general, addresses a meeting held Tuesday at the party's headquarters to start discussions on whether to allow the government to sell all of the Nippon Telegraph & Telephone stake it owns.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
LDP weighs scrapping NTT law to sell off telecom giant shares
The LDP will discuss whether proceeds from a sale of the government's stake should be used to fund planned increases in defense spending.
Ryu Shionoya, who has become the chair of the leadership committee of the Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 18, 2023
Abe faction decides leadership structure, but can it hold?
The agreement is an acknowledgment there is no clear successor to Shinzo Abe, and it may make negotiations with other factions harder.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi announces support measures to increase the number of female lawmakers at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Aug. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 18, 2023
Japanese political parties boosting support for female candidates
The parties hope to win the support of independent voters by demonstrating their commitment to increasing the number of female lawmakers.
Ryu Shionoya, who has become the chair of the Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction, which was formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaks to reporters last month after attending the one-year memorial service for Abe.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 17, 2023
LDP's biggest faction appoints leader to succeed Abe
The faction chose Ryu Shionoya as its next leader ahead of an expected Cabinet reshuffle.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits a company that makes temperature sensors, in the city of Toyama on Aug. 10.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 17, 2023
Kishida may call snap election to halt rise of rival Nippon Ishin
The prime minister, however, must first regain his standing in the polls to a level where he will feel more confident about holding an election.
A playful photo of Japanese female politicians on a work trip to Paris drew much criticism back home. The backlash may be one of the reasons women choose to avoid public service.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2023
Japan has a misery-loves-company problem
The backlash to government officials' lighthearted moment is a prime example of how to undermine workers.
Digital minister Taro Kono speaks at an online news conference on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2023
Japan's digital minister to return pay over My Number issues
A series of personal information leaks and registration errors related to the ID cards have heightened public anxiety about the system.
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito (left) speaks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in July.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2023
LDP increasingly wants land minister post back from Komeito
Calls are growing within the LDP to get the post of land minister back from Komeito just as Kishida considers a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
Masayuki Tsukawaki
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 13, 2023
Japan Wind Development chief likely to admit bribing lawmaker Akimoto
It was newly found that Akimoto received ¥30 million, separately from the suspected bribe, from around 2019 for applying to the Japan Racing Association.
Speculation over the timing of an anticipated cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida puts it somewhere from mid-September to late in the month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 10, 2023
Schedule tightens for Kishida to reshuffle Cabinet and LDP chiefs
The prime minister plans to use the reshuffle as an opportunity to boost his popularity, people familiar with his thinking said.
Masatoshi Akimoto at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2023
Scandal-hit ex-LDP member a major backer of renewable energy
Masatoshi Akimoto opposes building new nuclear reactors or replacing current ones, and has said that wind power in particular has much potential.
Japanese lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto visits a high-speed rail project site in Ahmedabad, India, in May 2018.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023
Scandal-tainted Japanese lawmaker sought money to buy horse
Japanese lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto is suspected of receiving ¥30 million from the president of a company between 2021 and this year.
Officials from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office remove seized items from the office of Liberal Democratic Party Lower House lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 5, 2023
LDP lawmaker embroiled in bribery allegation leaves ruling party
Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto quit the ruling party in the wake of allegations that he accepted bribes from a wind power company.
Officials of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office raid Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto's office in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2023
Bribery claims push Japan vice foreign minister to quit
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto is suspected of having received bribes amounting to tens of millions of yen from a wind-power company.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals