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April 01, 2025
 

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LDP

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2025
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Concerns over the stability of the LDP-Komeito minority government are fueling talk of a possible new arrangement, and maybe even a new prime minister.
Executives at the Special Committee on Political Reform of the House of Representatives meet in parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2025
Diet panel forgoes Monday vote on political donation bills
The main opposition CDP opposed the vote, arguing that the committee should wait until Komeito and the DPP submit their own bill.
A meeting of the Lower House Special Committee on Political Reform is held at the Diet in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025
Interparty talks sought over Japan corporate donation rules
Officials from the LDP, Komeito and the DPP are stressing the need for continued interparty talks over the issue.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Upper House of the Diet on Friday. The clock is ticking for Ishiba's administration to get the budget for fiscal 2025 passed in parliament.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2025
Is it a big problem if the budget fails to clear parliament by the end of March?
Government functions won't be significantly hindered, but the Ishiba administration's reputation will take another beating.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Ishiba’s remarks on inflation relief measures draw ire as budget deadline looms
Confusing messages about an economic package to counter rising prices came as negotiations were heating up on when to hold a vote on the budget.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and others attend a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Opposition urges LDP to reinvestigate ties with Unification Church
The move comes following a court order to strip the group of its religious corporation status.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin at the Diet in Tokyo on March 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2025
Parties still at odds over corporate donations as deadline for agreement looms
The prospect of reaching a decision on whether to ban, restrict or continue to accept donations by the end of the month appears slim.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, an adviser to Tomin First no Kai, will suffer if the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and Tomin First fail to maintain their combined majority in the Tokyo assembly election in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2025
LDP faces headwinds in Tokyo assembly election
Political funds scandals affecting the party at both the national level and in the assembly could cost it votes.
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election in the summer.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2025
Ishiba’s approval ratings continue to fall amid gift voucher backlash
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2025
Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the CDP, and Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the DPP, have called on Ishiba to give explanations before a parliamentary ethics panel.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave gift vouchers to lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party while he was in office, according to party sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
Kishida among several ex-PMs who gave gift vouchers to LDP lawmakers
The revelation emerges as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba comes under fire for distributing gift certificates worth ¥100,000 ($674) each to rookie LDP lawmakers.
Some critics of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba call him weak and indecisive, saying his leadership has led to policy blunders that may make his grip on power increasingly untenable.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2025
Prime Minister Ishiba’s struggles put his leadership in jeopardy
With the world as turbulent as it is, the country cannot continue with such a weak and indecisive leader.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
The lastest scandal comes amid broader concerns over the LDP's misuse of political funds, further damaging Prime Minister Ishiba’s reputation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025
Why ousting Ishiba could be a tricky task
Passing a no-confidence motion could result in the dissolution of the Lower House within 10 days, triggering another election the opposition might lose.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under fire for giving gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to lawmakers newly elected to the House of Representatives last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2025
Past prime ministers customarily gave gift certificates, lawmaker says
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under fire for giving gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to lawmakers newly elected to the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
Opposition set to step up offensive against Ishiba
Ishiba, already hurt by low public support, has found himself in a bind ahead of this summer's Upper House election as the scandal shakes his image as a "clean politician."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
Having lost 60,000 members in 2024 amid a slush funds scandal, the party is under pressure to seek out new blood, but its old ways may be a turnoff for many.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2025
Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers
Recent fumbles have given Ishiba's opponents within the LDP a golden opportunity to attack him.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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