Abe’s comeback and the outlook for a general election
Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Given Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current status — recovering approval ratings, high marks for his handling of a serious foreign policy crisis, with an established opposition party in seemingly terminal decline, and a new opposition party scrambling to prepare for an election — the political logic of a snap election is indisputable. This analysis takes an in-depth look at public opinion polls on Abe and what they reveal about the coming election.
Tags: Abe, Asahi Shimbun, Cabinet, election, Japan, japan political pulse, jiji press, jpp, Kake Gakuen, kyodo news, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Mainichi Shimbun, moritomo gakuen, NHK, Nikkei, North Korea, Nuclear, poll, polling, public opinion, Shinzo Abe, snap election, tobias harris, yomiuru shimbun
First polls after Trump’s victory show uneasy Japanese public
Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
As the Japanese government scrambles to react to Donald Trump’s upset victory in the November 8 United States presidential election—and with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to be the first world leader to meet with Trump this Thursday, November 17—new opinion polls suggest the Japanese public is uneasy about the impact of the election on the U.S.-Japan relationship.
Tags: approval ratings, Asahi Shimbun, budget, donald trump, Japan, japan political pulse, Japanese, jpp, military, NHK, opinion poll, Politics, poll, president trump, Shinzo Abe, Tokyo, trump, us elections, US Forces, us forces in japan, us-japan alliance, us-japan relations, Yomiuri Shimbun
Retired SDF officers counter Trump’s remarks on security ties
Author: Asahi Shimbun & Sankei Shimbun
Categories: In the News
Japan’s self-defense forces play a large role in sustaining and enhancing the U.S.-Japan alliance, several SDF officers and others explained at a July 30 conference co-hosted by Sasakawa USA and the PHP Institute that recently was featured in articles in The Asahi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun.
Tags: admiral dennis blair, Asahi Shimbun, China, Defense, Dennis Blair, donald trump, Japan, JSDF, masayuki hironaka, php institute, sankei shimbun, security, security alliance, Senkaku, us-japan alliance, us-japan relations
JPP: Opposition parties aim for independent voters as campaign season officially begins
Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
The last round of polling before the campaign for Japan’s July 10 House of Councillors (HOC) elections officially began today shows that the Abe administration and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continue to hold a commanding lead that could position them for a significant, if not overwhelming victory. But a number of independents are still undecided, and dissatisfaction with the Abe administration’s economic policies continues to run high, suggesting that there is room for the Democratic Party (DP) to gain at the government’s expense.
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, aggregation, approval rating, Asahi Shimbun, coalintion, democratic party, disapproval rating, dp, government, house of councillors, japan political pulse, japanese communist party, jcp, jiji press, jpp, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, NHK, opinion, opinion poll, people's life party, plp, Politics, poll, polls, sdp, Shinzo Abe, social democratic party, tobias harris, Yomiuri Shimbun
Third Annual Security Forum: Concerns about presidential candidates draw media reports
Categories: In the News, Sasakawa USA Blog
Sasakawa USA’s Annual Security Forum last week gained the attention of many American and international media outlets after speakers raised criticisms of prospective U.S. nominees for president. Japan’s former defense minister Satoshi Morimoto, Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae, and senior Japanese Minister Shigeru Ishiba (pictured at right) all took stances against disparaging remarks made by candidate Donald Trump,
Tags: Asahi Shimbun, bernie sanders, China, donald trump, economic, hillary clinton, in the news, inside us trade, Japan, jiji press, kenichiro sasae, kyodo news, navy times, news, reuters, sankei shimbun, satoshi morimoto, scott swift, security forum, shigeru ishiba, soha news, the japan news, third annual security forum, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, us-japan alliance, Vietnam, voice of america, Yomiuri Shimbun