June poll watcher: despite fluctuations, Prime Minister Abe recovers in the polls
June 29, 2018Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
According to Sasakawa USA’s Japan Political Pulse ten-day moving average of opinion polls, over the course of June, the Abe government’s net average approval has risen from -14 at the start of the month to roughly 0 by the end of the month. Despite continuing scandals and lack of public trust in the Prime Minister, Abe continues to provide many Japanese voters with a “sense of stability.”
Tags: japan political pulse, Japanese politics, Japanese polls, Shinzo Abe
Discussion on Japanese politics and gender issues with Diet member
April 30, 2018Sasakawa USA hosted Hiroe Makiyama, Member of the Japanese House of Councillors (Democratic Party, Kanagawa prefecture), for a conversation on Japanese politics and her work on gender equality and childcare from 3-4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30. Tobias Harris, Sasakawa USA’s Fellow for Economy, Trade and Business and creator of Japan Political Pulse, an aggregator of major opinion polls conducted by Japanese media outlets, served as moderator.
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, Japan, japan political pulse, Japanese Diet, Japanese politics, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, tobias harris, us-japan relations
Scandal raises doubts about Abe’s ability to win a third term
March 16, 2018Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
As recently as last month it appeared that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was cruising to an easy victory in the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) September leadership election, which would give him a third three-year term and position him to set the record as Japan’s longest-tenured postwar prime minister. Over the past two weeks, however, the reemergence of a scandal regarding the discounted sale of public land to Moritomo Gakuen, a private school with links to the prime minister and the first lady, has raised doubts about Abe’s ability to win a third term–or even to survive until the end of his current term.
Tags: Abe, Japan, japan political pulse, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, moritomo gakuen, Shinzo Abe, taro aso, tobias harris
New opposition parties still lagging behind the LDP—but many voters undecided
October 6, 2017Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
With four days until the campaign for Japan’s October 22 general election officially begins, the outlook for the vote is still extremely fluid. Polls show significant numbers of undecided voters, but also suggest that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s newly formed Party of Hope is struggling to connect with independent voters.
Tags: Abe, cdpj, dp, DPJ, foreign policy, japan political pulse, jpp, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, party of hope, Politics, polls, public opinion, security, Shinzo Abe, tobias harris, yuriko koike
The story of how Japanese politics got shaken up in 2017
October 3, 2017Categories: In the News
Politics, polling, and prospects for Japan’s upcoming snap election on October 22 are discussed in detail in the latest episode of The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast featuring Sasakawa USA’s Tobias Harris.
Tags: ankit panda, in the news, Japan, japan political pulse, jpp, Politics, polls, Shinzo Abe, snap election, the diplomat, tobias harris