A Renewed Sense of Leadership for Prime Minister Suga
March 30, 2021Author: Satohiro Akimoto
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Satohiro Akimoto, Chairman and President of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to have regained some political support from Japanese citizens. In two major polls by Kyodo and Asahi, the cabinet approval rates have recovered to the 40% range. Furthermore, the approval rates have now surpassed the disapproval rates. For example, in
Tags: Japan, Prime Minister Suga
Charting a Shared Course: U.S.-Japan Security in 2021 and Beyond
January 26, 2021On January 26, 2021, Sasakawa USA was pleased to host an online event on the U.S.-Japan alliance with Rear Admiral James Kelly, USN (Ret.), Former Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, and Dr. Takako Hikotani, the Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Columbia University.
Tags: Japan, us-japan alliance, US-Japan Security
Prime Minister Suga Faces COVID-19 Crisis and Declining Public Support
December 29, 2020Author: Satohiro Akimoto
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Satohiro Akimoto, Chairman and President of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA “Prime Minister Suga is increasingly facing a tough political situation.”[1] A senior LDP politician recently described to me the rapidly changing political circumstances for Prime Minister Suga. It was just three months ago that Prime Minister Suga won the party leadership by outmaneuvering his younger
Tags: COVID-19, Japan, Prime Minister Suga
Central Bank Digital Currencies: Viewpoints from Tokyo and Washington
December 8, 2020On December 8, Sasakawa USA welcomed Dr. Robert Dohner, Nonresident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council, Mr. Ichiro Oishi, Minister of Financial Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Washington DC, and Mr. Yasuhiro Yamai, Managing Director of Corporate Planning at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, for a virtual roundtable on central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The panel analyzed key questions surrounding debates by major central banks on the introduction of CBDC, including how the U.S. and Japan could work together on this issue based on viewpoints from both the public and private sectors.
Tags: CBDC, Central Bank Digital Currencies, Japan, us-japan relations
High Public Support in Japan for the Suga Cabinet, Polls Show
October 28, 2020Author: Satohiro Akimoto
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Satohiro Akimoto, Chairman and President of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA The latest Nikkei poll, conducted between October 24 and 25, shows that Japanese public support of the Suga cabinet is very high – 63% of respondents approved of the new cabinet, while only 26% of respondents did not approve.[1] Compared with Nikkei’s first poll after