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
Amb. Zumwalt talks U.S.-China relations and the Trump-Xi summit in Q&A with Jiji Press
Categories: In the News
As Chinese President Xi Jinping considered his first formal meeting with President Donald Trump, he may have looked to the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s summit with Trump as a winning formula, Sasakawa USA’s James Zumwalt said in a Q&A article with Jiji Press published on the eve of the Trump-Xi meeting.
Tags: China, donald trump, in the news, Japan, jiji press, mar-a-lago, North Korea, president trump, trump, Xi, Xi Jinping
Japan receives first U.S. shale gas shipment
Author: Dr. Phyllis Yoshida
Categories: Energy and Technology
On January 8, Jiji Press reported that “a tanker carrying 70,000 tons of shale-based LNG arrived at a thermal power plant in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, run by Chubu Electric Power Co. The gas was loaded in Louisiana on Dec. 7 and transported to Japan via the Panama.” This shipment is a major event in U.S.-Japan relations; it is the first U.S. shale gas to reach Japan.
Tags: crude oil, diversification, energy, energy costs, energy exports, energy security, exports, gas, Japan, jera, jiji press, oil, oil exports, phyllis yoshida, shale, shale gas, United States
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