New opposition parties still lagging behind the LDP—but many voters undecided
Author: 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
Niigata voters elect antinuclear governor in blow to Abe’s energy policy
Author: Nippon.com
Categories: Energy and Technology, In-Depth with Nippon.com
Antinuclear candidate Yoneyama Ryuichi won the Niigata gubernatorial contest on October 16, 2016, in a setback to the government’s efforts to restart Tokyo Electric Power’s largest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located in the prefecture.
Tags: Abe, election, energy policy, Fukushima, governor, kashiwazaki-kariwa, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Nuclear, Nuclear energy, Sendai, Shinzo Abe, tokyo electric power, yoneyama ryuichi
Chairman’s Message: After Upper House elections, Abe administration should prioritize economy, TPP, China relations
Author: Admiral Dennis Blair
Categories: Chairman's Message
During his three-and-a-half years in office, Prime Minister Abe has often spent down his political capital on difficult initiatives that he believes are the right thing to do. Many of them have been important for the U.S.-Japan relationship, and there is no shortage of difficult immediate issues that will require expenditure of political capital for Japan and the United States.
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, admiral dennis blair, chairman's message, China, Collective Self-Defense, Dennis Blair, east china sea, election, japan political pulse, JSDF, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, prime minister shinzo abe, Shinzo Abe, South China Sea, state secrets protection law, TPP, trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership, un permanent court of arbitration, us-japan defense guidelines, us-japan relations
JPP: Abe’s support still rests on lack of alternatives; public remains ambivalent about policies
Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Japan’s House of Councillors elections are over, resulting in an impressive victory for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-Komeito coalition, which now has 147 seats in the 242-seat HOC. However, despite headlines that proclaimed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government won a landslide victory on July 10, opinion polls conducted after the elections suggest that the vote did not fundamentally alter public opinion regarding the Abe administration and its policies.
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, coalition, constitutional revision, election, elections, house of councillors, japan political pulse, japan. economy, jpp, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, opinion poll, poll, public opinion, Shinzo Abe
Constitutional revision still not a sure bet despite LDP wins
Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: In the News
While Japan’s ruling coalition secured victory in key parliamentary elections Sunday, that doesn’t mean constitutional revision will be an easy win for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Sasakawa USA’s Tobias Harris explained in several media outlets following the election. According to an article by Kirk Spitzer in USA Today, “Sunday’s vote was a ‘solid victory, as
Tags: constitutional revision, election, Japan, Komeito, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, los angeles times, New York Times, Shinzo Abe, the guardian, tobias harris, usa today