From the Strawberry Fields of Akita to Prime Minister of Japan: Getting to Know Prime Minister Suga
September 29, 2020Author: Satohiro Akimoto
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
On September 16, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga became Japan’s first new leader in nearly eight years. He served as former Prime Minister Abe’s Chief Cabinet Secretary throughout the Abe administration. During his tenure, Mr. Suga held two press briefings a day as the government`s primary spokesperson. He became quite a popular politician, becoming known
Prime Minister Abe’s Early Departure? Not so Fast.
June 26, 2020Author: Satohiro Akimoto
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Abe`s popularity has been on the decline over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis (despite the relatively low number of infected cases in Japan), depressed economic activity resulting from the declaration of a state of emergency, and botched efforts to appoint Hiromu Kurokawa, former head of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor’s Office, to be the next prosecutor-general. The scandal of Katsuyuki and Anri Kawai on top of other existing political and economic hardships looks like too much for Abe to overcome to those who are predicting his early exit. However, at least in the short-run, the above does not look like the course which Japanese politics is likely to follow at this time. In this respect, there are four elements to be considered.
Tags: Katsuyuki Kawai, LDP, Prime Minister Abe
Japan’s Upper House Election Results: Implications for U.S.-Japan Relations
July 22, 2019On July 22, 2019, Sasakawa USA hosted Tobias Harris, Fellow for Economy, Trade, and Business at Sasakawa USA, and Dr. Andrew Oros, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College, for a policy lunch series event examining the results of Japan’s House of Councillors election and analyzing its impact on Japanese policy and U.S.-Japan relations. Ambassador James Zumwalt, CEO at Sasakawa USA, moderated the on-the-record discussion.
Tags: Abe administration, Japanese Diet, Japanese elections, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, us-japan relations
Cabinet reshuffle brings no boost to Abe but public support is stable as he starts third term
October 5, 2018Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, fresh off his successful bid for a third term as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the September 20, 2018, party election, announced a new lineup for his cabinet and for the LDP’s leadership on October 2, 2018. Three polls conducted October 2-3, after the reshuffle, found that the public’s reaction to the new cabinet was lukewarm at best.
Tags: Japan, japan political pulse, Japanese politics, Japanese polls, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, tobias harris
Post-LDP Leadership Election: What’s Next for Japanese Politics?
September 21, 2018Tobias Harris, Sasakawa USA Fellow for Business, Economy and Trade, was joined by Prof. Toshihiro Nakayama, Japan Fellow at the Wilson Center, for a September 21, 2018, policy lunch talk on the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) presidential elections held the previous day. The discussion was moderated by Sayuri Romei, Sasakawa USA’s Associate Fellow for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, Japan, japan political pulse, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, tobias harris, us-japan alliance, us-japan relations