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
Abe’s comeback and the outlook for a general election
September 25, 2017Author: 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
Abe’s support recovers, but public still has mixed feelings about the government and its policies
April 27, 2017Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse, Sasakawa USA Blog
The Abe administration’s approval ratings have rebounded in the latest round of polling, regaining much of the ground lost from the Moritomo Gakuen scandal. While doubts about the scandal remain, the public has largely moved on.
Tags: Japan, japan political pulse, moritomo gakuen, North Korea, public opinion, Shinzo Abe
In Japan, right-wing school scandal entangles two women close to Abe
March 24, 2017Author: New York Times
Categories: In the News
Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada may have a difficult time regaining public trust after a scandal involving a right-wing education group, and another related to the role of Japanese Self Defense Forces operating in South Sudan, Sasakawa USA’s Jeffrey Hornung told the New York Times in an article on March 21.
Tags: Akie Abe, cnbc, controversy, in the news, jasdf, jeffrey hornung, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, moritomo gakuen, motoko rich, New York Times, scandal, self-defense forces, Shinzo Abe, south sudan, tobias harris, tomomi inada
Abe’s poll numbers slide with the Moritomo Gakuen scandal
March 22, 2017Author: Tobias Harris
Categories: Japan Political Pulse
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s approval ratings in the latest Yomiuri Shimbun poll have fallen suddenly by ten percent in the midst of a scandal that has dominated headlines and parliamentary debate.
Tags: Abe, abe akie, abe shinzo, Akie Abe, approval rating, asahi, japan political pulse, jiji, jpp, kyodo, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party, Mainichi, moritomo gakuen, NHK, opinion poll, poll, Prime Minister, scandal, Shinzo Abe, yasunori kagoike, Yomiuri Shimbun