- DPJ
- Japan-US Relations: The Need for Commitment and Restraint
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Abe Shinzō’s new administration has made a promising start in its dealings with the United States, including an inaugural summit with President Barack Obama that laid the groundwork for Japan’s participation in negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The bilateral relationship faces numerous issues, though, whose outcome remains to be seen. We asked former ambassador to the United States Fujisaki Ichirō to share his thoughts.
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- Decentralization: Who Is It For?Takenaka Harukata
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Decentralization of power has been on Japan’s agenda for 20 years, but how much real progress has been achieved? We interviewed Katayama Yoshihiro, who won high marks for his performance as governor of Tottori Prefecture (1999–2007) and who promoted decentralization as a member of Kan Naoto’s cabinet (2010–11).
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- Abe’s Agenda on Three FrontsKitaoka Shin’ichi
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In order to deal with the difficult issues Japan faces domestically and internationally, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō will need to display leadership and promote realistic policies without getting tied up in ideology.
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- Acting with an Eye to HistoryKawashima Shin
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Having won an overwhelming majority in the Lower House in the recent general election, the Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power in partnership with the New Kōmeitō. Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s new government has already started to draw up a raft of new policies with a focus on the economy as it attempts to deal with the numerous domestic and international challenges facing Japan. As the …
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- The Changing Face of Decentralization MovesHitora Tadashi
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With the Liberal Democratic Party’s emphatic victory in the December 2012 lower house election, it looks as though there will be substantial changes to the way that administrative reform to decentralize power in Japan is implemented from here on out. There is a good chance that the discussion will pivot away from talk of expanding the powers of the current prefectures and municipalities, turning …
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- Election 2012: The People’s Verdict, Abe’s AgendaShiraishi Takashi
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On December 16 Japan held a general election for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet. As had been expected, the Liberal Democratic Party, which lost power three years ago, emerged victorious this time. The LDP achieved a sweeping victory, taking 294 of the 480 seats in the chamber. Adding the 31 seats won by the New Kōmeitō, its long-time ally, gives a total of 325, …
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- Results for the December 2012 General Election
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The forty-sixth lower house general election took place on December 16, 2012. The Liberal Democratic Party achieved a sweeping victory, securing 294 seats and taking over government from the Democratic Party of Japan, which managed only 57 seats.
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- Strong majority, weak support?
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The dust has settled from last Sunday's general election, which put the Liberal Democratic Party back in power with a convincing majority of 294 seats in the 480-seat lower house of the Diet. Together with coalition partner New Kōmeitō (31 seats), the LDP commands a two-thirds majority in the chamber—enough to power through even legislation that is rejected by the upper house. Widely noted, thou…
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- Why Noda Decided to Call an ElectionTakenaka Harukata
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On November 16 Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko dissolved the House of Representatives; a general election will be held on December 16. Many readers may wonder why he took that step at this time. After all, public support for Noda’s cabinet and his Democratic Party of Japan is languishing at a very low level. Opinion polls conducted by the major newspapers shortly before the announcement show that th…
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- The Tasks Ahead for Noda and the DPJTakenaka Harukata
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On September 21 the Democratic Party of Japan held its presidential election. Noda Yoshihiko, the current prime minister, handily won reelection to hang on to the top spot. The task before him now is to tackle a raft of domestic and foreign policy issues while keeping an eye on the calendar to choose the best time to hold the next general election. In this column I look mainly at the domestic iss…
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