Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

As Anti-CAB Protests Rage in Guwahati, India-Japan Summit Postponed

Assam has been witnessing massive protests in the last two days over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, with thousands of people hitting the streets defying prohibitory orders to demand to scrap the bill.

New Delhi: India announced on Friday that the annual India-Japan summit has been ‘deferred’, with Assam continuing to witness clashes and curfew being further extended over protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

“With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM Abe to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Friday.

Unless the next meeting occurs within the next 15 days, it effectively means that bilateral summit which occurs annually, will not take place in 2019.

India had previously announced that the summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe would take place on December 15-17. The venue had not been formally declared.

However, both state and Central government officials had confirmed that Guwahati had been chosen as the venue due to its key location as part of India’s Act East Policy and Japanese involvement in the development of connectivity in north-eastern India.

According to sources, the only alternate venue that could have been considered with such short notice was Delhi. But, having the summit in Delhi would not give it the aura of a special meeting, which previous summits usually had, said a senior Indian government official.

“It would have seemed like any other foreign visit. This has not been the nature of these summits,” he said.

These annual prime ministerial summits have been held since 2006, with each country hosting the event every alternate year. However, since 2014, at least some of the events are held outside the national capitals.

In 2014, Abe hosted Modi at Kyoto, while the Indian PM took the Japanese guest to Varanasi the next year. The Indian leader organised a roadshow with Abe in his home state of Gujarat in 2017. Next year, Abe invited Modi to his holiday home in the Yamanashi prefecture.

In the same theme, Guwahati had been chosen as a suitable venue. Japan had also been keen that Abe should visit Manipur to pay tribute to the Japanese soldiers who died during World War II at the India Peace memorial.

It would also have been logistically difficult to change the venue, even if it was Delhi. “It would take at least three days for arrangements…More than that, this is peak hotel season. Finding suitable hotel rooms for the large delegation that accompanies a head of government would have been difficult at this time,” said an official.

On Wednesday, officials from Japan’s embassy and Central government ministries inspected the sites in Guwahati. Even then, the MEA had expressed confidence that the summit would go ahead.

MEA officials expressed helplessness at the postponement of the summit less than 48 hours before the scheduled date, even though clashes have been continuing for the past three days. “We can only go by what the state government had been telling us. Even on the evening that CAB was passed, they had been telling us that they will manage the situation,” said sources.

Officials said that India would host the next summit, but it would certainly not take place this year. However, Abe would have to visit India in early 2020, as there is no plan to change Japan’s chance to host the annual summit in November-December next year.

Japan PM Shinzo Abe’s Approval Rating Falls Amid Accusations of Party Funding

His disapproval rating rose to 36% from 34% last month, with 45% of respondents citing “lack of trust in the prime minister”.

Tokyo: Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s approval rating has taken a hit in the past month, a media poll shows, amid opposition accusations that his office may have violated political spending laws.

Allegations that his political office sponsored a party for supporters are the latest in a string of gift-giving scandals that have brought down politicians across Japan in recent months, eroding public sentiment.

A monthly Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted late last week showed an approval rating of 49% for Abe’s cabinet, down 6 points from the October poll, and falling below 50% for the first time since February.

The disapproval rating rose to 36% from 34% last month, with 45% of respondents citing “lack of trust in the prime minister” over the party–funding allegations.

Abe on Monday confirmed that 800 guests attended the dinner reception at a five-star hotel in central Tokyo in April, which he and his wife attended, adding that attendees each paid a 5,000 yen ($46) admission fee.

Also read: Japan-South Korea Dispute Far From Reconciliation

“Neither my office nor the party‘s supporters organisation contributed funding towards admission for guests or myself at the dinner event,” Abe told reporters on Monday, adding that his office held no record of the event.

Opposition parties say that the admission price was much lower than that of other receptions held at the Hotel New Otani, which start at 11,000 yen per head, according to the hotel’s website. They say if Abe subsidised the admission, it may violate the Political Offices Election Law and Political Funds Control Law.

“Abe has said that his office sponsored the reception, so it’s mandatory that it keeps records of the event for bookkeeping purposes,” Jun Azumi, deputy secretary-general of the centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters. “The fact that these records do not exist shows that his office had no intention to keep such records, that his office doesn’t acknowledge the event. This is an issue.”

Politicians are strictly forbidden to give anything to constituents that even hints at being a gift. The rule is so strict that one cabinet minister quit in 2014 after distributing paper fans during the summer.

Last month, two government officials separately resigned over accusations that they had given fruit and vegetables to constituents as gifts.

Ten Killed as Storms Ravage Eastern Japan

Authorities warned of the chance of further landslides and floods, especially in areas where levees remained broken after Typhoon Hagibis.

Tokyo: The death toll from torrential rains that caused flooding and mudslides in Japan climbed to 10 on Saturday, with three others missing, public broadcaster NHK reported, just two weeks after the region was hit by a powerful typhoon.

Landslides ripped through waterlogged areas in Chiba and Fukushima prefectures, in eastern and northeastern Japan, on Friday. In some places, a month’s worth of rain fell in just half a day.

Evacuation orders and advisories were issued along much of the northern corridor already hit by two typhoons since last month. The city of Ushiku in Chiba received 283.5 mm (11 inches) of rain over 12 hours.

Although the storm had moved away from Japan by Saturday, hundreds of residents were still in evacuation centres and some rail and bus services remained suspended.

Also read: In the Face of Climate Catastrophe, How Should We Live?

Some roads were closed and about 4,700 households were still without water in the city of Kamogawa, Chiba, the public broadcaster said.

Smartphone screen maker Japan Display Inc said it had suspended production at its Mobara factory in Chiba on Saturday, due to a partial blackout.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a disaster task force meeting on Saturday.

Authorities warned of the chance of further landslides and floods, especially in areas where levees remained broken after Typhoon Hagibis.

That typhoon killed at least 88 people, with seven others still missing and more than 300 injured, according to NHK.

Japan Rains Leave at Least 66 Dead and Dozens Missing

Torrential rains pounded some parts of western Japan with three times the usual precipitation for a normal July and set off landslides and sent rivers surging over their banks.

Tokyo: The death toll from unprecedented rains in Japan rose to at least 66 on Sunday after rivers burst their banks and forced several million people from their homes, media reports said, with more rain set to hit some areas for at least another day.

Torrential rains pounded some parts of western Japan with three times the usual precipitation for a normal July and set off landslides and sent rivers surging over their banks, trapping many people in their houses or on rooftops.

“We’ve never experienced this kind of rain before,” an official at the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) told a news conference. “This is a situation of extreme danger.”

At least 66 people were killed and 44 missing, national broadcaster NHK said after the death toll had been put at 49 overnight. Among the missing was a 9-year-old boy believed trapped in his house by a landslide that killed at least three others, one of them a man in his 80s.

“All I have is what I’m wearing,” a rescued woman clutching a toy poodle told NHK television.

“We had fled to the second floor but then the water rose more, so we went up to the third floor,” she said.

Japan‘s government set up an emergency management centre at the prime minister’s office and some 54,000 rescuers from the military, police and fire departments were dispatched across a wide swath of southwestern and western Japan.

“There are still many people missing and others in need of help, we are working against time,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

Emergency warnings for severe rain remained in effect for three prefectures, with 300 mm (11 inches) predicted to fall by Monday morning in parts of the smallest main island of Shikoku.

Evacuation orders remained in place for some 2 million people and another 2.3 million were advised to evacuate, although rain had stopped and floodwaters receded in some areas. Landslide warnings were issued in more than a quarter of the nation’s prefectures.

An aerial view shows local residents seen on the roof of submerged house at a flooded area as they wait for a rescue in Kurashiki, southern Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 7, 2018. Credit Kyodo/via Reuters

‘Pouring Down’

“My husband couldn’t make it home from work since the road was flooded, and since it was pouring down rain I didn’t have enough courage to walk to an evacuation centre with two infants after dark,” one woman wrote on Twitter, without giving further details.

The rain began late last week as the remnants of a typhoon fed into a seasonal rainy front, with humid, warm air pouring in from the Pacific making it still more active, a pattern similar to one that set off flooding in southwestern Japan exactly a year ago that killed dozens. The front then remained in one place for an unusually long time, the JMA said.

Roads were closed and train services suspended in parts of western Japan. Shinkansen bullet train services, resumed on a limited schedule after they were suspended on Friday.

Automakers including Mazda Motor Corp and Daihatsu Motor Co suspended operations at several plants on Saturday due to a shortage of parts or dangerous conditions. They were set to decide later on Sunday on plans for the coming week.

Electronics maker Panasonic Corp said one plant in Okayama, western Japan, could not be reached due to road closures, although it had been closed for the weekend anyway. A decision about next week would be made on Monday.

While the Japanese government monitors weather conditions closely and issues warnings from an early stage, the fact that much of the country outside major cities is mountainous and building takes place on virtually every bit of usable land leaves it vulnerable to disasters.

Reforestation policies after World War II that saw many mountains logged and replanted with trees whose roots are less able to retain water have also contributed to the danger.

(Reuters)

Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Hits Osaka in Japan Killing Three

Three died and more than 300 were injured in the earthquake.

Tokyo: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest metropolis, early on June 18, killing three people, halting factory lines in an industrial area and bursting water mains, government and company officials said.

No tsunami warning was issued. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said authorities were assessing damage and their top priority was the safety of residents. About 150 people were injured, the broadcaster NHK said, lowering an earlier toll after a revision by city officials.

Live footage showed toppled walls, broken windows and gushing burst water mains after the quake hit Osaka, which will host next year’s Group of 20 summit, just before 8 am (2300 GMT June 17) as commuters were heading to work.

Quakes are common in Japan, part of the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that stretches from the South Pacific through Indonesia and Japan, across to Alaska and down the west coast of North, Central and South America.

The epicentre of Monday’s earthquake was just north of Osaka city at a depth of 13 km (8 miles), said the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency originally put the magnitude at 5.9 but later raised it to 6.1.

The quake struck an important industrial area of central Japan.

Osaka-based Panasonic said it was halting production at three of its plants. Daihatsu Motor Co, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp, stopped its factories in Osaka and Kyoto while it checked for damage. It said it would resume operations at the Osaka plant on Monday evening.

Tractor maker Kubota Corp. said it halted two plants in the area, while air conditioner maker Daikin Industries Ltd suspended operations at two plants, one of which had restarted by noon.

Honda Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors said they were resuming operations after suspensions and safety checks. Sharp Corp also resumed work at a joint venture plant with parent Hon Hai Precision Industry that it had stopped for safety checks.

Three people were killed, authorities said. Collapsing walls killed a 9-year-old girl as she walked to school and a man in his 80s, Japanese media said. Another man in his 80s was killed when a bookcase fell on him.

“Terrified, confused”

“We were sleeping and it woke us up abruptly,” said Kate Kilpatrick, 19, an American who was staying in a hotel in Osaka when the quake hit.

“It was so terrifying because this is my first earthquake. I thought it was a nightmare because I was so confused,” she said. “The whole world was aggressively shaking.”

Kilpatrick, visiting Japan for the first time, said alarms went off almost immediately in the hotel and a loudspeaker told guests to stay away from windows.

No irregularities were detected at the Mihama, Takahama and Ohi nuclear plants to the north of Osaka, Kansai Electric Power said. More than 170,000 households in Osaka and neighbouring Hyogo prefecture lost power temporarily but it was restored within two hours, the utility said.

Most trains in the Osaka area were still not running by late afternoon, police said.

Osaka prefecture, which includes the city and surrounding areas, has a population of 8.8 million. The city is close to Kobe, which was hit by a deadly magnitude 6.9 quake in 1995.

A massive 9.0 quake hit much further to the north in March 2011, triggering a huge tsunami that killed some 18,000 people and triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster in a quarter of a century at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Japan introduced a law after the Kobe quake requiring owners of large buildings such as hotels and hospitals to have their buildings inspected for earthquake resistance.

(Reuters)

North Korea Sanctions to Remain Until Complete Denuclearisation: Pompeo

“We are going to get complete denuclearisation; only then will there be relief from the sanctions,” he said.

Seoul: Tough sanctions will remain on North Korea until its complete denuclearisation, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said on Thursday, apparently contradicting the North’s view that the process agreed at this week’s summit would be phased out and reciprocal. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a joint statement after their Singapore meeting that reaffirmed the North’s commitment to “work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”, an end to joint US-South Korean military exercises and gave US guarantees of security to North Korea.

“President Trump has been incredibly clear about the sequencing of denuclearisation and relief from the sanctions,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters after meeting South Korea’s president and Japan’s foreign minister in Seoul.

“We are going to get complete denuclearisation; only then will there be relief from the sanctions,” he said.

North Korean state media reported on Wednesday that Kim and Trump had recognised the principle of “step-by-step and simultaneous action” to achieve peace and denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.

The summit statement provided no details on when Pyongyang would give up its nuclear weapons program or how the dismantling might be verified.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo shakes hands with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in during a bilateral meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea June 14, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-ji/Pool

Skeptics of how much the meeting achieved pointed to the North Korean leadership’s long-held view that nuclear weapons are a barricade against what it fears are US plans to overthrow it and unite the Korean peninsula.

However, South Korean President Moon Jae-In said the world, through the summit, had escaped the threat of war, echoing Trump’s upbeat assessment of his meeting with Kim.

“There have been many analyses on the outcome of the summit but I think what’s most important was that the people of the world, including those in US, Japan and Korea, have all been able to escape the threat of war, nuclear weapons and missiles,” Moon told Pompeo.

Pompeo insisted Pyongyang was committed to giving up its nuclear arsenal but said it would “be a process, not an easy one”.

Kim Jong Un understood getting rid of his nuclear arsenal needed to be done quickly and there would only be relief from stringent UN sanctions on North Korea after its “complete denuclearisation”, Pompeo said.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japan’s foreign minister Taro Kono (not pictured) attend a joint news conference at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea June 14, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-ji/Pool

“Everybody much safer”

US has long insisted on complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation by North Korea but, in the summit statement, North Korea committed only to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”, phrasing it has used in the past.

Trump returned to the United States on Wednesday and took to Twitter to hail the meeting, the first between an incumbent US president and a North Korean leader, as a major win for American security.

“Everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office,” Trump tweeted. “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!”

Democratic critics in US said that the agreement was short on detail and the Republican president had made too many concessions to Kim, whose country is under UN sanctions for its nuclear and weapons programs and is widely condemned for human rights abuses.

Pompeo said Trump’s comments about the reduced threat from North Korea were made “with eyes wide open”.

“It could be the case that our effort won’t … work but we are determined to set the conditions so that we can right this failure of decades and reset the conditions for North Korea’s participation in the community of nations,” Pompeo said after a trilateral meeting with South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono.

Maintain readiness

Tokyo has reacted with concern at Trump’s plans to cancel military exercises with South Korea, saying such drills are vital for East Asian security.

Two North Korean missiles flew over Japan last year as Pyongyang made rapid advances in its program to develop a missile capable of striking the US mainland with a nuclear warhead.

Tokyo is working on arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong Un, with one possibility including the premier’s visit to Pyongyang around August, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

A government source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Japanese officials planned to discuss the summit with North Korean officials at an international conference on Northeast Asian security to be held in Mongolia on Thursday and Friday.

Kang said South Korea and US shared the same goals and approach to achieving denuclearisation

“The issue of South Korea-US joint exercises is one that should be discussed between the military authorities between the two Koreas, and it will be going forward,” Kang said. “But the issues of the alliance should be dealt with under the premise we maintain joint ironclad defence posture.”

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo meets with South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono at the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea June 14, 2018. Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via Reuters

The US intelligence assessment of the nuclear and other military threat posed by North Korea to US and allied forces in Asia and the northwest Pacific remained unchanged despite Trump and Moon’s assertions about the North Korean nuclear threat being over, a senior US official responsible for studying the North Korean military said.

US officials said it was unclear what types of training involving US and South Korean troops might cross into Trump’s now forbidden zone of “war games”. But big, joint US-South Korean exercises appeared off-limits under the new guidance.

“Make no mistake, we are going to maintain the readiness of our forces in South Korea,” said one US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged, however, it was still not certain how that was going to happen.

US maintains about 28,500 soldiers in South Korea, which remains in a technical state of war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

It’s ‘Make in Japan’ for Modi’s Bullet Train

Indian state-owned SAIL was reportedly overlooked by Japanese companies due to quality concerns.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the inauguration ceremony of the ‘Make In India’ week in Mumbai, India, February 13, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui

New Delhi/ Tokyo: Japanese steel and engineering companies are in the driver’s seat to bag major supply contracts for a $17-billion Indian bullet train, several sources said, undermining a key component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policy – a push to ‘Make in India’.

Japan is funding most of the project, and Japanese companies are likely to supply at least 70% of the core components of the rail line, said five sources in New Delhi with direct knowledge of the matter.

A spokesman for Modi’s office declined comment.

A Japanese transport ministry official involved in the project said the two countries were still working out a strategy for the supply of key components, and would unveil a plan for procurements around July. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

The September 2017 agreement between Japan and India for the bullet train project included two clauses – the promotion of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Transfer of Technology’ – through which New Delhi had hoped to set up manufacturing facilities in the country, generate jobs and get a toehold in Japanese technology.

Modi faces a general election in 2019 and is under pressure to provide more jobs to millions of unemployed in India. Critics also say the bullet train is wasteful and that the money could be better used elsewhere.

“The Japanese have reservations on certain issues because they have a concern that there is a difference in the culture and systems of Japan from the culture and systems in India,” said Achal Khare, the managing director of National High Speed Rail Corp Ltd (NHSRCL), the agency tasked to execute the bullet train project.

“The work culture is very different,” he told Reuters.

Khare did not elaborate but two Indian railways officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said their Japanese counterparts had raised questions about efficiency in Indian companies and their ability to meet timelines.

The World Bank currently ranks India 100th out of 190 nations on the ease of doing business, giving it relatively low marks for starting a business, enforcing contracts and dealing with construction permits.

Tomoyuki Nakano, director for international engineering affairs in the railway bureau at Japan‘s transport ministry, said the issue was that Indian companies had no experience or technologies specialising in high-speed railway systems at present.

“I don’t think Japanese are concerned about a difference in the work culture,” Nakano said. He and other Japanese officials said efforts were continuing to fulfil the ‘Make in India’ component of the agreement by promoting collaborations between companies from the two countries.

Still, several Indian officials said it was by and large accepted that Indian companies would not have a major part to play in the bullet train project.

Japan will get major leeway because the bullet train is largely funded by a 50-year loan provided by its government, said a close aide of Modi, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“At this stage to expect Indian companies to have a bigger share in manufacturing appears to be a little difficult,” said a senior official at the Indian government’s policy think-tank, NITI Aayog, who is involved in the negotiations.

Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative aims to lift the share of manufacturing in India’s $2 trillion economy to 25% and create 100 million jobs by 2022.

However, midway through Modi’s five-year term, manufacturing was still at 17% of India’s GDP in the 2016/17 financial year from 15 % previously.

Only one joint venture

Japan‘s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for India’s first bullet train in September last year. It will link Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the largest commercial city in Modi’s home state Gujarat.

Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp , Japan‘s biggest steelmaker, and other companies like JFE Holdings Inc , Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd , Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd , Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd are likely to bid for various contracts, said three senior Indian government officials directly involved in the project.

Nippon Steel said it would not comment on specific projects.

JFE, Hitachi and Toshiba said they were interested in the project but had not finalised plans, including any possibilities of joint ventures with Indian firms.

Mitsubishi Heavy said it had not decided if it wanted to be involved.

The sole collaboration aimed at the bullet train project is between Kawasaki Heavy Industries and India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which aims to win carriage orders.

Japanese government officials have asked for more bullet train corridors in India before transferring technology, three senior Indian officials said.

But New Delhi is unlikely to announce any new projects until the final cost and commercial feasibility of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad link is clear, the officials said.

“It’s like a chicken and egg situation on technology. The Japanese want an economy of scale and business but the Indian view is that India is a big market that once this market is explored the business will automatically be generated,” said Khare from NHSRCL.

Missed opportunity

New Delhi has tried to help Indian steel companies grab a slice of the pie.

The Indian government last year mediated negotiations between Nippon Steel and India’s Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JNSP) to set up a joint venture to manufacture rails, but the talks fell through after the Japanese major raised quality concerns, three sources in New Delhi said.

State-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which for decades has been the main supplier of rails to Indian Railways, was also overlooked by Japanese companies due to quality concerns, the sources said.

Nippon Steel declined comment and while Jindal and SAIL did not reply to e-mails seeking comment.

Left with little choice, Indian firms will now largely provide raw materials like cement and supply manpower for the assembly of rails, the sources said.

India’s UltraTech Cement Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd are among those in the race for the supply of construction materials and power, the two Indian railways officials said.

These companies did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

(Reuters)

In Japan, Many Don’t Want Abe as Prime Minister Even If He Won the Election

Abe is due to remain prime minister until September 2018 when his tenure as Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader ends.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a news conference at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Japan October 23, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Tokyo: Japan‘s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have won a major election victory on Sunday, but half the people surveyed post-election by the Asahi newspaper don’t want him to stay prime minister.

It seems the election victory has boosted the approval rating for Abe’s administration, but not him.

Public support rate for Abe’s administration grew to 42% in the survey, conducted between October 23 and 24, up from 38% in its previous survey in mid-Oct.

But 47% of respondents don’t want Abe to continue as prime minister, exceeding 37% who want him to stay, said the survey published on Wednesday.

Abe’s disapproval rating slipped to 39% from 40% according to the Asahi’s survey.

Abe is due to remain prime minister until September 2018 when his tenure as Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader ends and a new vote for LDP leader is held.

Abe’s LDP-led coalition won a combined 313 seats in Sunday’s national election, keeping its two-thirds “super majority” in the 465-member lower house, local media said.

Several experts noted the ruling bloc’s win was less a victory for the long-ruling LDP than a defeat for a divided opposition.

The Asahi’s survey also showed 51% of respondents said the number of seats the ruling bloc’s won was “too many”, while 32% expressed the seat number was good.

And 54% of respondents said they were concerned about Abe’s policies, exceeding 29% who said they have positive expectations, the Asahi said.

A Yomiuri newspaper survey on Wednesday showed the approval rating for Abe’s administration was up at 52% from 41% in its previous survey early this month.

Asked reasons for the LDP’s winning majority on its own, only 6% said it was “high hopes for Abe”, 10% said “appreciation of ruling parties achievements” while 44% cited fragmentation of opposition, the Yomiuri said.

(Reuters)

‘My Party Offers Centrist Choices to Voters’, Says Japan’s Koike

Koike’s Party of Hope is challenging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition in an October 22 election.

Head of Japan’s Party of Hope and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike speaks at a debate session ahead of October 22 lower house election at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Tokyo: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Sunday her new party aims to offer voters a “middle of the fairway” choice, seeking to differentiate her group from ruling, conservative Liberal Democratic Party and smaller, left-leaning opposition parties.

Koike’s Party of Hope, launched just last month, is challenging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition in an October 22 election, promising to freeze a planned 2019 sales tax hike and consider a new tax on companies’ retained earnings.

“If I use a golf course metaphor, right now, I believe we have right (wing parties) and left (wing parties) and nothing in between. So we will present ourselves as the fairway, the very centre of the way,” Koike told a policy debate by major party leaders.

The outlook for the election is unclear but some analysts say Koike’s party may be losing steam because it had too little time to prepare for the snap poll. Her decision not to run for a lower house seat herself could also deter voters, they said.

A Yomiuri newspaper survey published online later on Sunday showed that 32% of voters planned to cast ballots for the LDP in proportional representation districts where voters pick a party, not a candidate, outstripping the 13% opting for the Party of Hope. Another 7% chose the small, new left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CSDJ).

Koike said her party’s policies aim to bring a new idea such as basic income and will be closer to consumers.

“The idea of basic income is still experimental but we think this is something we should consider in the future,” she said.

But Koike declined to reveal who would lead a government should her party, formed only about two weeks ago by her supporters and some opposition lawmakers, be in a position to form one.

“I will think about it after we see the results of the election,” she said.

Koike, a former LDP lawmaker, has repeatedly denied she would run for a seat in the election, which means she could not lead a government herself as the constitution stipulates a prime minister has to be selected from elected lawmakers.

That has led to speculation her Party of Hope may tie up with some LDP lawmakers who have been alienated by Abe, such as former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba.

She told Reuters on Friday that all options were on the table regarding whom her party would back when parliament convenes to vote on a prime minister after the election.

While Party of Hope’s economic policies differ from those of Abe’s conservative LDP, but many of its security and diplomatic policies echo LDP’s agenda, including revision to Japan‘s pacifist constitution.

The campaign for the October 22 election kicks off formally on October 10.

Abe reiterated during the debate that his government would remain in power if the ruling coalition wins a simple majority of the 465 seats up for grabs, although some analysts suggest he himself could face pressure to resign if his LDP fares badly.

The Yomiuri survey showed support for Abe’s cabinet had dipped to 41% from 43% in late September.

(Reuters)

Japan Parliament Dissolved Ahead of Snap Election

The lower house was dissolved in protest at Prime Minister Abe calling the election and creating a potential political vacuum at a time when tensions are high with North Korea.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd R) raises his fist with his party’s lawmakers at the party lawmakers’ meeting after the dissolution of the lower house was announced at the Parliament in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Tokyo: Japan‘s lower house was dissolved on Thursday ahead of an expected snap October 22 election being called by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as he seeks to confirm his mandate in the face a rising challenge from a popular new conservative party.

Abe, a conservative who returned to power in 2012, is hoping a boost in his voter support in recent months will help his Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition maintain a simple majority. It currently holds a two-thirds “super” majority.

A number of opposition lawmakers boycotted the session at which the lower house was dissolved in protest at Abe calling the election and creating a potential political vacuum at a time when tensions are high with North Korea.

“This will be a tough battle, but it’s all about how we will protect Japan, and the lives and peaceful existence of the Japanese people,” Abe told a group of lawmakers.

Popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s new Party of Hope – only formally launched on Wednesday – has upended the election outlook after she announced she would lead the group herself.

Koike, a media-savvy former LDP lawmaker and defence minister often floated as a candidate to become Japan‘s first female prime minister, said on Wednesday she would not run for a seat herself, but speculation that she will persists.

Lawmakers raise their hands and shouts “banzai” (cheers) after the dissolution of lower house was announced at the Parliament in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. Credit: Reuters

A survey by the Mainichi newspaper showed 18% of voters plan to vote for Koike’s Party of Hope compared to 29% for Abe’s ruling LDP.

An Asahi newspaper poll showed 13% planned to vote for Koike’s party versus 32% for the LDP. Both surveys asked voters their preference for proportional representation districts where ballots are cast for parties rather than specific candidates.

Abe’s personal ratings have risen to around 50% from around 30% in July, partly on the back of his leadership during the current North Korea crisis.

The emergence of Koike’s party – which she describes as pro-reform and conservative – has thrown the main opposition Democratic Party into turmoil. The Democrats are struggling with defections and single-digit ratings and now appear in danger of being absorbed by the Party of Hope.

Democratic Party leader Seiji Maehara will propose that the party run no candidates in the election and let its members run under the Party of Hope flag, domestic media reports said.

The proposal could end up splitting the party, an often fractious mix of conservatives and liberals whose rocky 2009-2012 reign tainted its image with many voters.

Koike, 65, defied the LDP to run successfully for Tokyo governor last year and her novice local party then crushed the LDP in a metropolitan assembly election in July.

Her Party of Hope shares policy space with the business-friendly LDP, but Koike has staked out different stances on two issues likely to appeal to voters.

She wants to freeze a planned rise in the national sales tax to 10% from 8% in 2019. Abe says he will raise the tax but spend more revenue on child care and education instead of paying back public debt.

Koike is also calling for Japan to abandon nuclear power, while Abe’s government plans to keep atomic power as a key part of the energy mix despite public worries about safety after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Koike has also criticised Abe for risking a political vacuum by calling the snap poll at a time of rising regional tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Recent reforms will reduce the number of lower house seats to 465 from 475 in the coming election.

(Reuters)