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Japan politics: Kishida looking to replace all Cabinet members from troubled faction

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Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura speaks to reporters in the city of Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sunday. | JIJI

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is looking to remove all Cabinet members belonging to the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party from their posts amid the deepening political funds scandal, sources said Sunday.

Some members of the faction formerly led by the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are suspected of receiving tens of millions of yen in unreported funds from the proceeds of fundraising parties, according to sources.

The faction is suspected of creating slush funds through these money flows, which the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad is investigating. The suspect funds may total hundreds of millions of yen in the five years through 2022.

Among the faction’s senior members, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, former education minister Ryu Shionoya, LDP Diet affairs committee chair Tsuyoshi Takagi, Hiroshige Seko, secretary-general for the LDP in the House of Councilors, LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda and industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura are each suspected of receiving about ¥1 million to over ¥10 million over the five years.

Under Japan’s political funds control law, failure to report funds and making false statements are punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to ¥1 million.

Kishida appears to be considering the moves in the hope of mitigating further damage to his already-unpopular administration.

Still, Nishimura said on Sunday that he intends to continue his ministerial role.

« I have not been told anything at this point. I’d like to continue to fulfill the responsibilities, » he said, denying that he would resign. « I am carefully scrutinizing my own political fund balance reports once again. I would like to give a full explanation at the appropriate time, » Nishimura told reporters after a visit to the city of Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture.

LDP factions have as a matter of practice allotted quotas for tickets at such fundraising parties, usually priced at ¥20,000 each. If the number of tickets sold surpassed the targets, the extra funds were traditionally returned to the lawmakers as a type of commission. The extra funds were allegedly neither reported as expenditures nor as payments to the lawmakers, leading critics to argue that it constituted a form of tax evasion.

(source: japantimes.co.jp)

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World’s spy chiefs meet in secret conclave in Singapore

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U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines attends the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore on Friday. | REUTERS

SINGAPORE – Senior officials from about two dozen of the world’s major intelligence agencies held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, five sources said.

Such meetings are organized by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, they said. The meetings have not been previously reported.

The U.S. was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers.

(source: japantimes.co.jp)

 

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Japan ruling party triumphs in local elections despite criticism over links to Moonies

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Support for the Liberal Democratic party had plunged last year as media uncovered its links to the Unification church after the killing of Shinzo Abe

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida (centre). His LDP party has been victorious in local elections despite criticism over the past year of his party’s links to the Moonies. Photograph: Zuma Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) has won key local elections in the first big electoral test for the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, since damaging revelations emerged about his party’s ties to the Unification church.

LDP candidates triumphed in governor elections in prefectures from Hokkaido in the country’s north to Oita in the south-west on Sunday, raising speculation that Kishida could call a snap general election.

An election for Japan’s powerful local house is not due until October 2025, but some pundits believe Kishida could gamble on an early poll to capitalise on his party’s strong showing at the weekend.

The elections also saw Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation party) extend its influence outside its home turf of Osaka, as the rightwing populists try to establish themselves as a national political force.

The LDP has endured months of criticism over its connections to the Unification church – often referred to as the Moonies – that emerged in the wake of Shinzo Abe’s assassination last summer.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who is accused of shooting Abe while he was making a campaign speech on 8 July, has told investigators that he had targeted Japan’s longest-serving prime minister over his connections to the church, which he blamed for bankrupting his family.

Public support for Kishida’s LDP plummeted as Japanese media uncovered widespread links between the church and party MPs and councillors, fuelling speculation that the conservative religious group, founded in South Korea in the 1950s, had influenced the LDP’s political agenda.

Kishida had begun to claw back support in the run-up to Sunday’s elections for nine governors, six mayors and dozens of prefectural and municipal assemblies after a surprise trip to Ukraine and a fence-mending summit in Tokyo with the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, last month.

The LDP took six of the governor races and will be particularly pleased to have won in Hokkaido – where the left-of-centre Constitutional Democratic party of Japan has traditionally been strong – as well as taking more than half of the 2,260 prefectural assembly seats being contested.

Voters in other areas, including Tokyo, go to the polls on 23 April, when there will also be five parliamentary byelections.

“Voters have recognised our achievements,” the LDP’s election strategy head, Hiroshi Moriyama, told reporters, according to the Nikkei Asia business paper. The win in Hokkaido was “significant”, he added.

Kishida, whose government plans to double defence spending by 2027, also appeared to have tapped into public concern over China’s military activity in the region and the potential for conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The local elections are also being seen as a litmus test for Kishida’s plans to address the cost-of-living crisis and the low birthrate.

The LDP fared less well in western Japan, where Hirofumi Yoshimura won a second term as governor of Osaka, while fellow Ishin candidate Hideyuki Yokoyama won the city’s election for mayor. An Ishin candidate also won the governor’s race in nearby Nara – the first time it has secured a governorship outside Osaka.

Yoshimura’s re-election is expected to strengthen his case for Osaka to host Japan’s first casino, plans for which have yet to receive government approval. His party’s strong showing at the weekend could also lead to more seats in parliament, where it is already the third-biggest party in the lower house.

(source: theguardian.com)

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China ‘well prepared’ as US looks to put Japan in actual combat frontlines

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Photo taken on August 24, 2022 shows a warning sign by US troops in Japan placed at the Henoko coastal area of the Okinawa Prefecture. Photo: VCG

he US plans to set up a rapid reaction Marine unit throughout Japan’s Okinawa islands within a few years, media reported on Tuesday, one day ahead of the 2023 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting in Washington, DC. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also plans to talk with US President Joe Biden on January 13 after concluding his ongoing Europe and UK tour.

A saga of diplomatic and military activities suggests that Tokyo and its allies are likely devising a more detailed and actual-combat strategic deployment against China, but China is always well-prepared to meet the challenge, analysts said.

Citing sources, Kyodo News reported on Monday (ET) that a Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), will be established as part of a realignment of the Marine Corps in Japan’s southwestern island prefecture, which is close to China’s Taiwan region.

The US plans to disperse US Marine units throughout Japan’s Okinawa islands by 2026, equipping them with missiles and lighter gear to « deter China’s military, » Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called on Japan and the US to ensure their military cooperation does not harm the interests of third parties or regional peace and stability.  Lire la suite »

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Japan holds state funeral for Shinzo Abe; Harris among mourners

Publié le Mis à jour le

People pay their respects to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Sept. 27, ahead of his state funeral that day. (Pool/Reuters)

TOKYO — Vice President Harris joined world leaders in Tokyo on Tuesday to commemorate the life of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, who was assassinated in July.

The state funeral is the first in Japan in 55 years and only the second in the postwar era — a measure of the impact Abe, a staunch U.S. ally, had over two terms that spanned almost a decade until he stepped down in 2020.

But the event is taking place amid anger in Japan that taxpayers will be footing the $11.5 million bill to honor a leader who was popular abroad but often polarizing at home. Compounding the furor, a scandal has engulfed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party since its ties to a religious group came under the spotlight in the weeks since the former conservative leader was fatally shot.

As world gathers to honor Abe, Japan grapples with church’s influence

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, told police he wanted to carry out the assassination because his life and family had been ruined as a result of his mother’s large donations to the Unification Church, to which Abe had apparent close ties. The church has confirmed that Yamagami’s mother was a member.

Hundreds of protesters gathered Monday night outside one of Tokyo’s most congested subway stations in Shinjuku to protest the funeral. Demonstrations are expected outside the Diet, Japan’s national assembly, during the service, which will begin at 2 p.m. local time at the Nippon Budokan hall in the capital.

Protesters opposed to the state funeral for Shinzo Abe rallied near the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo ahead of the commemoration on Tuesday. (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images)

Japanese authorities have stepped up security measures for the occasion, particularly in light of the acknowledged lapses that enabled the gunman to approach Abe and open fire with a homemade weapon during a campaign event.

About 4,300 guests, including about 700 from overseas, were expected to attend Tuesday’s closed ceremony, according to Nikkei Asia. Members of the public would be offering flowers at a park near the Nippon Budokan.

Before the funeral, Harris held bilateral meetings with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Her advisers had said the discussions would cover regional economic and security issues, including China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait and cooperation against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Japanese police chiefs resign over security lapses in Abe assassination

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Emergency declared for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba

Publié le Mis à jour le

Commuters head to work from Shimbashi Station in Tokyo on Thursday morning. | KYODO

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday declared a second, albeit less comprehensive, state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has stretched parts of the nation’s health care system to breaking point.

“I’m highly alarmed by the severe situation nationwide recently … as the number of patients has been extremely high,” Suga said at a government task force meeting, adding the Go To Travel domestic tourism program will be suspended while the state of emergency is in effect.

The restrictions will enter into force Friday and remain in place until at least Feb. 7. They will not be lifted until the affected prefectures see a significant reduction in benchmarks such as hospital occupancy rates and positivity rates.

One threshold would be daily cases declining to 500 per day in Tokyo, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister handling the government’s coronavirus response.

The prime minister was forced to play his last trump card — a situation his administration had desperately tried to avoid to ensure a swift economic recovery — after seeing new COVID-19 cases stubbornly refuse to go down and hospital beds rapidly fill up to as much as 88% in the capital. Tokyo logged 2,447 cases Thursday, shattering the daily record. The nationwide cases are projected to rise over 7,000.

by Satoshi Sugiyama (japantimes.co.jp)

 

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Japanese company successfully tests a manned flying car for the first time

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A Japanese company has announced the successful test drive of a flying car.

Sky Drive Inc. conducted the public demonstration on August 25, the company said in a news release, at the Toyota Test Field, one of the largest in Japan and home to the car company’s development base. It was the first public demonstration for a flying car in Japanese history.
The car, named SD-03, manned with a pilot, took off and circled the field for about four minutes.
« We are extremely excited to have achieved Japan’s first-ever manned flight of a flying car in the two years since we founded SkyDrive… with the goal of commercializing such aircraft, » CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa said in a statement.
« We want to realize a society where flying cars are an accessible and convenient means of transportation in the skies and people are able to experience a safe, secure, and comfortable new way of life. »
The SD-03 is the world’s smallest electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and takes up the space of about two parked cars, according to the company. It has eight motors to ensure « safety in emergency situations. »

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Male-line imperial succession ‘extremely risky’: Japan defense chief

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Defense Minister Taro Kono on Tuesday warned of risks about keeping the current imperial succession system in place that allows only male descendants in the family’s paternal line to ascend to the throne.

Speaking at a news conference, Kono said it would be “extremely risky” for the current imperial family to maintain the male-line succession system.

 

He indicated that national debate should be initiated immediately on possible ways to ensure stable imperial succession, including allowing female emperors or emperors from the maternal bloodline and restoring the imperial family status to those who left the family soon after the end of World War II.

“Maintaining the male-line imperial succession system is the most desirable option,” Kono said.

Taro Kono, the japanes Defense Minister.

The minister, however, said that the country should also consider an option of allowing female members to remain in the imperial family after marriage as heads of family branches and have their children ascend to the throne, or possibly reinstate former male imperial family members or have them ascend to the throne through adoption.

“The emperor’s status is based on the consensus of the people,” Kono said, adding that the succession issue needs to be discussed by the public as soon as possible.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have one child, 18-year-old Princess Aiko. Prince Hisahito, the 13-year-old nephew of the emperor, is the only grandson of Naruhito’s father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito.

(source: japantimes)

There have been cases in the past — 10 reigns, to be precise — where women succeeded the Chrysanthemum Throne and ruled as empresses.

However, they were interim rulers who filled the role temporarily until a male member could become emperor. They never broke from the tradition of passing the throne down the paternal line by passing the throne down to their own children

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Japan launches first Arab space mission to Mars

Publié le Mis à jour le

A rocket from Japan carried the first Arab space mission to Mars into space Monday, with the probe dubbed “Hope” successfully separating about an hour after liftoff.

Carrying a Mars orbiter developed by the United Arab Emirates, the H-IIA rocket launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. lifted off at 6:58 a.m. from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Almost exactly one hour later, a live feed of the launch showed applause in the control room as the probe successfully detached.

The project is the fourth in which Mitsubishi Heavy has conducted launches for overseas customers. It worked with South Korea in 2012, Canada in 2015 and UAE in 2018.

Monday’s liftoff marked the 36th consecutive successful H-IIA rocket launch. In Dubai the launch was met with rapturous excitement.

Seeing the probe blasting off was “an indescribable feeling,” said Sarah Al-Amiri, the UAE Mars mission’s deputy project manager.

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Japan seeks deeper ties with Taiwan as Tsai Ing-wen begins second term

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Japan is eager to deepen ties with Taiwan as its president, Tsai Ing-wen, begins her second term in office, top government spokesman Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends with Vice President William Lai Ching-te her inaugural address at the Taipei Guest House in Taipei on May 20. | HANDOUT / VIA REUTERS

Taiwan is an “important partner and precious friend” who shares basic values with Japan, Suga noted, adding that they enjoy close economic ties and increased people-to-people exchanges.

“We’d like to congratulate President Tsai Ing-wen on the start of her second term,” Suga said at a news conference.

“Based on our stance to maintain nongovernmental, working-level ties, Japan will continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan,” he added.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga speaks Wednesday at a news conference at the prime minister’s office. | KYODO

In its annual diplomatic bluebook released Tuesday, Japan called Taiwan an “extremely important partner” — a boost from last year’s description that referred to Taipei as a “crucial partner.” Highlighting the importance of the two countries’ ties, this year’s bluebook also devoted a full page to Taiwan, twice as much space as the 2019 edition.

(source: japantimes)

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