16 h. ago Who will be Japan’s next PM? Ruling party grapples with a ‘poisoned chalice’

Less than 24 hours after Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation as prime minister, Japan’s ruling party faces a leadership contest that few seem eager to win and even fewer to survive, as it lays bare internal rivalries. Few within Japanese politics were truly taken aback when Ishiba confirmed his decision to step down as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a televised address on Sunday evening. On Monday, former LDP secretary general Toshimitsu Motegi became the first to throw his...

Politics

41 h. ago Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigns after election defeat

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on Sunday that he will resign, following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July’s parliamentary election. Ishiba, who took office in October, said he was stepping down as prime minister and as the head of his conservative Liberal Democratic Party. The 68-year-old centrist had resisted demands from opponents further to the right within his own party to resign. Ishiba argued that he wanted to avoid a...

Politics

4 d. ago Japan’s ‘house of cards’: Ishiba clings to power as hawks demand LDP election

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is presiding over a political “house of cards” that analysts say is looking more shaky every day, as he continues to resist growing calls from within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to step down. This week, the chorus demanding Ishiba’s resignation grew louder after the LDP released an internal report examining its dismal performance in July’s Upper House election. The party lost 18 seats, leaving it short of a parliamentary majority even with its...

Politics

2 w. ago South Korea’s Lee makes Japan first foreign visit before Trump summit

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung agreed on Saturday to closer security and economic ties ahead of Lee’s planned summit with US President Donald Trump on Monday. On his first official visit since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba at the premier’s residence in Tokyo to discuss bilateral ties between the East Asian neighbours, including closer security coordination with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors. “As the...

Politics

2 w. ago Why Japan is pushing a transparent development model for Africa

Japan is positioning itself as a partner offering a transparent and “human-centred” approach to development in Africa, providing an alternative to China’s economic influence through what analysts describe as a rules-based and mutually accountable model. Unveiling a proposal to create a regional economic zone linking the Indian Ocean to Africa, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a major development summit in Yokohama on Wednesday that Tokyo’s approach could boost free trade and regional...

Politics

2 w. ago Why Japan’s support for Ukraine boosts Nato’s plan for Tokyo office

A pledge by Japan this week to provide a security guarantee for Ukraine alongside other allies is a reminder that Tokyo may be Europe’s most dependable defence partner in Asia. It also strengthens the argument for Nato to proceed with a long-discussed plan: opening a liaison office of the transatlantic security alliance in Tokyo. On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba declared that Japan would “thoroughly discuss what our nation can and should do” in support of Ukraine, and “play an...

Politics

3 w. ago Centrist candidate Paz leads as Bolivia’s presidential poll heads to runoff

Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz was leading Bolivia’s presidential election late on Sunday, according to early official results, which showed the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) on track for its worst election defeat in a generation. Paz of the Christian Democratic Party had secured 32.18 per cent of the vote, while Eduardo del Castillo of MAS had just 3.16 per cent, according to initial results released by the electoral tribunal on Sunday night. Conservative former president Jorge “Tuto”...

Politics

3 w. ago China complains about Japanese tribute to war criminals to Yasukuni Shrine

China has complained to Japan after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to a controversial shrine that honours war criminals on the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender. The Chinese foreign ministry expressed “strong dissatisfaction” about the “blatant provocation against historical justice and human conscience”, referring to the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by several cabinet members. “To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan’s post-war return...

Events

3 w. ago China condemns Japanese tribute to war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine

China has expressed “strong dissatisfaction” to Japan after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to a controversial shrine that honours war criminals on the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender. It was a “blatant provocation against historical justice and human conscience”, the Chinese foreign ministry said, referring to the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on Friday by several Japanese cabinet members. “To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan’s...

Events