Insights | Nagatacho Update

PM Abe Pledges to Tackle on Pre-school Education and Invest in HR Development

Prime Minister Abe delivered his first policy speech for the Special Diet Session today.  He pledged to accelerate discussions on the government's initiatives such as the security issues including the North Korea crisis, policy on "people development" and free early childhood education as the countermeasure for the aging society and the on-going international trade negotiations. For more details, please visit the article on NHK World.

Abe's 4th Cabinet to be Inaugurated Tonight

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was reelected  today by both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors.  It is reported that Prime Minister will retain all the ministers he appointed at the previous cabinet reshuffle in August.  He will be officially appointed tonight and inaugurate his fourth cabinet.

GR Japan Presentation - 2017 General Election Analysis and Predictions

Jakob Edberg, GR Japan President & CEO, presented our analysis and predictions on the upcoming lower house election at "IPF: 2017 General Election Special" on 17 October. His presentation is available as attached.  Should you like to know further details, please feel free to contact info [at] grjapan [dot] com.

Edano of DP Forms a New Party

Yukio Edano, deputy president of the Democratic Party (DP), today formed a new political party, "The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan".  DP previously announced to join the Party of Hope, a new party formed by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, in order to steal seats from the ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party,  at the general election to be held on 22 October.  However, Koike's intention to exclude the DP members who don't agree with her and her party's political views caused turbulence and tensions in DP as her decision was rather abrupt.  Among the DP membe

Lower House dissolved, Election to be held on 22 Oct

The House of Representatives was dissolved at the beginning of the Extraordinary Diet session today.  Towards the general election held on 22 October, the ruling and opposition parties will go into a fierce battle for the house's 475 seats.  The surprise move of the Democratic Party to be merged to the newly formed party,  "Party of Hope" led by Tokyo Governor Koike, gets the whip-hand over the wild election.

PM Abe Officially Announces to Dissolve the Lower House on 9/28

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced to dissolve the House of Representatives on 28 September at a press conference held today. The general election will be officially announced on 10 October and held on 22 October. He revealed his new goal, which is the economic policy focusing on the better education and child care and the more effective productivity, as one of the main agenda of the election.   

PM Abe to Dissolve the Lower House on 9/28 and Call a Snap Election on 10/22

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems to have decided to dissolve the House of Representatives as he convenes the Extraordinary Diet Session on 28 September.  It was said that the House would be dissolved in mid-November, considering by-elections for the House of Representatives scheduled in October and US President Donald Trump's visit in early November.

The Extraordinary Diet Session to be Convened on 9/28

The next Extraordinary Diet Session will be convened on Thursday, 28 September.  The government and the ruling party was targeting 25 September initially; however, considering the Emperor's schedule and Prime Minister Abe's visit to the UN, they concluded to open the session later than planned.  In addition to Work-style reform, the bills on constitutional reform and the Integrated Resorts seem to be deliberated.  For more details, please see the article on Mainichi Shimbun (Japanese only) from the link below.

DP Elects Maehara as the Party's New Leader

Seiji Maehara, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was elected as a new leader of the Democratic Party (DP) today.  At the contest, Maehara won 502 points, about 60% of the votes, while his rival candidate Yukio Edano gained 332.  His predecessor, Renho, resigned from the position taking a responsibility of the party's crushing defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July.  Maeara takes it over with an expectation to reorganize the party to win the by-elections for the House of Representatives in October.

DP Presidential Candidates Debate How They Would Reconstruct the Party

Ahead of the party's Presidential Election on 1 September, the two candidates, Seiji Maehara and Yukio Edano of the Democratic Party (DP), discussed how they would regain support for DP and lead the opposition parties against the ruling party at a press conference by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) today.  They also exchanged their views on the issues on North Korea, the economic policies, and the nuclear energy.  Please see the image above for the video clip of the entire press conference (with the simultaneous Japanese interpretation).

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