It would seem like it. Although some of this anxiety and unease is based on genuine concerns (overtourism, people being priced out of property hotspots, some foreigners committing crimes), a certain amount of it is based on old-fashioned racism (there's always a certain proportion of knuckleheads in a society who don't like people who look different). So we're expected to feel guilty about racists not being happy that we're in their country!So by their logic, we, the foreign residents, should start feeling guilty for the anxiety and unease our presence causes the Japanese people.
Holy buckets. That is a good point.It would seem like it. Although some of this anxiety and unease is based on genuine concerns (overtourism, people being priced out of property hotspots, some foreigners committing crimes), a certain amount of it is based on old-fashioned racism (there's always a certain proportion of knuckleheads in a society who don't like people who look different). So we're expected to feel guilty about racists not being happy that we're in their country!
As for the Bank of Japan's decision last week to raise its key policy interest rate to 0.75%, the highest in 30 years, 55% of respondents nationwide said they approved of the move, surpassing the 26% who disapproved.
The data indicates that voters who like Takaichi have returned to the LDP, while those who do not continue to back other parties. The most significant inflows into the LDP came from Sanseito, the Democratic Party for the People and the Conservative Party of Japan. Among supporters of these parties in June-July, 28.9%, 14.1% and 22.2%, respectively, had shifted to the LDP by November. As a result, support for Sanseito fell by 1.5 points to 4.7%, while support for the DPP declined by 2.1 points to 8.8%.
I wonder why they mapped the unknown/no answer people as a shift to LDP.The LDP's decision to install Takaichi as its leader and PM seems to be paying off: voters who had shifted to newer conservative parties are returning. Support for the LDP in a hypothetical national election has increased by about 40% over the past six months. The gains appear to be concentrated among voters who previously supported smaller right-wing parties. Many of them report a positive impression of PM Takaichi, indicating that her leadership is a key factor behind the shift.
I wonder why they mapped the unknown/no answer people as a shift to LDP.
While dissolving the lower house is often described as the prime minister's prerogative, the decision is usually made after consultations with party leadership. But Takaichi did not give any advance notice to such key figures as LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, the party's No. 2, LDP Vice President Taro Aso, considered to be Takaichi's most influential backer, or Executive Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda, with whom she is close. [...] No explanations were provided in advance to the Japan Innovation Party, or to the Democratic Party for the People, an opposition party that at times works with the LDP. This suggests Takaichi aspires to follow Abe's style of putting the prime minister's office over the party in decision-making. Takaichi's political foundation within the LDP is unstable, and her coalition holds a minority in the upper house of parliament. Her only option to push her policies forward was to win a popular mandate from the electorate.
Lawmakers whom Komeito had been planning to field in single-seat constituencies, including Saito, will withdraw, he said. Candidates from Komeito are expected to be placed higher on proportional representation lists, sources familiar with the matter said. Noda said he has shared the view with Saito that it is desirable for them to jointly lead the new party. He added the party's name could be revealed as soon as Friday. Komeito is backed by Japan's largest lay Buddhist organization, Soka Gakkai, which long provided key campaign support to the LDP. The prospect of the Komeito support base being mobilized against the ruling camp is set to alarm it. Itsunori Onodera, a senior LDP lawmaker, told reporters prior to the new party announcement that he believed the arrangement "could have some impact in closely contested and highly competitive districts" for the ruling party.
Komeito, at odds with the conservative stance of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left the ruling coalition last October, ending the party's 26-year partnership with her Liberal Democratic Party. Komeito's main support base is Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist organization. It is believed to deliver 10,000 to 20,000 votes in each Lower House constituency. With a Lower House snap election expected in February, some within the LDP hoped to maintain electoral cooperation with Komeito. But Komeito's merger with the CDP has shattered those hopes and may force the LDP to rethink its election strategy. "Until now, we have cooperated with (Komeito) in election campaigns. This will have a considerable impact in closely contested districts," Itsunori Onodera, a former LDP policy chief, told reporters at party headquarters on Jan. 15. A veteran LDP lawmaker known for being critical of Takaichi said of the new party, "It's like a gathering of doves, and 'centrism' is appealing." Chudo's emphasis on taking a "centrist" position differentiates it from the LDP, which is expected to strengthen its conservative leanings under Takaichi.
2004: Takaichii Sanae lost the parliament election and became a professor at Kinki University.
Yamamoto Taku proposed to her, saying he could cook really well and has a chef's license.
They got married and Sanae became Yamamoto.
2012-2017: They belonged to different sects and supported different leaders, had too much heated discussions at home. They got divorced in 2017.
2021: Yamamoto Taku lost the election, and he had to move out his government housing.
He was really in trouble. He asked Sanae if they could get back together and live in her housing.
In order to live the government housing, you have to be an official family member.
(In fact, at that time she asked Abe Shinzo for advice about this. He smiled and said いいんじゃない？, she said.) They remarried and did janken to decide which name to take. This time Sanae won.
2025: Yamamoto got a stroke, and the right side of his body is paralyzed.
Takaichi has been a caregiver to him since then.
Also, Takaichi Sanae is known to be against having separate surnames for husband and wife.
Personally I feel that people should be able to use the name they like.
Yet Takaichi-san also insists that she is the one who has worked hardest so that married women could keep using their 旧姓・通称 (I couldn't find a good translation for this) at work, in your passport, or other places. (it is written as the third name) My impression is that she thinks that to be able to confirm the person has the priority, and your personal attachment to it is not.
Would that include 'liquid bread'...?cut the consumption tax on food to 0%
But she talks tough against China and the gaijin and plays the drums, and that seems to be good enough for much of the electorate.Abe-era corruption and nepotism are rearing their heads again.
Takaichi's decision to call an election before lawmakers approve her record $793 billion national budget has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers as political opportunism. Two-fifths of the respondents in the Mainichi survey said they were unhappy with the timing, compared with fewer than a third who approved. She heads into the Feb 8 election leading a party far less popular than she is personally, with the LDP polling at around 30% in several recent polls. She has also lost the backing of the centrist Komeito party, which last year ended its 26-year alliance with the LDP and joined forces with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, depriving the LDP of a crucial vote-getter in dozens of urban constituencies.
What issues caused Komeito to break away from the LDP?Interesting times ahead in Japan's political landscape: the two main opposition parties, CDPJ and Komeito, agreed to form a new party to run in a likely snap election in February.
The agreement is presented as an attempt to bring centrist parties together and form a united front against the conservative ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. The move comes as PM Takaichi, known for her tough security views, continues to record high approval ratings, adding to expectations of a broader political shake-up. Senior figures in the ruling camp say an election is likely on 8 February, with campaigning set to begin on 27 January.
The backing of Soka Gakkai is estimated to be worth around 10,000 to 20,000 votes in each constituency. With the CDPJ supported by Japan's biggest umbrella group for labour unions, the new party could have a strong base to compete.
Japan's main opposition CDPJ, Komeito agree to form new party - The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, formerly a longtime ruling coalition partner,mainichi.jp
Japan opposition parties CDP, Komeito to form new 'centrist' political party
Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito have agreed to form a new political party, their leaders said on Thursday, in an attempt to present a united front against a ruling camp that they see as too right-leaning.www.reuters.com
Komeito has always been a fairly centrist party, and Takaichi et al. are way off to the right.What issues caused Komeito to break away from the LDP?
I'm all for another hung parliament, where politicians are at least forced to cooperate.
It suggests that the LDP is already favored in roughly 115 of 289 seats, roughly halfway to the simple majority line. Of the more competitive 150 seats, the LDP is ahead in roughly 100, which would put the LDP close to a majority of its own even before proportional representation seats are included – and Nikkei anticipates that the LDP could win close to 70 of 176 PR seats, up from 59 in 2024.
The Centrist Reform Alliance, founded Jan. 22, has not yet established name recognition. With about 10 days remaining until the election, more than half of the single-seat constituencies are competitive, and the landscape could shift considerably as the election nears. [...] The Centrist Reform Alliance, meanwhile, could lose seats, and is at risk of winning fewer than 100. Japan Innovation, the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, and the Democratic Party for the People, the second-largest opposition party, are not faring well in early polls. Japan Innovation may lose some of its previous 34 seats. It is expected to secure seats in its stronghold of Osaka, but is struggling in most other regions. Its proportional representation seats are also expected to decrease from the previous 15. Its goal of gaining nationwide support by joining the ruling coalition appears to have not panned out.