On NHK’s “Nichiyo Toron” on Sunday, LDP Election Strategy Committee Chairman Motegi stated that in the July Upper House election the ruling coalition would like to ask the Japanese people whether or not they want the government to continue promoting Abenomics to boost the Japanese economy. Komeito Election Strategy Committee Chairman Saito said that the election will be a choice….Read more

In NHK’s Sunday talk show “Nichiyo Toron,” senior officials of ruling and opposition parties discussed the Abe administration’s economic policy, which will be the key campaign issue for the upcoming Upper House election in July. Ruling representatives defended Abenomics, with LDP Upper House Policy Council Chairman Tsuruho defending it by saying that economic fundamentals have steadily improved and there is….Read more

LDP Deputy Secretary General Tanahashi, Komeito Deputy Secretary General Saito, and Democratic Party Secretary General Fukuyama lauded President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima last week as a “historic event.” While welcoming the visit to Hiroshima as a step toward nuclear disarmament, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike and Social Democratic Party Secretary General Mataichi stated that the United States should take….Read more

Lawmakers of both the ruling and opposition parties discussed the pros and cons of raising the consumption tax rate to 10% as planned in April 2017. LDP lawmaker Aizawa said that PM Abe will ultimately make a decision after taking into consideration various things. Komeito policy chief Ishida said the current economic situation is not as bad as the one….Read more

Senior members of the ruling and opposition parties appeared live on the show and discussed the pros and cons of raising the consumption tax rate to 10% as planned next spring. While ruling party members expressed the view that the current economic conditions do not warrant delaying the tax hike, opposition party members expressed opposition to raising the tax rate….Read more

Kyoto Sangyo University Professor Kazuhiko Togo, Research Director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies Kunihiko Miyake, Hosei University Professor Nobuo Shimotomai, and Waseda University Professor Lee Jong Won discussed Japan’s relations with Russia, including Prime Minister Abe’s bilateral talks with President Putin last week, and North Korea. All of the panelists welcomed the Abe-Putin meeting as an effort to….Read more

MIT Senior Fellow Yukio Okamoto, University of Tokyo Professor Fumiaki Kubo, Sojitz Research Institute Chief Economist Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, and University of Tokyo Professor Robert Campbell discussed the U.S. presidential election. The panelists expressed concern over the popularity of Donald Trump that apparently reflects American people’s frustration with socioeconomic disparity. The discussants expressed the view that despite her current election rhetoric….Read more

A week after the powerful earthquakes in Kumamoto, two earthquake researchers and three other experts discussed how to provide practical assistance to the people who have survived the initial shock of the earthquakes. The panelists discussed the need for government and private-sector efforts in providing long-term assistance, including the reconstruction of damaged houses, educational and mental support for children, and….Read more

Former Minister for Internal Affairs Masuda, Mayor Kubota of Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture, and three experts discussed the government and other responses to the Kumamoto earthquake and measures to revitalize local communities. The panelists discussed how to stop the decline in population in rural areas and attract central government agencies and companies to local regions. They stressed the importance of….Read more

  Top senior officials of the ruling and opposition parties appeared live on the program and discussed the pros and cons of raising the consumption tax hike to 10% as originally planned in April 2017. LDP Vice President Komura said: “Unless there is a major event such as the financial crisis after the ‘Lehman Shock’ or a major earthquake, we….Read more