Ishiba's LDP set to post record-low results in Tokyo assembly vote
Takayuki Morimura, Tomin First no Kai leader, places a flower next to the name of a candidate expected to win in the June 22 Tokyo assembly election. (Photo by Marina Inoue)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to post record-low results in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, regarded as a bellwether for the July House of Councillors parliamentary race, as he struggles to steer a minority government in national politics.
Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, is likely to become the biggest force in the 127-member assembly, underscoring the appeal of her policies centered on quality of life. Tomin translates to Tokyoites.
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Kyodo News
41 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 23, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 14 minutes ago - 09:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- LDP wins record-low seats in Tokyo assembly race, in blow to PM TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party suffered a record-low result in Sunday's Tokyo assembly election, seen as a prelude to July's House of Councillors race, further straining his minority government in national politics. Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, won 32 seats, the most in the 127-member metropolitan assembly, indicating the popularity of her public welfare and child-rearing policies. One affiliated independent is included in the figure. ---------- Japan vigilant amid Iran conflict, mum on support for U.S. attacks TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that Japan is monitoring with "grave concern" the developments in the Middle East after the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, though he refrained from expressing immediate support for the military action taken by its closest ally. Speaking to reporters, Ishiba underscored the importance of de-escalating the situation while stressing that Iran's nuclear development must be "blocked." ---------- U.S. defense chief says strikes on Iran were not about regime change WASHINGTON - The U.S. military's strikes on Iran's key nuclear sites were not aimed at regime change and targeted neither its troops nor civilians, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday. Speaking of Saturday's attacks against Iran, Hegseth touted U.S. President Donald Trump's "bold and visionary leadership, and his commitment to peace through strength," asserting that the United States has shown the world that its "deterrence is back." ---------- FOCUS: Tokyo rebuke puts Ishiba at risk in national election TOKYO - A sharp warning from voters for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's party in Sunday's Tokyo assembly election has signaled that his tenure could be at risk, with his ruling bloc in danger of losing its majority in the upcoming national vote. The House of Councillors election, expected to take place on July 20, is shaping up as a de facto referendum on Ishiba's leadership, as the ruling coalition led by his Liberal Democratic Party has already become a minority in the House of Representatives. ---------- Most Japanese worried about Mideast war's impact on daily lives: poll TOKYO - Most people in Japan are worried about how the outbreak of war in the Middle East could impact their daily lives, given the country's heavy dependence on the region for oil, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. In the nationwide telephone poll, a total of 83.7 percent of respondents said they have concerns about the repercussions of the escalating Israel-Iran war. ---------- Chinese ships spotted near Senkakus for record 216th straight day NAHA, Japan - Chinese coast guard ships were spotted near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea for the 216th consecutive day, the Japan Coast Guard said Sunday, marking the longest streak since Japan placed the islets under state control in 2012. The uninhabited islets, which China claims and calls Diaoyu, have remained a source of friction between the Asian neighbors. ---------- 2 Japanese men among 14 prisoners released by Belarus MOSCOW - Two Japanese nationals have been released from detention in Belarus and are in good health, a Japanese government source said Sunday. Belarusian state-run media reported Saturday that President Aleksandr Lukashenko decided to pardon 14 people, including two Japanese citizens, at the request of U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. ---------- Mt. Shinmoe in southwestern Japan erupts, alert level maintained FUKUOKA - Mt. Shinmoe on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu erupted Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The 1,421-meter volcano straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures erupted around 4:37 p.m. and spewed smoke as high as 500 meters, the agency said. Video: Promotion party for sumo grand champion Hoshoryu
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
PM Ishiba's LDP set to post record-low results in Tokyo assembly vote
TOKYO ( Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to post record-low results in Sunday's Tokyo assembly election, regarded as a bellwether for the July House of Councillors race, as he struggles to steer a minority government in national politics. Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, is likely to become the biggest force in the 127-member assembly, underscoring the appeal of her policies centered on quality of life. Tomin translates to Tokyoites. This year brings a rare overlap between the Tokyo assembly race, held every four years, and the upper house election, which takes place every three years -- a once-in-12-years occurrence. Ishiba has opted not to dissolve the House of Representatives for an early snap election. After the polls closed, Shinji Inoue, head of the LDP's Tokyo chapter, said, "We received a harsh evaluation from the people of Tokyo," adding, "Our message did not get through" even though the party promoted policies to curb the negative effects of price hikes. At the vote counting center for Tomin First, green roses, used to indicate a guaranteed winner, were placed one after another on boards bearing the names of candidates. The Democratic Party for the People, facing criticism for its populist approach to winning votes but recently drawing attention in the national parliament, marked its first victory in the Tokyo assembly election. Major parties -- including the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito -- actively used social media and delivered street speeches to appeal to voters, particularly unaffiliated ones. The number of registered voters stood at about 11.55 million. In the 42 electoral districts, 295 candidates contested the assembly election. The figure exceeded the 271 who ran in the race four years ago, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the highest number of candidates in over three decades. Before the election, the LDP held 30 seats, followed by Tomin First with 26, Komeito with 23 and the Japanese Communist Party with 19. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition force in national politics, had 12. A new party launched by Shinji Ishimaru -- who rose to prominence through social media and finished second in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial race -- failed to make a splash in Sunday's election. He was a former mayor of a city in Hiroshima Prefecture. Tokyo's assembly election has often influenced the national political landscape, offering voters in the capital a chance to signal their views on crucial national issues such as leadership and economic policy. The LDP's setback in the 2009 Tokyo assembly race eroded then Prime Minister Taro Aso's authority, serving as a clear precursor to the historic lower house election defeat the following month that ended his party's rule. In the 2017 contest, Koike's party hastened opposition realignment in the national parliament, while the 2021 outcome ultimately derailed then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's bid for reelection as LDP president. In addition to local concerns, key issues for the latest race echoed those in national politics, including support for households grappling with inflation, political funding scandals involving the LDP, child-rearing policies and measures to prevent heatstroke. The weather was sunny on Sunday in the center of Tokyo. As of 7:30 p.m., voter turnout for the election was estimated at 30.21 percent, up 1.80 percentage points from the same time in the previous assembly election. Turnout in the 2021 vote was 42.39 percent. The election commission said around 1.73 million people cast early ballots by Saturday, about 300,000 more than the last race. In the national political arena, the ruling coalition led by the LDP became a minority in the more powerful lower house after last October's general election, while maintaining a majority in the upper chamber.
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan's political parties tap support through online videos, social media
TOKYO -- In an age where videos are overflowing online and even politics is becoming part of the stream, candidates, parties, content creators and voters in Japan are being affected. Amid a sea of political videos, where are people headed? At the west exit of JR Kamata Station in Tokyo's Ota Ward on April 24, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), began a speech to support candidates for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. People quickly gathered, taking out their phones to take photos and record videos. Tamaki seemed used to it and told the crowd of some 300 people to come closer. He didn't forget to mention the name of his YouTube channel and ask the audience to "please subscribe." After leaving the station, Tamaki promptly updated his social media account on X (formerly Twitter), with a post saying "More people than ever stopped to listen today," accompanied by a photo of the scene. The post began to be shared almost immediately and soon exceeded 400,000 views. Tamaki's follower count on YouTube is one of the highest for a politician in Japan at over 570,000. The DPP also stands out for making significant progress on social media -- with around 256,000 subscribers on YouTube, outdoing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at roughly 139,000 and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan at about 40,000. On the evening of April 20, this Mainichi Shimbun reporter headed for Odakyu Shin-Yurigaoka Station in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, having heard that volunteers were distributing flyers for right-wing party Sanseito. The emerging party's YouTube channel has approximately 300,000 subscribers, exceeding even the DPP's following. Sanseito advocates strongly conservative policies, including "abandoning a masochistic view of history" and "repealing the current LGBT understanding promotion law." The party also promotes viewpoints associated with conspiracy theories, such as emphasizing "the influence of international financial capitalists," which are propagated by its sympathizers through social media. Party leader Sohei Kamiya has gone as far as saying, "Sanseito used social media to become a national political party." A 67-year-old man from Kanagawa Prefecture shared why he supports Sanseito. After graduating from Hitotsubashi University, he joined a leading securities firm in the early 1980s. Things went well during Japan's economic bubble period but drastically changed when it collapsed. Japanese-style management practices began falling out of favor, financial liberalization accelerated, and foreign capital started entering local markets. Eventually, the man was forced to change jobs. The question of whether the Japanese model of management had actually been the right approach still lingered in his mind. A turning point came three years ago when he watched a YouTube video of Kamiya speaking in front of Tokyo Tower on the final day of campaign activities for the July 2022 House of Councillors election. In his speech, Kamiya asserted, "We won't allow globalists to do as they please." He recalled thinking, "I thought this was it. His (Kamiya's) views on food safety, health and national defense matched mine exactly." He added, "It's difficult to openly discuss anti-globalism or 'conspiracy theories' in public. So just having someone to openly discuss and share those views with is extremely enjoyable." Eventually, he became a party member and found like-minded people within Sanseito. He intends to continue supporting the party as a mere member, saying, "It's fulfilling, so I want to help (the party) as much as I can."
