Japan Prime Minister Ishiba to skip NATO summit, source says
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba holds a press conference after the G7 Leaders' Summit, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
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RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
Tokyo local election result offers ominous sign for PM
Tokyo local election result offers ominous sign for PM Public support for Shigeru Ishiba has been at rock-bottom for months, partly because of high inflation, with rice prices doubling over the past year. File photo: Reuters Voters in Tokyo decisively knocked Japan's ruling party from its position as the largest group in the city assembly, results showed on Monday, a warning sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's unpopular government before July elections. Japanese media said it was a record-low result in the key local election for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has led the country almost continuously since 1955. Public support for Ishiba, who took office in October, has been at rock-bottom for months, partly because of high inflation, with rice prices doubling over the past year. The LDP took 21 Tokyo assembly seats in Sunday's vote, including three won by candidates previously affiliated with the party but not officially endorsed following a political funding scandal. This breaks the party's previous record low of 23 seats from 2017, according to the Asahi Shimbun and other local media. Tomin First no Kai, founded by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, increased its seats in the 127-member assembly to 31, becoming the largest party. "This was a very tough election," Shinji Inoue, head of the LDP's Tokyo chapter, said Sunday as exit polls showed a decline in the party's seats. The funding scandal "may have affected" the result, while policies to address inflation "didn't reach voters' ears very well" with opposition parties also pledging to tackle the issue, Inoue said. Within weeks Ishiba will face elections for parliament's upper house, with reports saying the national ballot could be held on July 20. Voters angry with rising prices and political scandals deprived the 68-year-old's ruling coalition of a majority in the powerful lower house in October, its worst general election result in 15 years. Polls this month showed a slight uptick in support, however, thanks in part to policies to tackle high rice prices. Not including volatile fresh food, goods and energy in Japan were 3.7 percent higher in May than a year earlier. To help households combat the cost of living, Ishiba has pledged cash handouts of 20,000 yen (US$139) for every citizen ahead of the upper house election. The opposition Democratic Party For the People (DPP) won seats for the first time in the Tokyo assembly vote, securing nine. The DPP's campaign pledge for the July election includes sales tax cuts to boost household incomes. Sunday's voter turnout rate was 47.6 percent, compared to the 42.4 percent four years ago, according to local media. A record 295 candidates ran – the highest since 1997, including 99 women candidates, also a record high. The number of women assembly members rose to 45 from 41. (AFP)
The Standard
4 hours ago
- The Standard
Japan Prime Minister Ishiba to skip NATO summit, source says
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba holds a press conference after the G7 Leaders' Summit, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Japan flags 216 days of Chinese intrusions near East China Sea islands
Japan has spotted Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islets in the East China Sea for a record 216 consecutive days, according to Tokyo's coastguard. Advertisement The Tokyo-administered islets, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and Senkakus in Japan, have long been a sore point between the neighbours. On Sunday, Japan said it observed four Chinese coastguard vessels sailing in the 'contiguous' zone, referring to a 12-nautical-mile (22km) band that extends beyond Japan's territorial waters. Last year, Chinese vessels sailed near the Tokyo-administered island chain more than 350 times , including for a period of 215 consecutive days, a Japanese coastguard spokesman said. Japanese officials regularly protest against the presence of the Chinese coastguard and other vessels in the waters surrounding the disputed islands.
