Japan's Kishida has limited scope to reset China ties

Significance Kishida's factional background within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suggests a dovish orientation towards China. Impacts A lacklustre LDP result in the general election would empower its junior coalition partner, the Komeito, to resist bold security reforms. Larger coast guard vessels and drones will enhance Japan's maritime security. Japan may decide to host intermediate-range missiles co-developed with the United States, to be deployed in Okinawa.

Subject Kremlin strategy for the 2018 presidential election. Significance With one year to go before the 2018 presidential election, the Kremlin strategy that will frame the process is starting to take shape. The nature of Vladimir Putin’s campaign has a bearing on his fourth term, during which he must either identify a successor or engineer an extension of his tenure beyond 2024. Impacts Putin will rally populist sentiment on the back of foreign policy successes in Crimea and Syria. A possible rapprochement with the United States would restrict the national narrative of ‘Russia encircled’. The Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist candidates will criticise the government but will not run opposition campaigns.


2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARY W. COX ◽  
MICHAEL F. THIES

Japanese elections are notorious for the money that flows between contributors, politicians, and voters. To date, however, nobody has estimated statistically the impact of this money on electoral outcomes. Students of American politics have discovered that this question is difficult to answer because, although performance may depend on spending, spending may also depend on expected performance. In this article, the authors specify a two-stage least squares model that explains the vote shares of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates as a function of their own spending, spending by other candidates, and a battery of control variables. The multiple-candidate nature of Japanese elections means that district-level demographic variables are largely unrelated to any particular LDP candidate's vote share, so that these variables can be used to create instruments for campaign spending. The authors find that the marginal dollar of campaign spending buys the spender a great deal more in Japan than is true in the United States.


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 269-294
Author(s):  
Sumiyo Nishizaki

In this article, I analyze the Japan-Middle East-U.S. triangle relationship. Japan’s Middle East policies, the author contends, have been influenced by its energy needs and relationship with the United States. Fully aware of its status as a country with hardly any energy resources, Japan has engaged in energy diplomacy and investment in oil fields in the Middle East. This article describes how, despite pursuing an energy strategy largely independent of the United States, Japan has constantly needed to take into account its relationship with the Americans, and Japan has slowly shifted toward more frequent support for American policy especially after the Gulf War in 1990. At the same time, Japan’s Middle East policies have been influenced by its domestic politics. For example, former Prime Minister Koizumi’s post-September 11 plan to let Japan’s military forces play a more prominent role in the War on Terror was crushed by his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). This article explains that LDP politicians were afraid that supporting the war would undermine Japan’s economic interests in the Muslim world and how the Democratic Party of Japan which took office this September has attempted to pursue a more independent position in its relations with the United States. This article also explores the shifts in Japan’s Middle East policies under the new administration and their implications on US-Japan relations.


Subject The outlook for legislation and party politics ahead of the July upper house election. Significance Now in his fourth year as prime minister, Shinzo Abe enjoys strong public support and faces no serious challenger. In an upper house election in July, his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) hopes to capture enough seats to call a referendum on revising the constitution -- Abe's ultimate political aim. Impacts Abe will use Japan's hosting of the G7 summit in May to present himself as a world statesman. A new emphasis on welfare and social inclusion will not come at the expense of the LDP's traditional pro-business policies. TPP ratification is likely before May. With the voting age lowered for the first time to 18, the more socially progressive but less pacificist youth vote becomes more important.


Significance Trudeau’s government has been held up as a bulwark of liberalism given the surge of anti-immigration populist candidates and parties in Europe and the United States. However, two leadership candidates in the Conservative race have sought to ape the political style and policy agenda that brought Donald Trump to power in the United States. Mainstream Canadian political actors are seeking to either counter or benefit electorally from rising distrust in government, fears over immigration and integration, and communitarian focus on Islam within right-wing politics. Impacts Opposition to the Trump presidency may help unify fractious left-leaning Canadian voters behind the Liberals. However, the social-democratic New Democratic Party will cite Trudeau-Trump cooperation to peel off progressive voters. Alienation of anti-immigration Conservatives will increase under libertarian or pro-business leadership.


Significance Long-standing Prime Minister Dean Barrow will not be running again, so that Belize will experience a change of leadership even if his United Democratic Party (UDP) wins re-election. The key electoral issues will revolve around the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations of corruption affecting the UDP. Impacts Tourism will be slow to recover, with ongoing restrictions and reduced visitor numbers seeing many businesses struggle. The severity of the pandemic in the United States, Belize’s main source of tourists, increases the risks of reopening to visitors. COVID-19 concerns could result in a low election turnout, undermining the mandate of the winning party. Whoever wins the election will inherit major socioeconomic challenges that will curtail any political honeymoon period.


Significance Khabarovsk is entering a third week of sustained protests following the arrest of regional governor Sergey Furgal. The Kremlin has not responded to this act of rebellion and has instead produced a hierarchical solution, installing a replacement governor with none of the skills needed in this explosive situation. Impacts The timing means that (barring a rule change) Khabarovsk's gubernatorial election is likely next year, not this. The protests in Khabarovsk and elsewhere may damage electoral support for United Russia in regional and parliamentary elections. A new law allowing voting over several days, initially in regional elections, will permit manipulation to keep United Russia's vote up. If the situation deteriorates, the president will shift the blame onto the Liberal Democratic Party.


Subject Creation of the US Space Force. Significance President Donald Trump on February 19 signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to draw up legislation establishing a Space Force as the sixth branch of the US military, alongside the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Impacts A separation of air and space budgets could positively affect future military space modernisation and development programmes. Creation of the Space Force could ultimately move the United States closer towards openly putting weapons in space. If China and Russia perceive it this way, it creates the risk of an arms race in space.


Significance The governing coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) made gains, with the LDP itself now controlling exactly half the seats in the chamber. Parties in favour of revising Japan's Constitution captured the two-thirds supermajority necessary to call a referendum on the question for the first time ever. Impacts An economic stimulus package is likely soon. Parliamentary opposition to relocation of the US Futenma airbase has strengthened -- a setback for Japan-US relations. New foreign policy initiatives are likely in the near future. Cooperation among opposition parties paid off, and may become more common in future.


Subject State and municipal pensions in the United States. Significance Losses from the 2008-09 financial crisis, mismanagement and insufficient annual allocations have led to a severe fiscal shortfall for a group of municipalities and states. However, changes to pension schemes are politically difficult for policymakers to achieve, given the clout of public sector unions. Impacts Firms may relocate or forgo investment to avoid future pension-driven tax increases. Republicans will play to their non-urban base by attacking the benefits of public sector employees. Post-COP21 demand for low-carbon investments is likely to complicate pension managers' search for returns. The US urban-suburban-rural divide poses greater difficulties for the Democratic Party than for Republicans.


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