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Yuli Ban
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Japan Watch Thread

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Tokyo Covered Up Arrival of Deadly New COVID Variant Just Before the Olympics
Three days before the Olympics began, on July 20, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) reported to an international organization that the highly infectious Lambda variant had been detected in an airport test in Japan for the first time, but did not announce it widely to the public.

The report was submitted to an international COVID-19 and other influenza virus database known as GISAID. According to preliminary reports from South American and Japanese scientists, the Lambda variant may possess an increased resistance to vaccines. Although scientific data on the variant is limited in comparison to prevalent COVID-19 variants like Delta, its detection in the airport comes at a time when infections in the country are skyrocketing. On Friday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan passed 1 million and the arrival of Lambda can further complicate matters. For the time being, there appears to have been only one confirmed case.
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caltrek
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Japan's Prime Minister Suga to Step Down After One Year in Office
by Zachary Basu
September 3, 2021

https://www.axios.com/japan-prime-minis ... c9acd.html

Introduction:
(Axios) Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he will not seek re-election as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party this month, bringing his time as prime minister to an end ahead of a general election on Nov. 28.

Why it matters: Japan is the world's third-largest economy and a key U.S. ally. Suga became the first world leader to visit the White House in-person in April, where he and President Biden announced a "new era" in U.S.-Japan relations aimed in part at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The big picture: The 72-year-old Suga saw his approval rating plummet after a surge in COVID-19 cases that coincided with the Tokyo Olympics.

His short stint in office followed that of Shinzo Abe, who was the longest-serving prime minister in Japan's history before he resigned in September 2020 due to chronic health issues.
Suga's departure may spark fears of a return to revolving-door leadership in Japan. The country had 17 prime ministers in the 14 years before Abe took office in 2012.
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caltrek
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Poll Shows That LDP supporters Favor Taro Kono to be Next Japan Prime Minister
September 25, 2021

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021 ... -poll.html

Introduction:
(Kyodo News) Tokyo - Vaccination minister Taro Kono is still the most popular choice among ruling Liberal Democratic Party rank-and-file members to be the next head of the LDP and hence Japan's prime minister, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday, ahead of the party's presidential election later this week.

After incorporating LDP Diet members' planned votes, however, none of the four candidates in the LDP leadership race is likely to win an overall majority vote in the first round, meaning the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to be determined in a runoff vote.

Among the rank-and-file voters, Kono gained 47.4 percent support, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous survey held earlier this month, and was followed by former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at 22.4 percent, up 3.9 points.

Former communications minister Sanae Takaichi came third at 16.2 percent and LDP executive acting secretary general Seiko Noda was at 3.4 percent, while 10.7 percent of the respondents said they have yet to decide who to vote for.

The party election will be held on Wednesday after Suga said earlier this month he will resign amid mounting criticism over his government's coronavirus response.
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Next Japan Prime Minister Kishida to Create Economic Security Minister to Counter China
October 2, 2021

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021 ... urity.html

Introduction:
(Kyodo News) Prospective Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida plans to create a new ministerial post for economic security in a veiled counter to alleged technology theft by China, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.

Kishida, who will launch his Cabinet after being elected prime minister at the start of an extraordinary Diet session Monday, is also considering appointing a prime ministerial advisor on the issue, the sources said.

It was not immediately known who will take up the post, but the new minister is expected to craft a national strategy designed to block a technology drain from the country.

After taking office, Kishida plans to dissolve the House of Representatives on Oct. 14 and a general election is likely to be held Nov. 7, government and ruling party sources said.

With the plan, campaigning for the general election is expected to start Oct. 26 with voting and ballot counting on Nov. 7, the sources said.
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Kishida Takes Office as Japan Prime Minister
by Ryotaro Nakamaru
October 4, 2021

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021 ... onday.html

Introduction:
(Kyodo News) Fumio Kishida took office as Japan's prime minister Monday forming a Cabinet charged with keeping COVID-19 under control while reviving a battered economy, as he looks to appeal to voters heading into a general election in less than a month.

…The Cabinet includes a slew of fresh faces, with 13 of its 20 members taking on a ministerial post for the first time. But key posts were given to those with close ties to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, suggesting there will not be a radical shift in policy from previous administrations.

Kishida retained Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, Abe's younger brother, while Shunichi Suzuki was tapped to replace Taro Aso as finance minister, a job he held for nearly nine years. Hirokazu Matsuno, a former education minister, was named chief Cabinet secretary.

Kishida, who was chosen as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week, was elected prime minister by a resounding majority in both chambers of the Diet. He was then formally invested with the title by Emperor Naruhito in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

…Having ample international experience as foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, Kishida has his work cut out with a range of diplomatic and security challenges.
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Kishida Cabinet Gets Relatively Low Approval Rating of 45%
October 6, 2021

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14455275

Introduction:
(The Asahi Shimbun) The approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was 45 percent, the lowest for a new administration since 2001, when The Asahi Shimbun began its current method of surveying voters.

The disapproval rating for the Cabinet was 20 percent, according to the nationwide telephone survey taken Oct. 4-5.

The relatively low approval rating for the just-formed Cabinet has raised concerns among lawmakers of Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party.

“It’s alarming, given that we will soon enter the Lower House race,” said a former Cabinet member from the LDP, referring to the general election slated for Oct. 31.

The LDP, however, easily outdistanced the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in terms of preferred party
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Japan Prime Minister Kishida Agrees With China's Xi to Seek Constructive Ties
October 8, 2021

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021 ... as-xi.html

Introduction:
(Kyoto News) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday for the first time since taking office and said they agreed to seek "constructive and stable" relations.

The call between the leaders came amid rising tensions between the United States, Japan's security ally, and China over the Taiwan Strait.

Kishida, who took office this week and is making the rounds speaking with foreign leaders, told reporters he raised issues of concern, including the Senkaku Islands, Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang during the 30-minute conversation.

Japan and China have a long-standing territorial dispute over the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. The Japanese-administered islands are claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu and often sends coast guard vessels nearby despite Tokyo's protests.

Kishida also conveyed Japan's stance on Taiwan to Xi, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry said without going into further detail.
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Kishida: Growth, Redistribution Strategies Key to 'New Capitalism'
by Taro Ono
October 8, 2021

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14457044

Introduction:
(The Asahi Shimbun) In his first policy speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to work toward realizing a “new capitalism” where the middle class would share in more of the country’s economic benefits.

Kishida delivered his address, emphasizing economic growth and fairness, on Oct. 8 to both chambers of the Diet.

He said that in order to deal with the pressing issues facing the nation, such as the novel coronavirus pandemic, there is a need for the political class to be trusted by and empathetic with the public.

Highlighting his past views on the importance of listening to the public, Kishida said his Cabinet ministers would engage in small group dialogues with members of the public.

He said he wants to create a new kind of capitalism by generating a “positive spiral of growth and redistribution of benefits,” and cultivate a “new, post-COVID 19 society” that is prosperous.
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Japan adopts plan to push clean energy, nuclear to cut carbon emissions

Today 11:27 am

Japan adopted a new energy policy on Friday that promotes nuclear and renewables as sources of clean energy to achieve the country’s pledge of reaching carbon neutrality in 2050.

The new basic energy plan, adopted by the Cabinet just in time for the climate summit in early November, calls for drastically increasing use of renewable energy to cut fossil fuel consumption over the next decade as Japan pushes to meet its ambitious emissions reduction target.

Japan has been undecided over what to do about its nuclear power industry since the 2011 Fukushima plant disaster. It now says reactor restarts are key to meeting emissions targets as Japan tries to step up in the global effort against climate change.

The 128-page plan compiled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says Japan should set ambitious targets for hydrogen and ammonia energy, carbon recycling and nuclear energy. It also calls for promoting offshore wind power and use of rechargeable batteries that have potential for growth.

“We will mobilize all options” to achieve the emissions target, the plan said, adding that the “supply of stable and low-cost energy is a prerequisite.”

https://japantoday.com/category/nationa ... cut-carbon
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Kishida’s Nuclear Push Faces Resistance Ahead of Election
October 27, 2021

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14469488

Introduction:
(Reuters via Asahi Shimbun) KASHIWAZAKI--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s push to restart Japanese nuclear power plants idled after the Fukushima disaster faces stiff opposition ahead of a general election on Sunday, where his future as leader hangs in the balance if the vote is tight.

A decade after triple meltdowns at Fukushima forced mass evacuations and a shut-down of the nuclear industry, Japan has restarted only a third of its 33 operable reactors.

Debate over whether to fire more of them back up is highly charged, with 40 percent of the population opposing the move.

It matters most in rural cities hosting the idled plants which had once relied on them for economic activity, such as Kashiwazaki, 265 km (165 miles) northwest of Tokyo - home to the world’s largest atomic power complex.

“The reason why we feel so strongly about this is because we feel the danger of the nuclear power plant - it hangs over our heads every day,” said Mie Kuwabara, a resident of a town close to Kashiwazaki and anti-nuclear activist.
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