Members of the public on Friday urged Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's incoming prime minister, following his victory in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race, to implement measures that will directly improve livelihoods amid the historically high cost of living.
"Even just talking of price hikes, conditions vary between the city and regional areas," Miyako Shibamura, a 36-year-old resident of Takamatsu in western Japan's Kagawa Prefecture, said. "People in regional areas are reliant on cars, and the soaring gasoline prices are being felt particularly hard."
Hikaru Tanaka, a 20-year-old student living alone in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, said he wanted "measures like subsidies on electricity and gas bills for students and those in need so we can live more comfortably."
Criticisms swirled over a slush funds scandal that has eroded public confidence in the LDP, prompting calls for party lawmakers to make the flow of money more transparent.
"They must distinguish between private and public funds and be transparent about how the money was used and where it went," said Tomoe Minami, 69, of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
"All political funds, even small amounts, should be made visible, and a system should be created to prevent any suspicion from arising," said Chieko Sasaki, 78, of Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture.
Fukui is the hometown of LDP lawmaker Tsuyoshi Takagi, who was penalized with a half-year party membership suspension over his involvement in the scandal.
Some in Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan expressed hope that Ishiba, a former defense minister, would take steps to resolve the issues surrounding the controversial relocation of a U.S. military base within Okinawa.
The central government is pushing for the transfer of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the coastal area of Henoko in Nago, both on Okinawa's main island.
Shigeru Shimabukuro, head of the Henoko district who favors the relocation, said if he has the chance to meet Ishiba in person, he would like to ask the incoming leader to "promote the local economy in conjunction with the relocation."
"I also hope for a revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which is one of his policies," Shimabukuro added."
Apparently referring to a string of sexual assault cases by U.S. servicemen in Okinawa, 66-year-old Makiko Furugen, in the prefectural capital Naha, said, "I hope (Ishiba) talks to the United States in straight terms."
Meanwhile, Ishiba has taken a relatively positive stance on allowing married couples to use different surnames, an issue that has met resistance from conservative LDP members.
Tokyo resident Risa Takahashi said she found it difficult when changing her surname for personal identification and other documents after getting married.
Takahashi, 28, said she feels no particular inconvenience as she continues using her original surname at her workplace, but called for more choices.
"Women, in general, have a harder time, and it is important for us to have more choices in different circumstances and with different relationships with our surnames," she said.
© KYODO
18 Comments
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JeffLee
They need to be petitioning the Bank of Japan. Most of the energy and food inflation is the result of its policies, not the govt's.
BertieWooster
Just cut taxes. People have no incentive to work when much of their salary is eaten up in taxes. Get rid of consumption tax and prune the civil service.
voiceofokinawa
Ishiba, a newly elected president of LDP, will automatically become Prime Minister of Japan.
That means Japan's Prime Minister is elected only by a small fraction of the nation's voters: LDP lawmakers and LDP-registered members.’
Isn't there any way to improve the system?
Fighto!
Amazing how often this needs to be explained.
Japan - like Australia, the UK, NZ, Germany, Canada, and many more - has a parliamentary system of democracy. The Prime Minister is not directly elected in these places. He/She is the first among equals - the first Minister. If you change this so as the PM is directly elected as a leader, you effectively have a Republic.
I highly doubt there is any appetite to go down the direct election of a leader Republic system.
MarkX
Almost all constitutional monarchies have this same system. The party leader becomes the defacto leader. So if the PM of Canada, or the UK dies, or retires or is forced out, whoever wins the leadership race becomes the next prime minister. Same thing happened in the UK with a string of PM's before an election was finally held.
John-San
The only certainty is defence spending will go up and taxes to cover those increases will go up. Expect an increase in consumption tax to 12 % when the LDP gets re-elected.
John-San
It is call a Constitutional Monarchy. The fairest political system and most sucessfully employed throughout the western world. Constitutional monarchies range from countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Bhutan, where the constitution grants substantial discretionary powers to the sovereign, to countries such as the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Lesotho, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan.
kohakuebisu
I agree with the comments about Ishiba not being elected by the public. If a country is to use this system, it should not concentrate power in the executive (cabinet).
The clearest example of why this shouldn't happen is the UK where Boris Johnson was elected on one set of policies and was replaced by Liz Truss who replaced these with other policies spoonfed to her by a rich persons' think tank. These policies crashed the markets and Truss was kicked out in no time, leading to another bod getting the job without being selected by the public.
Japanese vox pops in the papers regularly come up with some bizarre takes. We have two cars and I can tell you that gasoline prices are not "soaring". As we read yesterday, Umaibo snacks are up 50% compared to 2021. Other food items are similar Gasoline is up maybe 10-15 yen compared to 2022, probably 10% at most. In most people's case, the big cost of car ownership is the cost of buying the car. Our eldest is 19 and has lived alone for two years in a one room apartment in Nagano, with a similar climate to Sendai. Her utility bills are tiny. Even a big percentage rise in energy, which would hit big families in a house much more, means little for students. A student living alone facing a 2000 yen increase a month is not an OMG in the big picture of what's wrong with Japan.
Dango bong
he wont
the whole political system here is based on nothing changing
Eastmann
dont expect ANY good changes at all...
Mike_Oxlong
Inflation is taxation without legislation. Despite market interventions, the yen will collapse just as the won did, the baht did, and the USD will too.
TokyoLiving
Please don't be a puppet of the geopolitical whims of good old US..
DanteKH
He will NOT do anything for the benefit of the people, just like his predecessors did.
However, during Kishida's reign, one of the most disastrous from the post war history, the currency lost between 40 to 60% of its value, inflation came into force, taxes got a huge increase (resident taxes, social taxes, medical insurance taxes, etc), other callous taxes were added, such as "forest" tax, child support tax, etc, and also the prices hikes for everything, including food, utilities, etc, price hikes that are done every 3 months, the next huge one being this October.
Yes, let's continue to vote for LDP, the most corrupt and incompetent Party that can be.
Burning Bush
The J gov subs energy over the summer months to reduce utility bills. Do the same with basic food stuffs to reduce monthly household outcome. Until the greedy corporations give in.
She can apply for a "double-barrelled" name at the family court. My wife did that and can use my family name or her original one (or both) depending on what she wants to do. The judge involved was very understanding and apart from it taking time, it was a relatively smooth process. Plenty of YouTibe videos explain the process.
fluffy_canyons
the answer right here, he isn’t serious so it won’t happen and Japanese people won’t do anything about his inaction but if he removed the consumption tax , today, Japanese people would instantly be better off and the economy would be moving again.
ore consumption tax Japan was a much better place.
wallace
If Risa Takahashi is Japanese and married to a Japanese then her name is the one on her Koseki. She can't legally change that. If she is non-Japanese she can apply for a name change at the family courts.
My partner after marriage continued to use her family name but eventually decided to change.
Burning Bush
You forgot to add, if she is married to a non-Japanese she can also change her name at the family court. Another reason to go Dutch eh?
wallace
Burning Bush
If Risa Takahashi is Japanese and married to a foreigner she can retain her family name or take the name of her husband and apply for a new family Koseki.
Sounds like she is Japanese and married to a Japanese husband taking his name but retaining her family name at work which many women do. Some professions are legally allowed to do that, like doctors.
Burning Bush
Yes. It sounds like as you say. But I know most serious Japanese don't really give a fig about names considering the other challenges Japan us facing domestically and internationally.