Campaigning heats up for July 10 upper house election

@Yubaru

The upper house is pretty much just a rubber stamp position controlled once again by the LDP.

You don't seem to understand how important the upper house actually is. The party that controls the upper house actually controls what changes the lower house can perform.

As we saw in 2011 when the opposition party was in the lower house and could not get anything passed into law. due to LDP having the majority and making all DPJ reform promises fail due to a technicality that allows the upper house to not vote on a bill and effectively blocking it.

The lower house can veto (reverse) a bill that is voted on by the upper house however if the bill is not voted on it is returned to the lower house for resubmitting nothing to veto so can't make it in to a law.

Heat up? That's because summer is here, not the election!

There is noticeably little "excitement" down here for this election, as it's an upper house one, and little if anything will change in the bigger scheme of things. The upper house is pretty much just a rubber stamp position controlled once again by the LDP.

You don't seem to understand how important the upper house actually is. The party that controls the upper house actually controls what changes the lower house can perform.

This is true as we call it a "twisted parliament." It has happened several times in post-war Japan. A big advantage for the Upper House member is a fixed six year term while the Lower House tenure is shorter-lived, subject to snap elections called by Prime Minister. The past twisted parliaments have aborted many bills and struck down cabinets.

Oddly, Japanese students are not really taught this crucial point at school. Teachers and textbooks stress the superiority of the Lower House over the Upper with regard to earmarking and other legislation processes (which is true, though). The omission may lead students to misunderstand real power dynamics played out at the Japanese Diet.

Once more in that surreal time where all the national problems are finally recognized instead of denied as usual, and where everything has a solution that will surely be put in order if someone gets elected.

Love the passion and dedication of the candidates quoted in the article. This could be the best election in many years but I'm tipping the LDP to win. That's who the majority of Japanese continue to support and want in government. Good luck to all the parties and candidates though! Fight!

How can it heat up with only one party? And the ¥2000 energy bribe.

Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii, speaking in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, slammed the Kishida administration's plan to bolster Japan's defense forces, saying, "Let's use everyone's power to stop politics that crushes our lives."

The JCP( or maybe it is just Kyodo's spin) needs to be more specific that a military buildup is further distraction from the corporate welfare and corruption of the LDP that is crushing people's lives.

Very little noise pollution in my neighborhood

Even the cicadas seem to be taking it easy

Both waiting for the rainy season to end?

de gozaimasu intensifies...

tamanegiToday  02:51 pm JST

Love the passion and dedication of the candidates quoted in the article. This could be the best election in many years but I'm tipping the LDP to win. That's who the majority of Japanese continue to support and want in government.

No, there isn't much indication that they do. Voter turnout is often pretty low, candidates don't need majorities to win and the LDP are only supported by about 27% of the electorate according to opinion polls. They win because they cheat.

Oh god, loudspeaker time again. We all know which party is going to come out of this smelling like roses. Why bother?

With the heat generated by this election it will take at least 500 elections to boil my egg.