Can Takaichi Win the Tax Cut Battle?

Dispute over Takaichi’s Proposed Consumption Tax Cut

By Takuya Nishimura, Senior Fellow, Asia Policy Point
Former editorial writer for the Hokkaido Shimbun
You can find his blog, J Update here.

August 17, 2026

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on July 30 that she would introduce legislation to reduce the consumption tax rate for food from eight percent to one percent. She hoped the reduction would take effect in April 2027 and continue for two years. The rate would return to eight percent in 2029. Although the national council she launched has not yet reached a consensus on this issue, Takaichi had before her two affordability options: a tax cut or a cash handout. Without meaningful discussion with others, Takaichi picked the former. Even some lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) opposed Takaichi’s arbitrary decision.

A consumption tax cut was originally a plank in the platform of the opposition parties for the Lower House election in February 2026. Recognizing its appeal to the voters, Takaichi took a similar approach for the LDP but with the cut limited to food and to a two-year period, after which the eight percent rate would return. A refundable tax credit would then be introduced. That was Takaichi’s plan.

After achieving victory in last February’s Lower House election, Takaichi launched the multi-partisan National Council for Social Security to discuss and implement her plan. Why social security? That is because revenue from the consumption tax is designed to be spent on social security. The Japan Communist Party and Sanseito were excluded from the council because they had opposed the refundable tax credit. The council had an arbitrary nature from the beginning.

The council failed to reach a consensus. The leading parties, supposedly backed by Takaichi, proposed a reduction in the consumption tax rate on food from eight percent to one percent and an additional cash handout equivalent to the remaining one percent of the consumption tax. The parties sought the same economic effect as the complete elimination of the consumption tax on food. The opposition parties demanded the opposite of what Takaichi later proposed: a cash handout rather than any reduction in the tax rate.

The interim report that the council submitted to Takaichi on July 29 was nothing more than an enumeration of opinions of the parties. They all at least agreed on a cash handout based on family income starting in fiscal year 2029. The council effectively turned down a refundable tax credit because a tax credit would require complicated reform of the taxation system. The council replaced the credit with a cash handout.

It was the next day when Takaichi decided to pick the brains of the leading parties. She advocated for a de facto moratorium on the consumption tax on food for two years and the introduction of another cash handout based on family income. Takaichi tends to make unilateral decisions, leaving minority opinion behind, when she fails to achieve a consensus on an important issue. This habit was seen in the reform of the Imperial House Law in which she insisted on patrilinear succession to the throne of the Emperor.

Takaichi requested the LDP to approve her tax reduction/cash handout plan by early August. However, multiple disputes arose in a meeting of the LDP Research Commission on the Tax System on July 31. One controversy is whether Japan has the fiscal resources to support a tax cut. The moratorium on the consumption tax cut for two years will cost ten trillion yen. Takaichi has not revealed a viable resource for her policy, only referring to some vague reform in spending.

This ambiguity about the fiscal resources for a consumption tax cut has already caught the attention of the markets, which are decidedly skeptical. Although Takaichi reiterated that the tax cut would not require the government to issue more bonds, the long-term interest rate hit a new high in these past three decades. The Japanese yen kept depreciating, inviting coordinated intervention by the governmental authorities of Japan and the United States.

At the meeting of the LDP, lawmakers erupted in frustration. “Finding a resource for the tax cut must be our promise to the voters,” said former Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada, calling for a cash handout instead of a tax cut. Other lawmakers referred to the difficulty in the resumption of the tax rate two years later. An immediate return to eight percent from one percent will mean a noticeable tax increase for taxpayers. “I’ll be responsible for the resumption of the tax rate,” said Takaichi, but no one can guarantee that she will still be the prime minister in 2029.

Having seen an abrupt drop in the approval rating for her cabinet, Takaichi is bent on a consumption tax cut, convinced that the policy can restore her popularity. But the discussion on the consumption tax rate is showing signs of political struggle.

Tomomi Inada is one of the female leaders who would be expected as an alternative to Takaichi. She firmly protested the bill for easing conditions for retrial that was proposed by the Ministry of Justice. Another possible female leader, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yuko Obuchi, stepped down as a core member of the LDP commission on the tax system. Both are frustrated with Takaichi’s arbitral process in deciding such highly important policy as consumption tax cut. 

This internal dispute on a single issue in the LDP reminds us of the sharp opposition over postal reform during Prime Minister Jun-ichiro Koizumi’s tenure in the early 2000s. Facing firm opposition from veterans in the LDP, Koizumi employed populism for his agenda backed by a high approval rate. He labeled those rivals “as protesting powers” against reform and accomplished the postal reform by ousting the protesters from the party. That was called “theater politics” in which a hero defeats bad guys. Can Takaichi be as clever as Koizumi in handling party politics?

The LDP officially approved Takaichi’s consumption tax cut plan on August 5. Takaichi’s allies in the party rallied for implementing her agenda. But some LDP lawmakers are still skeptical about cutting the consumption tax, which is a fiscal resource for welfare policies for aged people. There promises to be an intensive discussion on the tax cut bill in the fall session of the Diet.

LDP's September 27 Presidential Election

Unusual Developments in the LDP’s Presidential Election

By Takuya Nishimura, Senior Fellow, Former Editorial Writer for The Hokkaido Shimbun
The views expressed by the author are his own and are not associated with The Hokkaido Shimbun
You can find his blog, J Update here.
September 2, 2024. Special to Asia Policy Point

As the campaign season for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) enters its initial stages, an unprecedentedly substantial number of candidates – twelve – emerged. Some of them have secured the support of the 20 lawmakers necessary for nomination, while others are still searching. However, it is unclear whether the LDP can demonstrate that it has turned away from its old-style politics that have included obscure political funds and a balance of power among factions. 
 
The day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he would not pursue another term, he encouraged the Ministers in his Cabinet not to hesitate to run in the LDP presidential election. “There must be someone who will consider running in the presidential election. I hope you can make fair discussions as far as it does not disturb your work,” Kishida told them in a Cabinet Meeting on August 15.
 
Kishida’s comment ignited the race. Some ministers immediately expressed their desire to run. “I hope I can make use of my experiences as minister someday,” said Digital Minister Taro Kono. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa expressed determination to take action for her candidacy with deliberation. Even Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito stepped forward, revealing that some of his colleagues expect him to run.
 
Those moves accelerated the decisions of other possible candidates. The next day, Kono met with the boss of his faction, Taro Aso, to request his endorsement. Aso received a similar request from LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi. Aso approved Kono’s candidacy and told Motegi that he would not have the support of the faction as a whole.
 
Others announced their candidacies within the following days. In addition to Kono, former Minister for Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi, former Defense Minister and LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi all said that they would run.
 
Former Minister of Environment Shinjiro Koizumi and Minister for Economic Security Sanae Takaichi followed. As did former Minister for Women’s Empowerment Seiko Noda, former Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Katsunobu Kato, and conservative lawmaker Shigeharu Aoyama.
Among those 12, Kobayashi, Ishiba and Kono held press conferences before the end of August. Hayashi, Motegi, Koizumi, Takaichi and Kato will hold theirs in early September. Those eight lawmakers are reportedly confident that they have secured the endorsement of 20 LDP members in the Diet, as required in the LDP presidential election rules. Noda, Aoyama, Kamikawa, and Saito have not yet collected.
 
Under the rules of presidential election, each LDP lawmaker has one vote for a total of 367 votes. Local party members also may vote, but, regardless of the number of local voters, their votes are aggregated to create a pool of votes that are equivalent to 367 of the lawmaker votes. The pool votes are then allocated among the candidates on pro rata basis.
 
Election to the presidency requires a simple majority of the total votes of lawmakers and local, which will be 734, in the first round. If there is no victor in that round, the party will hold a runoff between the two top candidates. While the Diet members still have total 367 votes in the second round, the votes of local party members are reduced to 47, representing each prefectural branch of the party. Each of 47 local votes will go to a candidate who was number one in the prefecture in the first round.
 
A candidate’s prospects can vary considerably between the first and later round. A popular candidate has advantage in the first round because the local votes carry significant weight. But in the later rounds, coalitions among the groups or factions matters can control a majority of the votes because the local member vote is significantly reduced. 
 
When the campaign officially starts on September 12, some of the 12 possible candidates may have dropped out of the race. Not all the candidates will have 20 endorsements. Even among those who do so far, supporters may shift their endorsements from one candidate to another by September 12.
 
If a candidate drops out, his or her supporters will move to other candidates, changing structure of the race. Some candidates will have a first-round advantage and will aggressively seek victory then. Others, however, will shoot for the second round, leading to elaborate arrangements among different groups. That is, the strategy for the second round will be based on factional politics.
 
The biggest topic of discussion so far is Koizumi’s entry into the race. As a young and hopeful lawmaker, whose father is former – and popular – prime minister Jun-ichiro Koizumi, Shinjiro Koizumi has changed the trend of the polls and overtaken Ishiba among the responders who would support the LDP, not necessarily the members of the LDP.
 
In the poll of Asahi Shimbun late August, Koizumi held 28 percent among the LDP supporters, leaving Ishiba (23 percent) behind. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who had been the guardian of an earlier trilateral coalition of Ishiba, Koziumi and Kono, announced that he would support Koizumi this time.
 
Since local LDP leaders tend to be older, there is a speculation that the veteran Ishiba has the advantage over the young and unexperienced Koizumi in the local members’ voting on September 27.
 
For the candidates who lack broad popular support, how to survive the first round is a great concern. While they campaign among the local party members as much as they can, they and their supporters must consider how to vote in the second round if they are not one of the top two vote getters.
 
Negotiations for the runoff are ongoing behind the scenes right now. Typically, in an LDP presidential election, some leaders who support different candidates in the first round will seek to form a coalition to take united action in the second-round runoff.
 
Possible candidates for LDP presidential election

Name	Age	Cabinet Minister of	LDP Board	Former Job	University
ISHIBA, Shigeru	67	Defense, Agriculture, Local Revitalization	Secretary General,	Mitsui Bank	Keio
KONO, Taro	61	Digital, MOFA, Defense, Administrative Reform	Public Affairs	Fuji Xerox	Georgetown
KOIZUMI, Shinjiro	43	Environment		Father’s Secretary	Kanto Gakuin
KOBAYASHI, Takayuki	49	Economic Security		MOF	Tokyo
MOTEGI, Toshimitsu	68	MOFA, METI, Economic Revitalization	SG, Election Strategy	McKinsey	Tokyo
HAYASHI, Yoshimasa	63	CCS, MOFA, Defense, Education, Agriculture		Mitsui & Co., Secretary	Tokyo
TAKAICHI, Sanae	63	Economic Security, Internal Affairs	Policy Research	Newscaster	Kobe
KATO, Katsunobu	68	MHLW, CCS, Childbirth	General Council	MOF	Tokyo
KAMIKAWA, Yoko	71	MOFA, Justice, Childbirth		Mitsubishi Research	Tokyo
NODA, Seiko	63	Internal Affairs, Women’s Empowerment, Postal	General Council	Imperial Hotel	Sophia
SAITO, Ken	65	METI, Justice, Agriculture		METI	Tokyo
AOYAMA, Shigeharu	72			Kyodo News	Waseda

(Incumbent is underscored)
 
CDP Race with Old Faces
The leading opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), will hold its leader’s election on September 23. A former head of the party Yukio Edano and former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda have announced their bids. The incumbent head, Kenta Izumi, plans to run for a second term. He is still collecting endorsements in the party.
 
Although Edano and Noda have secured 20 endorsements (the same threshold as the LDP’s), Izumi still struggles to gather enough. There is little chance for any new face to emerge. A freshwoman, Harumi Yoshida, and some others hope to run, but have little confidence that they can secure 20 endorsements.
  
Noda has said that the election should not be a race of the old faces – yet he has sought and received the support of the veteran kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa. Edano meanwhile is backed by the biggest faction in the CDP, called Sanctuary.
 
In their press conferences for their candidacies, Edano and Noda made clear their intent to take administration back from the LDP. But the way forward is not clear. They try to approach the Democratic Party for the People and Japan. But the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai) still rejects cooperation with the CDP. A coalition with the Japan Communist Party (JCP) is not a realistic choice, but Edano and Noda have not denied cooperation with the JCP in some districts.
 
Behind the race between the two veteran leaders, CDP members are frustrated that the party has not achieved an obvious boost in the polls because of the LDP’s slush fund scandal.   
 
The greatest concern for the CDP is not attracting the public attention away from the LDP.
 
Possible candidates for CDP leader’s election

Name	Age	Cabinet Position	Party Board	Former Job	University
EDANO, Yukio	60	CCS, METI, Administrative Reform	Head	Lawyer	Tohoku
NODA, Yoshihiko	67	Prime Minister, MOF	Head (DPJ)	Chiba Prefectural Assembly	Waseda
IZUMI, Kenta	50		Head	Secretary	Ritsumeikan
YOSHIDA, Harumi	52			Secretary	Rikkyo
MABUCHI, Sumio	64	MLIT	Diet Affairs	General, Co.	Yokohama National
EDA, Kenji	68		SG (Your Party)	METI	Tokyo

(Incumbent is underscored)

The Power of Nippon Kaigi

Limited Influence over Politics [?]

[says Nikkei's headline, but the article text contradicts this conclusion]

Nikkei Shimbun, October 16, 2016. (in Japanese) Provisional translation for scholarly discussion by Asia Policy Point

Nippon Kaigi [Japan Conference] proposes constitutional revision, visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and the introduction of an education system that better reflects the intrinsic values of Japan to conservative politicians inside the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and other political parties. It hopes to attract like-minded lawmakers. It calls for support for conservative politicians and backs them. In this way it maintains its influence.

“This gathering became my first step toward a career in politics,” said Defense Minister Tomomi Inada when as LDP policy affairs chief she attended an annual national convention for the commemoration of war dead that the Japan Conference co-hosted with other groups last year at Yasukuni Shrine.

At this year’s event, Yoshitaka Shindo, the minister of internal affairs and communications in the second Abe cabinet, was present and called for support for the Japan Conference’s activities. Inada and Shindo are two of the core members of the group’s bipartisan parliamentary league, Nippon Kaigi Kokkai Giin Kondai Kai (the Japan Conference Diet members’ council).

Participation Is Merely “Adding Names to the Roster”
This parliamentarians’ group convenes a general meeting once a year. At the meeting held in March, over 30 Diet members attended and decided on policies on such matters as how to lobby for holding a national referendum on constitutional revision.

Speculation that the Japan Conference has a greater say in the government’s policymaking is sparked by the fact that many incumbent cabinet ministers belong to the group. Though the roster of the latest membership is not made public, Prime Minister Abe and 15 of 19 cabinet ministers belong, according to a source familiar with the matter.

But [asked about their membership,] the offices of several cabinet ministers replied they “have never attended gatherings of the league.” One office staffer said, “We are not aware that we belong to the group.” Though it has a membership of about 290 politicians, only a handful of them – mainly senior old-guard politicians – are active.

Then how much influence does the Japan Conference actually wield over elections? A person with the Japan Conference says that it acts as a “node” of various conservative forces and consolidates them into a single organism. This becomes the source of its influence.

The Japan Conference maintains its influence by closely working with the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership (Shindo Seiji Renmei, or Shinseiren), which comprises religious groups, such as the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honcho). With the help of the Shinto community, it has been rolling out a campaign to collect 10 million signatures to revise the Constitution.

But the Japan Conference has a membership of about 38,000 people. While Nichiiren (Federation of Japanese Doctors), the political arm of the Japan Medical Association, delivers about 200,000 votes to the LDP every election, the Japan Conference has an extremely small organizational base and is not in the position to field its own candidates. Its activities are mainly funded by membership fees and it cannot afford to make political donations to conservative members.

With the Abe government shifting to a realistic approach, how to maintain the national momentum of conservative movements will become one issue that the Japan Conference needs to tackle down the road.

The key is how the Japan Conference will keep facilitating discussions on constitutional revision. Within the LDP, there has been talk of extending Abe’s time in office as the party’s president. On the surface, it stands to gain if Abe, who it backs, stays in power for a longer period of time, but matters are not as simple as that.

“Rather, we are concerned that there is a developing mood wherein constitutional revision needs not to be done quickly if there is an extension of the length of time the LDP president can remain in office,” said a policymaking committee member in the Japan Conference. There are fears the momentum of its national campaign for constitutional revision may slow.

Another worrisome issue is that its activities are not attracting wide support from the public. Birei Kin, a conservative critic and supporter of the Japan Conference, points out that “the same people always participate in its events” and deplores that its campaigns do not reach many.

The Abduction Issue Potentially Starting a New Fire

Now, the emperor, who is the greatest centripetal force of the Nippon Kaigi, also poses a new challenge for the organization. After the Emperor hinted that he would like to step down while alive, nervousness that the current emperor system (in which the Emperor plays a symbolic role) might change fundamentally is simmering inside the Nippon Kaigi. Although the organization on the surface follows the direction that “we must realize it if that is the Emperor’s will,” among the members opposition and push back are strong. For the Nippon Kaigi, the issue might start a new fire.

In recent years, new members recruited through the Internet, especially among the young, are increasing. That said, the trend of non-partisan groups’ conservatism is the real source of the growing attention paid to the Nippon Kaigi. If in the future the non-partisan groups’ preferences change, the possibility of the Nippon Kaigi losing influence certainly exists.

RECONCILIATION AT WATER'S EDGE

How Defense Minister Inada's Yasukuni undermined reconciliation

By Mindy Kotler, APP Director

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s tour of Pearl Harbor highlighted reconciliation and putting an end to Pacific War history. However, Abe’s Cabinet officials were of a different mind. While Abe was in the air returning from Pearl Harbor, his Reconstruction Minister and good friend, Masahiro Imamura, paid homage to the war deities at the Yasukuni Shrine.

Shortly after returning to Japan, Defense Minister Tomomi INADA, who had accompanied the Prime Minister to Pearl Harbor, also visited the Yasukuni Shrine. She is said to be Mr. Abe’s preferred successor. When she was the LDP’s policy chief, she initiated a reevaluation the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. She now administers this on-going investigation. Reportedly, she once said “Yasukuni is not a place to pledge not to repeat the horror of war again. It is a place to promise that 'we will follow in your footsteps if a contingency occurs in our homeland.'"

Yasukuni is not Arlington, nor is the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific that Prime Minister Abe visited in Hawaii. Yasukuni visits have been used in recent decades by Japanese politicians to be naughty. It is a cost-free way to demonstrate independence from the US. The irony is that the visits so antagonize the Chinese that the US is compelled to reaffirm its defense of Japan soon after, drawing Japan closer to the US.

The Meiji Emperor created Yasukuni to militarize a religion (Shinto) in service of the state and to de-legitimatize his enemies (they cannot be enshrined there). It is not a cemetery and it represents only one religion. There are no bodies buried on the grounds. It is for the spirits of the military dead who died fighting for the Emperor who can be identified (the unidentified have their ashes at a non-religious site not far from Yasukuni) and who are not from the under-classes.

Those approved are apostatized--they become gods, one with the Emperor. There are many convicted and otherwise war criminals turned into gods at the Shrine. The Shrine is also only for the Imperial era, which ended August 15, 1945. No one after that date is enshrined. The park surrounding the Shrine has many small memorials to military units that served in the Pacific War, including the Kempeitai (SS-like military police).

The Ministers’ appearance at the Yasukuni Shrine does lessen the impact of PM Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor. It undermines through deed, his words at Hickam Field, barely 12 hours before. That PM Abe did not fire Inada—who visited Yasukuni as Defense Minister not in her personal capacity—suggests that he condoned her actions.

Abe’s tortured prose lingered on expressions of gratitude toward US treatment of defeated Japan. He interpreted reconciliation as American “tolerance” and posed Japan as being passive in its appreciation. It is as if a thesaurus was consulted for a politically acceptable word meaning compassion, mercy, and humanity.

Unsaid, and maybe unintended, was the contrast of American “tolerance” toward its conquered people to Japan’s own conduct of its war in China and the Pacific. Imperial Japan’s conquests were impressive military victories. They were, however, followed by unjustified and horrific violence against noncombatants, POWs, laborers, and the dead.

Condolences are what Mr. Abe gave to those military dead who died in combat at Pearl Harbor. He did not apologize or justify. The visit was framed as if he was going to Yasukuni to honor and pacify the spirits of warriors.

Standing tall at the water's edge does not turn Pearl Harbor into a symbol of reconciliation. It is not a tolerance for an enemies soldiers and sailors. Reconciliation is how today’s Japan answers to Imperial Japan’s wartime atrocities committed against the unarmed. It is no surprise that the trauma of these cruelties is intergenerational.

As Abe ended his remarks, he acknowledged this by promising to continue to make his “wish a reality.” It is something that still needs work. And something that is a responsibility of the Trump White House.

Abe at Pearl Harbor

Japanese PM Abe hugs survivor

Abe offers ‘everlasting condolences’ at Pearl Harbor as Obama praises partnership in peace

BY ERIC JOHNSTON, STAFF WRITER

Japan Times, December 28, 2016

HONOLULU – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s historic visit to Pearl Harbor wrapped up Tuesday with addresses from the Japanese leader and U.S. President Barack Obama on the power of reconciliation and its ability to transform once-hated enemies into close friends and strategic partners.

Seventy five years after the “day of infamy,” on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan attacked U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, Abe and Obama recalled the past but also focused on the importance of the present postwar U.S.-Japan strategic alliance. Abe’s visit and meeting with Obama, who leaves office in less than a month, was an attempt to gird the legacies of both leaders in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of uncertainties surrounding the fate of bilateral relations under President-elect Donald Trump.

In a meeting between the two leaders, Abe thanked Obama for his efforts to work with Japan on a number of issues ranging from dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program to his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, despite opposition by congress and large portions of the American public, as well as Trump, who has announced he will cancel the TPP on his first day in office.

For Abe, the hope is that his trip to Pearl Harbor also sends a message to the U.S., and especially to Trump, that the long-standing postwar relationship should continue, and that the military alliance in particular needs to be strengthened in order to deal with a host of challenges relating to regional security.

While U.S. veterans of Pearl Harbor invited to attend Tuesday’s ceremony appreciated Abe’s visit, how it will be received by the larger American public remains uncertain. Some groups expressed disappointment that Abe offered no apology for the attack, or suggested his administration needs to make similar efforts at reconciliation with not only the U.S. but also other nations victimized by Japan during the 1930s and 1940s.

In a carefully worded address that avoided an apology for Japan’s decision to go to war with the U.S., Abe spoke about the necessity of never repeating the horrors of war. [TEXT]

“As prime minister of Japan, I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place, and also to the souls of the countless innocent people who became victims of the war,” he said.

Abe, who favors revising Japan’s postwar pacifist Constitution to allow for a more proactive military, added that since World War II, Japan has resolutely upheld its vow to never again wage war.

“To the souls of the servicemen who lie in eternal rest aboard the USS Arizona, to the American people, and to all peoples around the world, I pledge that unwavering vow as the prime minister of Japan,” he said.

Obama, who hosted the prime minister in Pearl Harbor seven months after Abe hosted him at Hiroshima, called the visit a historic gesture and also spoke of reconciliation and Pearl Harbor’s historical legacy. [TEXT]

“We cannot choose the history that we inherit. But we can choose what lessons to draw from it. The fruits of peace always outweigh the plunder of war. This is the enduring truth of this hallowed harbor,” Obama said in his remarks following Abe’s address.

In a veiled reference to concerns both in and outside the U.S. created by Trump’s election, Obama also referenced the Japanese phrase otagai no tame ni — doing things with and for each other — as words to follow when resisting the urge to demonize others or turn inwards.

“Over the decades, our alliance has made both of our nations more successful. It has helped to underwrite an international order that has prevented another world war and that has lifted more than a billion people out of extreme poverty. And today, the alliance between the United States and Japan — bound not only by shared interests, but also rooted in common values — stands as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia Pacific and a force for progress around the globe. Our alliance has never been stronger,” Obama said.

Following their statements, Abe and Obama shook hands and exchanged greetings with three survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack, who are now in their 90s. All three welcomed Abe’s visit.

“Apologize for the attack on Pearl Harbor? What for? There’s nothing to apologize for. The U.S. and Japan are friends now,” said Everett Hyland, who was on board the USS Pennsylvania when the attack began and was severely injured by a bomb.

Total U.S. casualties for the Pearl Harbor attack were 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded.

Abe received a brief tour of the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center before proceeding to the Arizona memorial and holding a separate meeting with Obama. He then addressed a crowd that included large numbers of U.S. military personnel and Japanese-American residents of Hawaii.

The visitors center includes displays and explanations of the political situation in the U.S. and in Japan in the 1930s, describing the decisions, especially by Japan, that led to the attack as well as details of the attack itself. It also describes the impact it had in the U.S. as a whole and on Hawaii’s Japanese-American community.

The center’s chief historian, Daniel Martinez, told Abe that “The exhibits reflect the voices and views of people who were involved in the attack or the war, not the opinions of academics.” Abe was accompanied by Defense Minister Tomomi Inada — who in the past has espoused revisionist views of Japan’s wartime history — and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Abe’s gesture was widely welcomed in Hawaii and among Americans and Japanese who deal directly with each other. Its impact in the U.S. as a whole, three-quarters of a century after the attack, is less clear. For most Americans, Pearl Harbor was a long time ago — a different century.

However, for those concerned about historical reconciliation issues in the Asia-Pacific region, there were calls to continue the reconciliation process, especially with Japan’s Asian neighbors.

In an open letter released on Christmas Day, over 50 international historians, filmmakers — including director Oliver Stone — and others asked the prime minister about his views on Japan’s history and about previous public statements he’d made.

“You state that you are going to visit Pearl Harbor to ‘mourn’ the 2,400 Americans who perished in the attack. If that is the case, will you also be visiting China, Korea, other Asia-Pacific nations, or the other Allied nations for the purpose of ‘mourning’ war victims in those countries who number in the tens of millions?” the group asked.

They added that in Diet questioning on April 23, 2013, Abe, as prime minister, indicated that the definition of what constitutes “aggression” has yet to be established in academia or in the international community.

“Does that mean that you do not recognize Japan’s war against the Allied and Asia-Pacific nations and the preceding war against China as wars of aggression?” the scholars asked.

Jan Thompson, president of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society, said she was impressed by the sincerity of Abe’s speech, saying it took moral courage. She said she knew that he would not apologize for the Pearl Harbor attack but encouraged him to visit other Asian countries as well.

“It’s taken 75 years for us to get to this point where a Japanese prime minister can come to Pearl Harbor and make that kind of a speech. However, while some people are saying that his visit means reconciliation with the wartime past is over, it’s actually only one step on the road. Reconciliation is cross-generational,” she said.

Prime Minister of Japan’s Schedule August 8-14, 2016

August 8, 2016


AM
09:22 Meet with National Security Secretariat Secretary General, Mr. Yachi, Cabinet Intelligence Director, Mr. Kitamura, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Foreign Policy Bureau Director General, Mr. Ishikane at the Prime Minister’s Office, followed by former Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister, Mr. Ota. Later meet with Supreme Court judges, Mr. Kizawa (newly appointed) and Mr. Yamaura (retiring).
10:09 Attend a cabinet meeting, followed by a meeting of the Reconstruction Promotion Council. Later attend a meeting of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development.
10:53 Meet with Finance Minister, Mr. Aso, Vice Finance Minister, Mr. Sato, Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs, Mr. Asakawa, and Director General of the Budget Bureau, Mr. Fukuda. Later meet with Economic Revitalization Minister Ishihara, Cabinet Office Parliamentary Vice Minister, Mr. Nishikawa, Cabinet Office Deputy Director General, Mr. Habuka, and Cabinet Office Director Generals for Economic, Fiscal and Social Structure, Mr. Niihara and Mr. Tawa.
11:54 Meet with National Personnel Authority President, Ms. Ichimiya. Minister in Charge of Civil Service Reform, Mr. Yamamoto, Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs’ Director General, Mr. Hagiuda and Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Suga are present. Later attend a liaison conference between the government and the ruling parties. Later meet with Komeito Chief Representative, Mr. Yamaguchi.

PM
12:35 Meet with Defense Minister, Ms. Inada. Later meet with Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, Mr. Seko.
13:26 Meet with LDP Policy Research Council Chairman, Mr. Motegi. Later meet with Mr. Yachi, Mr. Kitamura, Mr. Ishikane, Defense Policy Bureau Director General, Mr. Maeda and Admiral Mr. Kawano, Joint Staff Chief.
14:38 Meet with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sugiyama and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Akiba, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister’s Special Advisor, Mr. Eto.
15:24 Interview open to all media. Later attend a meeting of the Council on Economy and Fiscal Policy. Afterwards meet with Mr. Kitamura, Mr. Maeda and the Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Headquarters Director, Ms. Miyakawa. Mr. Kitamura stay behind.
16:54 Meet with LDP Secretary General, Mr. Nikai and Kochi Prefectural Governor, Mr. Ozaki and others.
17:06 Meet with Mr. Yachi and Mr. Sugiyama. Later meet with Mr. Ishikane, Mr. Maeda and Mr. Kawano, followed by Mr. Yachi, Mr. Sugiyama and Mr. Akiba.
18:49 Meet with Japan Business Federation Honorary Chairman, Mr. Imai and the prime minister’s secretaries at the “Kioi Club” in town of Kioi.
21:34 Arrive at his private residence in Tomigaya.

August 9, 2016

AM
07:02 Depart his private residence in Tomigaya.
07:55 Depart Haneda Airport by JAL flight 605 accompanied by Health, Labor and Welfare Minister, Mr. Shiozaki.
09:19 Arrive at Nagasaki Airport.
10:29 Attend the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony at the Peace Park in Nagasaki City.

PM
12:19 Attend a “town hall for A-bomb survivors” at Hotel New Nagasaki followed by a press conference.
14:11 Depart Nagasaki Airport by ANA flight 666.
15:38 Arrive at Haneda Airport.
16:22 Meet with National Police Agency Commissioner Generals, Mr. Sakaguchi (newly appointed) and Mr. Kanetaka (retiring) at the Prime Minister’s Office. Later meet with Consumer Affairs Agency Commissioners, Mr. Okamura (newly appointed) and Ms. Bando (retiring). Afterwards meet with Minister for Working-style Reform, Mr. Kato.
18:28 Arrive at his private residence.
20:20 Dinner with friends at “Sumibi-Kushiyaki IW” restaurant in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture.
22:34 Arrive at his private villa in village of Narusawa.

August 10, 2016

AM
07:22 Depart his private villa in Narusawa.
07:27 Play golf with friends at Narusawa Golf Club.

PM
15:32 Arrive at his private villa.
18:21 Dinner with the prime minister’s secretaries at “Ryo” restaurant in Kawaguchiko.
20:37 Arrive at his private villa.

August 11, 2016

AM
06:19 Depart his private villa in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture.
06:42 Play golf with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Vice President, Mr. Takahashi Seiichiro, Kake Educational Institution Board of Trustees Chairman, Mr. Kake Kotaro and others at Fuji Golf Course in Yamanakako.

PM
16:15 Arrive at his private residence in Tomigaya.
18:14 Dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi and the prime minister’s secretaries at “en boca Tokyo” pizza restaurant in town of Motoyoyogi.
20:35 Arrive at his private residence.

August 12, 2016

AM
09:36 Depart his private residence in Tomigaya.
10:52 Depart Haneda Airport on ANA flight 693.
11:55 Arrive at Yamaguchi Ube Airport.

PM
12:06 Lunch with his secretaries at the restaurant “Curry House NEW OX.”
13:21 Visit his former secretary’s house to express sympathy in Mine City.
14:57 View bronze statue of [poet and songwriter] Misuzu Kaneko
15:58 Meet with Nagato Mayor, Mr. Onishi Kurao.
16:31 Pay homage at Iiyama Hachiman Shrine.
17:07 Visit workshop of ceramic artist, Mr. Sakakura Shinpei.
18:09 Dine with his wife, Akie, Nagato mayor, local supporters, and others at the Japanese inn “Otanisanso” and stay the night there.

August 13, 2016

AM
08:45 Depart Japanese inn “Otanisanso” in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, with his wife, Akie.
09:10 Make condolence visit to his supporter’s house.
09:40 Visit his father’s grave [former Foreign Minister Abe Shintaro]. Later, grant interviews to various media outlets.
11:30 Make condolence visit to house of person involved with his support group in Shimonoseki City.

PM
12:03 Hold meeting of his support group at his residence.
13:57 Make condolence visit to house of person involved in his support group.
15:43 Attend Buddhist memorial service for the person involved with his support group held at Shimonoseki Tenreikaikan Hall.
16:09 Visit his supporter at Takeshisa Hospital.
16:33 Make condolence visit to his supporter’s home.
17:20 Arrive at his residence.
18:38 Meet Yamaguchi Bank Chairman, Mr. Fukuda Koichi at Yamagin Museum.
19:17 Deliver speech at the Kanmon Straits fireworks display. View fireworks.
20:29 Enjoy summer festival at Iminomiya Shrine. Deliver speech.
21:05 Visit Uzuhouse mall with his wife, Akie.
21:35 Dine with persons involved with his support group at Japanese restaurant “Kinkei.”
22:52 Arrive at his residence.

August 14, 2016

AM
07:52 Depart his residence in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
08:25 Make condolence visit to his supporter’s house.
09:11 Make condolence visit to his office staff member’s house.
10:18 Commemorative photo with people at Sanyo Jidoshado Tonomi Parking Area in Hofu City.
11:03 Make condolence visit to former Home Affairs Minister Ms. Fubuta Akira’s house in Tabuse Town, with Lower House member, Mr. Nishimura Yasutoshi and Upper House member, Mr. Kitamura Tsuneo.
11:37 Pay respects at gravesite of his grandfather, former Prime Minister, Mr. Kishi Nobusuke, accompanied by Senior Vice Foreign Minister, Mr. Kishi Nobuo and Mr. Fubuta.
11:50 Meet with Mr. Fubuta and Mr. Nishimura at Mr. Kishi’s residence.

PM
12:22 Visit restaurant “Western” at Sanyo Jidoshado Kudamatsu Service Area in Kudamatsu City.
14:31 Depart Yamaguchi Ube Airport on JAL flight 294.
15:46 Arrive at Haneda Airport.
16:21 Arrive at his private residence in Tomigaya.

Defense Minister Inada

Tomomi INADA

[稲田朋美, Inada Tomomi]

Full Biography prepared by Asia Policy Point

Official Website

LDP English Profile

Cabinet English Profile

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Mrs. Inada visits Washington for the first time as Defense Minister September 15 through 16. She gave a presentation at CSIS on the 15th prior to her meeting with US Defense Secretary Carty. The video of her CSIS presentation last year has been removed. Today's video is above.

Prior to her appointment as Defense Minister, Inada was chair of the ruling party’s Policy Affairs Research Council. In the first Abe II cabinet, she was a multi-portfolio Cabinet Minister. A trained lawyer with accounting skills, she is in her fourth term in Japan’s Lower House. She is close to PM Abe, shares his political views, and is said to be his chosen successor as PM. She is a prominent advocate of ultra-conservative nationalist causes and is cautious toward regulatory changes, such as those needed for joining TPP that would affect Japan’s traditional way of life. 

Inada advocates for an aggressive, government campaign to combat “false” international impressions of Japanese war history and rejects the American-imposed constitution as contrary to Japanese values. She heads the LDP policy committee to examine the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal believing that the war crimes identified were fabrications [this committee was created Nov 20, 2015, anniversary of the handing down of death sentences to Tojo and other Class A war criminals]. She holds leadership positions in parliamentary leagues for visiting Yasukuni and rejecting the Nanking Massacre and Comfort Women as fact. She was a signatory to the anti-Comfort Women advertisements in the Washington Post (2007) and the New Jersey Star Ledger (2012).

Abe supporters, Abe successors

Doubts about Shinzo Abe’s health and ability to serve as president of the LDP emerged in late June. According to an article in the August 27^th  issue of the Shukan Bunshun, Abe’s ulcerative colitis resurfaced. 

The gossip magazine claims that he began to vomit blood during a dinner meeting with JR East President Tetsuro Tomita, JR East adviser Mutsutake Otsuka, and LDP policy chief Tomomi Inada. The magazine speculates that these health problems, stemming in part from stress, forced him to tone down his speech commemorating the end of World War II.

Rumors about Abe’s health and fitness for office appear regular in the tabloid press. Nevertheless, Abe won the LDP presidency unopposed in early September with his term expiring in 2018. This begs the question, “Who will win succeed him as LDP president and, by extension, Prime Minister?”  Some think that if Abe finds it difficult to carry out his duties due to bad health, he will name Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso or LDP Secretary-General Sadakazu Tanigaki as his successor in a bid to maintain his influence.

According to a March 10^th article in The Japan News, an English-language news source published by the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun, LDP factions have neglected grooming candidates that would be able to muster support like Abe. Some contenders, however, are beginning to appear.

Abe has recently called attention to Tomomi Inada, a member of his own Hosoda faction and the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform. She is expected to be named the Chief Cabinet Secretary or Minister of Economics, Trade, and Industry (METI) in Abe’s new cabinet, according to a September 4^th article in the liberal magazine, Shukan Asahi. Inada has defended Abe, even in his disagreements with members of his own cabinet, such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, as reported in the August edition of Facta. Abe’s focus on Inada, whom he likens to Joan of Arc, makes her his likely choice for the next Prime Minister.

Toshimitsu Motegi belongs to the Nukaga faction, currently second in strength behind Hosoda. His faction has been rocked by calls for him to take over Fukushiro Nukaga’s leadership role, and by scandals over misuse of political funds involving Yuko Obuchi, the faction’s previous choice for LDP president. Currently, the Shukan Asahi reports that Motegi is the Nukaga faction’s candidate of choice.

Fumio Kishida, who serves as Foreign Minister, is the Kochi-kai group’s choice to lead the party. He supported Abe in his 2015 bid for presidency, but is expected to mount his own campaign in 2018. Outlying candidates include Shigeru Ishiba and Seiko Noda, who vocally oppose Abe, have not yet been unable to secure enough support to overtake him, as the Shukan Asahi reports.

The magazine observes that both Ishiba and Noda see an opportunity after the Upper House election next summer. The LDP is expected to face an uphill battle in this election due to the unpopularity of the security and TPP legislation with the prospects of losing many seats. Prime Minister Abe may step down and the LDP may hold its presidential election in the autumn. er. The Abe Cabinet aims to enact the security bills within September. There are also concerns over possible economic downturn, as preliminary GDP figures for the April-June quarter released recently showed negative growth.

Although Abe has successfully defended his position in the LDP, rumors of his illness, coupled with a field of aspiring leaders, makes future party infighting a strong possibility. Individual approaches to upcoming contentious issues, including collective self-defense, may reveal more about the LDP’s future and stability.

As the Shukan Asahi concludes: "The LDP is still controlled solely by Abe. But possible successors to Abe are seeking an opportunity to become next prime minister. When will the signal gun be fired for the start of race for premiership?"