Major Quake Hits Osaka
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on June 19, 2018.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on June 19, 2018.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on April 8, 2018.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on February 10, 2018.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on December 22, 2017.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on December 5, 2017.
With the passage into law on July 28 of the House of Councillors electoral district reform bill, there has been some amelioration of the wide disparity in the weight of individual votes. Nevertheless, many believe that the reforms of the new law as well are far too timid. It will still remain the case that one person’s vote in some prefectures will have the weight of almost three peoples’ votes in other prefectures.
What follows is a party-by-party survey of what these elections mean for the twelve largest political parties in Japan. The ruling party’s 65-seat pick up was not all that it could have hoped for in light of the sky-high approval ratings of the Abe Cabinet, but it was definitely good enough to provide the basis of a stable government for the next three years.