The fact that the Liberal Democratic Party avenged its defeat of four years ago and recaptured power in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was virtually a given in light of the Abe administration’s sky-high popularity and general momentum in the first half of 2013. But there were some notable subplots that revealed truths about the opposition parties, giving us a window into what to expect in next month’s House of Councillors elections.
“We Want to Go Fishing!” was the slogan of a rally organized by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (JF Zengyoren) in Tokyo on May 29. As the yen falls, so the price of fuel is soaring and reaching a level that some fishermen say they can no longer endure.
At a meeting held on May 22 in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Filipino counterpart Albert del Rosario confirmed that Tokyo would be providing ten vessels to the Philippine coast guard “with an eye on China,” according to the Asahi Shinbun. The Philippines have long been considered among the weakest military powers in Southeast Asia, while Japan chose in the 1960s not to export weapons, as part of its postwar focus on economic reconstruction.
Tokyo Skytree, the world’s largest broadcasting tower, is reaching two important milestones in the month of May 2013. It has recently recorded its 50 millionth visitor and, on the 22nd, it celebrates its first anniversary. Skytree cost more than US$650 million to build and stands some 634 meters (2,080 feet) in height.
Complaints are growing about the increasing number of joggers around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and the alleged bad manners that some of them are showing.
Japanese activists petition their government to abandon plan to export Fukushima food as Overseas Development Assistance.
Footage of the March 11, 2011, earthquake as experienced in the Akasaka district of central Tokyo.
