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With the Golden Week holidays done, the upper house campaign heats up

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I had an article for Nikkei Asia on the challenges Ishiba faces before the upper house elections.

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The rundown

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and senior leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided against including a consumption tax cut proposal in the party’s upper house manifesto, despite pressure from within the party even as opposition parties are competing to offer their own tax cuts. Meanwhile, Ishiba faces more allegations of campaign finance violations, while one of his leading critics within the LDP triggered widespread controversy over his remarks on a monument in Okinawa. The Diet prepares to consider legislation on multiple contentious issues, including pension reform, separate surnames, and gasoline taxes. The Ishiba government shrugged off the US trade deal with the United Kingdom, while it held a ministerial-level dialogue with the European Union as they seek to deepen economic coordination. Plus: the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) faces some growing pains. All of this and more in This Week in Japanese Politics.