Back to reality | This week in Japanese politics
Tariffs move to the fore after the summit and the government's budget negotiations continue
Thank you for reading Observing Japan. This post is available to paid subscribers. “This Week in Japanese Politics” will be published for paid subscribers once or twice a week.
If you are looking for timely, forward-looking analysis of the stories in Japans’s politics and policymaking that move markets, I have launched a new service through my business, Japan Foresight LLC. For more information about Japan Foresight’s services or for information on how to sign up for a trial or schedule a briefing, please visit our website or reach out to me.
The rundown
Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru returned from the US to positive reviews of his summit with Donald Trump, but his government is still working to pass a budget for FY2025 budget, with no opposition party having committed to supporting the budget yet. The LDP and Kōmeitō will discuss the terms of their cooperation in the July upper house elections, while LDP lawmakers are debating the party’s approach to the separate surname issue. Meanwhile, the Ishiba government is assessing the impact of pending US tariffs and considering its response, and, ahead of a potential visit by the US Secretary of Defense, Japan has indicated who will lead the Self-Defense Forces’s new joint operational command. All this and more, including a newly declassified memo on a 1971 meeting between Richard Nixon and the Showa Emperor in a mid-week edition of This Week in Japanese Politics.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Observing Japan to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.