The church's shadow | Today in Japanese politics

LDP candidates speak in Okinawa but a new revelation about the Unification Church overshadows the debate, tensions between the CDP and the JCP, and Kamikawa will be called away from the campaign

Thank you for reading Observing Japan. In light of the volume of activity in Japanese politics, “This Week in Japanese Politics” will become “Today in Japanese Politics” through the LDP election on 27 September. I cannot guarantee it will truly be published daily, but my goal will be to update this feature several times a week for paid subscribers.

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Readers can also find my views on the LDP race in the following articles:

• Alastair Gale, “Latest Polls Suggest Japan Leadership Race Is a Three-Way Tussle,” Bloomberg

I also spoke with the Sankei Shimbun in an interview about the LDP leadership election published here.

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The rundown

The Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership campaign moved along to Naha, Okinawa, where the nine candidates spoke to party supporters about national security and economic revitalization in the prefecture, though the bigger story of the day is the revelation of a photograph suggesting a closer relationship between Abe Shinzō’s LDP and the Unification Church (UC). Meanwhile, Koizumi Shinjirō picked up some more support from lawmakers. In the CDP leadership race, the candidates did not debate, but called for further investigation into the LDP-UC relationship. Otherwise, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) announced new lower house candidates, who would face CDP candidates, while the CDP announced a new candidate to run against an LDP heavyweight. In economic policy, Koizumi’s labor market proposal faces more questions, while in foreign policy, Kamikawa Yōko will leave the campaign trail to attend the UN General Assembly. Finally, candidates talk about their campaigns, their policies, and their favorite politicians.

The LDP leadership election

The LDP candidates gather on stage following a forum in Naha, Okinawa. Screenshot by author.

The LDP candidates donned their kariyushi and headed to Okinawa for another candidates forum on Tuesday, 17 September. During the forum, Ishiba Shigeru, who has spoken about the impact of US bases on Japan and called for revising the status of forces agreement (SOFA), apologized for the burden on Okinawan communities and the inadequacy of Tokyo’s efforts to secure local support for the plan to build a Futenma replacement facility in Henoko. While Kamikawa Yōko acknowledged recent issues with sex crimes involving US forces in the prefecture and Hayashi Yoshimasa lamented delays in closing Futenma, the candidates addressed national security more broadly – recognizing Okinawa’s presence at the “frontlines” of tensions with China – rather than narrower concerns about the US military presence in the prefecture.