The government and the CDP make a deal | This Week in Japanese Politics

Pension reform will move ahead, Koizumi announces his plan for rice sales, and looking for progress in US-Japan trade talks

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.

I will also hold a monthly call for paid subscribers in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more information about how to join.

---

The rundown

The ruling parties and the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) make a deal on pension reform, shifting the outlook for a no-confidence motion. Meanwhile, the opposition parties — and the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) agriculture tribe — have been backfooted by Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjirō’s swift campaign to reverse surging rice prices. Trade negotiator Akazawa Ryōsei, just returned from talks in the United States, will be returning later this week for the next round, suggesting progress, though there are few details about whether the gap between the two governments has narrowed. Plus: the dangers of rising government bond yields. All of this and more in a new This Week in Japanese Politics.