Japan

A week is a long time in politics. The global headlines about Japan having its first woman prime minister, who happened to have played drums in a heavy metal band, to like pork buns, and […]

In the election for the Japanese House of Representatives, held on 27th of October, the Liberal Democratic Party/Komeito coalition government of Shigeru Ishiba lost its majority. The government was expecting to do badly in the […]

Employers’ responses to union demands in the annual spring labour offensive (Shunto) have inspired newspaper headlines announcing “the biggest wage increases in 30 years”. The Rengo, the largest Japanese trade union federation, announced on March […]

The shock waves from the assassination of Abe Shinzo are still resonating across the globe. Members of the political class, both from the most liberal to the most conservative, are singing eulogies to the career […]

After being in power since 2012, the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito (a conservative party linked to a lay Buddhist organisation) retained its majority in the Japanese Lower House election. The ruling […]

On 8 July, just over two weeks before the games were due to open, Japanese premier Suga Yoshihide announced that the Olympics would be held without spectators. This was the result of a rebound in […]

On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake hit north eastern Japan. It was followed 50 minutes later by a 14-metre tsunami, devastating coastal areas. Nearly 20,000 people died in the most costly natural disaster […]

2020 was a tempestuous year for Japan, as well as the rest of the world. In August, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history. However, it had been clear for […]