Greetings to anyone who reads my blog!! I hope my posts are a helpful resource to stay abreast of the latest developments in Japan and an entertaining list of news that interests a wide range of readers. My aim has been to be both informative and professional in the way I compile the news every week.
This edition, as I mentioned in the 9/6-9/10 newsletter, is a special one that compiles all the policies and statements the three candidates–Kishida Fumio (岸田文雄), Takaichi Sanae (高市早苗) and Kono Taro (河野太郎)–have released since they announced their candidacies. It is a comprehensive document that covers policies, statements, analysis and the latest from candidate actions to factional decision making within the LDP.
The document was created to provide an in-depth look at the election which will decide the president of the party and by extension the next prime minister of Japan. We Japanese citizens don’t get to vote unless you are a party member so it may feel irrelevant, but it is an extremely important election that comes before the House of Representatives election. The results of that election will decide whether the LDP remains in power or if the opposition will take over the government.
I personally had trouble keeping up with the endless new developments. I decided that documenting them in one place would help clear things up and provide a better picture of what’s happening. Hopefully the number of pages in this document doesn’t scare you from reading it! I’ve placed bookmarks on each section to ensure readers/users can skip to the parts that seem interesting or relevant to them.
That being said, here is how I organized the document:
1. A table of the policies or relevant statements candidates have made
2. A table of how factions have lined up for this election
3. Other relevant developments mostly focusing on statements and actions taken by key political figures
4. Media analysis on the candidates and factional decision making
5. Opinion polls on who voters want as next prime minister
6. A list of each candidate’s actions or statements roughly in the last two weeks
7. A comprehensive list of all policies and statements made by the candidates broken down by official documents and news clippings
No. 1 and No. 7 are pretty much the same except No. 7 is a much more fleshed out version of No. 1. No. 1 has been my attempt to try and capture the most important policies in eight categories–COVID-19, Economic/Monetary Policy, Growth Strategy, Foreign Policy/Security, Social Welfare, LDP Reform, Constitution, and Other Policies.
Hopefully this is a good resource that helps wrap your head around all that’s been going on! Please contact me via email (rintaro.nishimura@gmail.com) or Twitter (@RinNishimura) if there is anything that seems to be missing or if you’d simply like to tell me how good a job I did 🙂
Don’t forget to follow this blog and my Twitter account–happy reading!!
–-Rintaro Nishimura
Photo：TTTNIS（2012年自由民主党総裁選挙街頭演説会・長野市）
Rintaro Nishimura 