Political News(2025/01/31)
Record number of suicides among children and students; government to overhaul measures
2025-01-31 22:25:00
In response to the record high number of children and students who committed suicide in 2024, the government held a countermeasure meeting with relevant ministries and agencies and confirmed that it would conduct a fact-finding survey to ensure that children who are taken to the hospital for acts of self-harm, etc. are connected to support in the community, as well as a comprehensive review of the measures taken by each ministry and agency to date.
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Prime Minister Ishiba meets with UN General Assembly President Yang during his visit to Japan to work together on Security Council reform
2025-01-31 22:22:00
Prime Minister Ishiba met with UN General Assembly President Yang, who is visiting Japan, and conveyed his intention to work together toward reform, saying it is clear that the Security Council is not functioning properly in responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other actions.
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Petition submitted to Minister of Justice Suzuki regarding review of application criteria for dangerous driving resulting in death or injury
2025-01-31 20:52:00
In connection with the review of the requirements for applying the crime of dangerous driving resulting in death or injury, groups calling for stronger penalties for drunk driving met with Justice Minister Suzuki to request that he consider amending the law so that egregious cases are not overlooked.
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Suicides among children and students hit record high - Minister of Children Mihara calls for "united government response"
2025-01-31 20:30:00
In response to the fact that the number of children and students who committed suicide last year reached a record high, Minister of State for Children's Policy, Mihara, called the situation extremely worrying and called on the relevant ministries and agencies to swiftly implement all possible measures, while emphasizing his intention to take the lead in tackling the issue as a united government.
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At the House of Representatives Budget Committee, the CDP called for "revising the budget proposal" and Prime Minister Ishiba called for "better policies."
2025-01-31 19:37:00
The Diet began substantive deliberations on the new fiscal year budget on the 31st. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan called for revisions to the government's budget proposal, claiming that it was unable to address rising prices and other issues. In response, Prime Minister Ishiba said that he had made the best possible proposal, and indicated his intention to seek to realize better policies while listening to the opinions of each party.
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Free high school tuition: LDP, Komeito and Nippon Ishin Party hold hearings with experts
2025-01-31 19:33:00
A specialist team on education from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Japan Restoration Party conducted hearings with experts and, while opinions were generally in support of making high school tuition free, some pointed out that implementing the plan from April of this year would be difficult from a practical standpoint.
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Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump to hold first Japan-U.S. summit meeting on February 7
2025-01-31 19:13:00
The first Japan-U.S. summit meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and U.S. President Trump is expected to take place in Washington on February 7th local time. Prime Minister Ishiba hopes to build a relationship of trust through the meeting and further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance.
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Speaker of the House of Representatives Nukaga: "I want to reach a certain conclusion during this Diet session" regarding Imperial succession
2025-01-31 18:55:00
The Speaker and Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Councillors, as well as representatives of each political party, met to discuss how to ensure a stable Imperial succession, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nukaga, expressed his intention to reach a certain conclusion during the current Diet session.
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LDP submits bill to amend Political Funds Control Law to make corporate and group donations more transparent
2025-01-31 18:22:00
In order to increase transparency in corporate and organizational donations, the Liberal Democratic Party has submitted a bill to the House of Representatives that includes provisions requiring each political party to disclose the total amount of donations and the names of companies and organizations that have made large donations.
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Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications: "Guidelines to be drawn up by spring" to combat online false information
2025-01-31 17:30:00
Regarding issues such as false information on the Internet, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Murakami stated at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting on the morning of the 31st that he intends to implement comprehensive measures, including formulating guidelines this spring that indicate what type of distribution of information is illegal.
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Prime Minister Ishiba questions new fiscal year budget proposal "to increase growth potential" at House of Representatives Budget Committee
2025-01-31 17:04:00
The Diet began substantive deliberations on the new fiscal year budget on the 31st. Prime Minister Ishiba explained that the budget plan aims to boost growth potential by promoting investment in the fields of AI and semiconductors, while also drawing out the potential of local areas, and asked for understanding for its early passage.
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LDP approves amendments to Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act and other laws at meeting, to be submitted to Diet
2025-01-31 16:44:00
A bill to amend the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act and other laws, including making it mandatory for local governments to publicly announce the status of stockpiles of disaster supplies, was approved at a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party. The government plans to submit the bill to the Diet soon, with the aim of passing it.
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Prime Minister Ishiba questions new fiscal year budget proposal "to increase growth potential" at House of Representatives Budget Committee
2025-01-31 15:52:00
The Diet began substantive deliberations on the new fiscal year budget on the 31st. Prime Minister Ishiba explained that the budget plan aims to boost growth potential by promoting investment in the fields of AI and semiconductors, while also drawing out the potential of local areas, and asked for understanding for its early passage.
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Tokyo's new fiscal year initial budget proposal: Largest ever at over 9 trillion yen to strengthen childcare support
2025-01-31 15:45:00
Tokyo's initial budget proposal for the new fiscal year 2025 has a total general account budget of 9.158 trillion yen, the largest ever, due to increased efforts to support families with children and young people, such as making childcare fees free for the first child.
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Suematsu, House of Councillors Committee on Political Ethics: "I asked influential former Abe faction members but there was no clear answer"
2025-01-31 15:38:00
Regarding the issue surrounding the political fundraising parties held by a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Suematsu, who appeared before the House of Councillors Political Ethics Committee, explained that he had questioned prominent members of the faction about the circumstances under which refunds for sales that exceeded quotas had been resumed, but had not received a clear answer.
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Former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Suematsu and Takahashi, both from the former Abe faction, attend the House of Councillors Ethics Committee
2025-01-31 15:19:00
Regarding the issue surrounding the political fundraising parties held by a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Suematsu, who appeared before the House of Councillors Political Ethics Committee, explained that he had questioned prominent members of the faction about the circumstances under which refunds for sales that exceeded quotas had been resumed, but had not received a clear answer.
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Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump to hold first Japan-U.S. summit meeting on February 7
2025-01-31 15:17:00
The first Japan-U.S. summit meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and U.S. President Trump is expected to take place in Washington on February 7th local time. Prime Minister Ishiba hopes to build a relationship of trust through the meeting and further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance.
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CDP leader Noda: "Create an environment for joint submission of bill banning corporate and group donations"
2025-01-31 14:04:00
Regarding efforts to restore trust in politics, Constitutional Democratic Party leader Noda stated at a press conference that he would like to create an environment in which a bill to ban corporate and organizational donations can be jointly submitted by many opposition parties, including the Japan Restoration Party.
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Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications: "Guidelines to be drawn up by spring" to combat online false information
2025-01-31 13:34:00
Regarding issues such as false information on the Internet, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Murakami stated at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting on the morning of the 31st that he intends to implement comprehensive measures, including formulating guidelines this spring that indicate what type of distribution of information is illegal.
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Prime Minister Ishiba: "The highest number of suicides among children is a serious matter and measures need to be examined"
2025-01-31 13:05:00
Regarding the fact that the number of children and students who committed suicide last year was the highest ever, Prime Minister Ishiba said at the House of Representatives Budget Committee, "This is a serious matter. We need to examine what countermeasures were effective, and we will increase budgets and personnel for those that are effective."
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Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to "Study Impact" of President Trump's Tariff Plan on Canada, etc.
2025-01-31 12:07:00
In response to U.S. President Trump's renewed announcement of his intention to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico from February 1, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Muto noted that Japanese companies have established supply chains in both countries, and indicated his intention to carefully examine the impact of the tariff measures.
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Prime Minister Ishiba questions new fiscal year budget proposal "to increase growth potential" at House of Representatives Budget Committee
2025-01-31 12:05:00
The Diet began substantive deliberations on the new fiscal year budget on the 31st. Prime Minister Ishiba explained that the budget plan aims to boost growth potential by promoting investment in the fields of AI and semiconductors, while also drawing out the potential of local areas, and asked for understanding for its early passage.
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Prime Minister Ishiba: "The highest number of suicides among children is a serious matter and measures need to be examined"
2025-01-31 12:04:00
Regarding the fact that the number of children and students who committed suicide last year was the highest ever, Prime Minister Ishiba said at the House of Representatives Budget Committee, "This is a serious matter. We need to examine what countermeasures were effective, and we will increase budgets and personnel for those that are effective."
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Defense Minister Nakatani holds first telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense to confirm policy to strengthen Japan-U.S. alliance
2025-01-31 11:36:00
Defense Minister Nakatani spoke with U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth over the phone for the first time, and confirmed the intention to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance under the new Trump administration, amid an increasingly severe security environment in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Egg prices rise due to bird flu, Agriculture Minister Eto says "efforts to prevent spread of infection"
2025-01-31 11:30:00
Regarding the rise in egg prices, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Eto pointed out the impact of avian influenza and expressed his intention to make efforts to prevent the further spread of infection.
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Prime Minister Ishiba's Activities January 30, 2025
2025-01-31 11:11:00
Prime Minister Ishiba's Activities January 30, 2025
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Defense Minister Nakatani speaks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth over the phone for the first time
2025-01-31 08:16:00
Defense Minister Nakatani held his first telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth on the morning of the 31st. Although the details of the conversation have not been made public, it is believed that they confirmed the policy of strengthening the deterrent and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance even under the new Trump administration.
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Substantial deliberations begin on new fiscal year budget proposal; debate over measures to combat rising prices intensifies
2025-01-31 05:04:00
The Diet will begin substantive deliberations on the new fiscal year budget on the 31st. The ruling and opposition parties will begin full-scale debate over the basic policy of the Ishiba Cabinet, measures to combat rising prices, and efforts to restore trust in politics.
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