News & Insights

The House of Representatives was dissolved at the beginning of the Extraordinary Diet session today.  Towards the general election held on 22 October, the ruling and opposition parties will go into a fierce battle for the house's 475 seats.  The surp...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced to dissolve the House of Representatives on 28 September at a press conference held today. The general election will be officially announced on 10 October and held on 22 October. He revealed his new goal, which is ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems to have decided to dissolve the House of Representatives as he convenes the Extraordinary Diet Session on 28 September.  It was said that the House would be dissolved in mid-November, considering by-elections for the H...

The next Extraordinary Diet Session will be convened on Thursday, 28 September.  The government and the ruling party was targeting 25 September initially; however, considering the Emperor's schedule and Prime Minister Abe's visit to the UN, they conc...

Seiji Maehara, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was elected as a new leader of the Democratic Party (DP) today.  At the contest, Maehara won 502 points, about 60% of the votes, while his rival candidate Yukio Edano gained 332.  His predecessor, ...

Prime Minister Abe and British Prime Minister May agreed to accelerate a preparation for the bilateral free trade negotiations at the joint press conference last night. They also reached an agreement to establish a new ministerial-level framework for...