Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future is uncertain, but an unlikely campaign for him to stay was growing online this week, including from people who are his natural political opponents.
The life raft has emerged since upper house elections on Sunday last week deprived Ishiba’s coalition of an upper house majority, months after it saw a similar disaster in the lower chamber.
Despite Ishiba insisting that he has not discussed his resignation with members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), multiple reports said that it is just a matter of time.
Photo: AFP
Some conservative members of the LDP are collecting signatures to hold a special meeting to discuss a leadership election to oust Ishiba, Fuji TV reported yesterday.
One reported signee is hardline nationalist Sanae Takaichi, who would likely run again to lead the party if Ishiba does depart.
The prospect of someone as premier with hawkish views on Japanese history and China has fueled online calls for the moderate Ishiba to remain in power under the hashtag “#IshibaDon’tQuit.”
Some of the calls came from opposition politicians, including even from a Communist Party member of a local ward assembly.
Ishiba “is the most reasonable LDP leader in recent memory,” Social Democratic Party Legislator LaSalle Ishii said.
“If he resigns, a far-right government will be born,” he said.
Reiwa Shinsengumi leader Taro Yamamoto was among the first to voice concern about Ishiba’s replacement.
“The question is, if he were not to continue, who is going to replace him instead?” he said. “His economic policies are no good, but for Ishiba-san to continue, I think it’s a safe choice.”
A rally was also planned for yesterday evening in front of Ishiba’s office to urge him to stay, although it was uncertain how many would attend.
Shortly after last week’s election, a Kyodo News survey put the approval rating for the Ishiba government at just 22.9 percent.
However, in that same poll, 45.8 percent of the public believed there was no need for him to resign.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
‘HEALTH ISSUE’: More than 250 women are hospitalized every day due to complications from unsafe abortions, and about three die, a study showed Jane had been bleeding heavily for days before finally seeking help, not from a hospital, but from the man who sold her the pills meant to end her six-week pregnancy. Abortions are strictly outlawed in the mainly Catholic Philippines, forcing women to turn to a patchwork of providers operating in the online shadows. While rare in practice, Philippine law allows for prison terms of up to six years for abortion patients and providers, leaving thousands of Filipinas to search for solutions in online forums where unlicensed sellers promote abortifacients. “It was very painful, as if my abdomen was being twisted,” said Jane, whose
RSS