Democratic Party News

Moves to oust unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso will intensify if, as many expect, his ruling bloc fares badly in a key local election on Sunday that is considered a bellwether for a coming national poll.

THIS week's cyber attacks on South Korea are believed to have been mounted from 16 different countries but North Korea was not among them, Seoul's spy agency has said.

The Diet passed bills Wednesday that tighten controls on foreign residents, paving the way for them to take effect within three years, despite opposition from foreigners and human rights activists.

Had the outcome of Sunday's Shizuoka gubernatorial election been different, it would have had a major bearing on Prime Minister Taro Aso's decision to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election.

Prime Minister Taro Aso could face intensified pressure to step down from fellow lawmakers within his Liberal Democratic Party if the ruling party suffers a setback in the upcoming Tokyo assembly election, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe suggested Monday.

A Democratic Party of Japan-backed candidate won Sunday's gubernatorial election in Shizuoka, seeing off his main rival backed by the ruling coalition and dealing a further blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso ahead of the looming general election.

Support for the Democratic Party of Japan is solid ahead of Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun opinion poll conducted over the weekend.

Speculation is swirling over whether unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will soon call an election, due by October, or be ousted before the poll.

Official campaigning kicked off Friday for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, widely seen as a bellwether for the Lower House ballot that could be held as early as next month.

Official campaigning began Friday for the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, widely seen as a bellwether for the upcoming general election to be held by October.

Amid continuing objections from the Democratic Party of Japan and others, preparations for the proposed National Center for Media Arts, or "state-run 'manga' cafe" as it is known by its detractors, have begun in earnest.

Talks between the ruling coalition and opposition Minshuto on a special measures bill to provide relief for people yet to be recognized as Minamata disease patients moved into the final phase Tuesday.

Prime Minister Taro Aso gave up an apparent plan to rejigger the Liberal Democratic Party's top posts Wednesday as strong opposition from LDP heavyweights only left him leeway to fill two Cabinet posts concurrently held by other ministers.

UNPOPULAR Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that he might add fresh faces to his cabinet and revamp his party's leadership as moves grew to oust him ahead of an election the ruling bloc looks set to lose.

A new political party could take the reins in Japan for the first time in than more than a decade.

Next month's Shizuoka gubernatorial election is shaping up to be a tight two-way race between a former university president and former House of Councillors member, a Yomiuri Shimbun survey suggests.

As speculation grows over the timing of the next general election, Prime Minister Taro Aso began moving Saturday toward holding it in early August, coalition sources said.

A plan to use 11.7 billion yen from the supplementary budget to build a national comprehensive media arts center dubbed the "anime hall of fame" has drawn criticism.

Two reformist politicians widely considered free of scandal were forced Wednesday to answer allegations they received illegal contributions from a futures trading company via a dummy entity.

Former Texas Rangers executive Tom Schieffer has officially announced he will run for governor as a Democrat.