Politics

What will happen to Ishiba and the LDP following their crushing defeat in the polls in Japan?
28Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, China, Politics

What will happen to Ishiba and the LDP following their crushing defeat in the polls in Japan?

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba insisted on Monday he would not step down and reached out to potential political allies following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s resounding defeat in the lower house election. Analysts were surprised at the scale of the party’s poor performance and said the election outcome on Sunday would be fatal to the fortunes of Ishiba and the LDP. Most of them projected that Ishiba would no longer be in post by the time of upper house elections in July. Only elected head of the party on October 1, Ishiba could be in office shorter than even former Japanese prime minister and LDP chief Sosuke Uno, according to analysts. Uno was in power for just 68 days in 1989 after revelations of his affair with a geisha forced him to resi
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Following a sudden election, Japan’s politics experience an unusual dose of turmoil.
28Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, China, Politics

Following a sudden election, Japan’s politics experience an unusual dose of turmoil.

Japanese elections are normally steady and boring affairs - but this snap election was neither. The dramatic vote follows a political funding corruption scandal that was revealed last year, which implicated senior lawmakers and cabinet members from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), tarnishing its image and angering the public. It was the perfect storm - a scandal that saw dozens of LDP lawmakers investigated over pocketing millions of dollars in proceeds from political fundraisers, while households struggled with inflation, high prices, stagnant wages and a sluggish economy. In the end, a furious and tired electorate sent a strong message in Sunday's vote, punishing the LDP at the ballot box. And it was a stunning blow: a party which had ruled Japan almost cont...
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Sri Lankan Tamil Politics: A New Script?
28Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, Politics

Sri Lankan Tamil Politics: A New Script?

Tamil politics in Sri Lanka has entered uncharted territory. The cracks in Tamil politics had been evident for some time but with the September 21 presidential elections, it has broken into fragments. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake received little support from the Tamil electorate but so did the candidate endorsed by the Tamil Nationalist Alliance’s (TNA) leadership (Sajith Premadasa), the so-called common Tamil candidate fielded in a challenge to the TNA (Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanenthiran) and the incumbent candidate (Ranil Wickremesinghe). Breaking with a long tradition of electoral loyalty to the leadership, the Tamil vote is thus comprehensively split. This impedes bargaining positions on cardinal Tamil grievances and aspirations. Yet the present political moment also opens new o
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AL is unable to make a political return in Bangladesh: BNP
28Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, Politics

AL is unable to make a political return in Bangladesh: BNP

BNP senior leader Mirza Abbas on Monday said the deposed Awami League will not be able to stage a comeback in Bangladesh politics if BNP and Jamaat remain united. Speaking at a memorial meeting, he said that BNP is willing to rebuild the country alongside its longstanding ally, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, in the days ahead. “We must strive for a unity so that we can rebuild this country beautifully. Let’s work we both work together for the sake of the nation. Together, we will adorn the country,” he said, reports UNB. Abbas made the remarks during a discussion organised by the Dhaka south city unit of Jamaat at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in memory of those killed on that day in 2006 with oars and sticks. Abbas, a BNP standing committee member, claimed that altho
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Chinese government officials phone women and encourage them to have children.
28Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, China, Opinion, Politics

Chinese government officials phone women and encourage them to have children.

Chinese grass roots government workers, who spent decades imposing strict birth control policies, are now calling up women in their neighbourhoods to urge them to get pregnant amid China’s demographic crisis. When Jane Huang picked up the phone to answer a call earlier this month, her first response to the person on the end was to laugh. “[Hello!] Is that Ms Huang? Sorry to disturb you. I am from your sub district office, are you pregnant now?” Huang, a 35-year-old working mother of one son who lives in the southeast coastal province of Fujian, said the overly enthusiastic social worker even asked about the timing of her most recent period and offered to give her a reminder call when it was “the right time” to conceive another baby. “I laughed so hard when I told my husba
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Biden Aids in the Battle Against Middle East Wars Ahead of the U.S. Election
26Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Politics, World

Biden Aids in the Battle Against Middle East Wars Ahead of the U.S. Election

It is not where the Biden administration wants to be less than two weeks before the U.S. presidential election. Israeli attacks with American-made bombs continue to wipe out Palestinian families in Gaza. The war in Lebanon is expanding. And Israel and Iran’s exchanges of direct attacks could escalate, following Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military sites early Saturday. With many progressive voters and Arab and Muslim Americans in battleground states furious at President Biden for his unwavering support of Israel’s offensives since the devastating Hamas assault last year, U.S. officials had been desperate for some way to prod the Middle East toward stability. Then came Israel’s Oct. 16 killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, which Biden officials saw as a fresh o
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Trump and Harris are two representatives of American politics in West Asia.
26Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, Politics, World

Trump and Harris are two representatives of American politics in West Asia.

In the United States, voters do not directly elect the president. Instead, the Electoral College determines the final result of the elections. Thus, a candidate can win by securing a majority of electoral votes even if they do not achieve a majority of the popular vote. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, with each state having a specific number of representatives based on its population. Currently, seven states remain in contention, and victory in these "swing states" could determine the ultimate outcome of the elections. The candidate who manages to gather 270 electoral votes will be declared the winner. One of these "swing states" is Michigan, home to over 300,000 residents of North African or Middle Eastern descent. Traditionally, these voters have leaned Democratic,...
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The New Japan-Taiwan Relations and the Change in Japanese Politics
25Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, Politics

The New Japan-Taiwan Relations and the Change in Japanese Politics

Ishiba Shigeru last month won the race to become the next Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president, and thus the next prime minister of Japan. His ascendancy marked a major break. For more than 20 years since the Mori Yoshiro administration, the Seiwa Political Analysis Council (or Seiwa Kai for short, the faction of the former prime minister and LDP heavyweight Abe Shinzo) has been at the center of LDP politics. Excepting the period during which the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) held power, every Japanese government this century has either come from the Seiwa Kai or has governed with the faction’s support. Although the Seiwa Kai is now formally dissolved, it still does exist, more or less, as a group within the LDP, and the results of this election mean that for
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The LDP is predicted to lose support as Japan PM Ishiba’s defense reforms confront an electoral obstacle.
25Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Asia, Opinion, Politics

The LDP is predicted to lose support as Japan PM Ishiba’s defense reforms confront an electoral obstacle.

New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces major obstacles in pushing his ambitious defence agenda as polling suggests his party will lose ground in Sunday’s general election, forcing it to lean more heavily on its pacifist coalition partner. Analysts say Japanese voters are more focused on domestic issues such as rising living costs than foreign policy or defence, which will also make it difficult for Ishiba to prioritise his controversial security reforms that include a proposal for an “Asian version of Nato”. Polling ahead of the October 27 election indicates the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) may lose its majority in the lower house, which means it is likely it will have to rely on its coalition partner, Komeito, to remain in power. The LDP, which has held s
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How Israeli settlers transformed Israel’s politics and democracy from the periphery
24Oct By Spost_adminNo Comments
Politics, World

How Israeli settlers transformed Israel’s politics and democracy from the periphery

The increase in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank over the past year has been unprecedented. Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack and the start of the war, there have been more than 1,000 attacks, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. The spike, which has raised international alarm, is often blamed on the permissive policies of Israel’s right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a UN investigation, nearly half of all settler attacks documented in October 2023 were conducted in collaboration with, or in the presence of, Israeli military forces. I have studied Jewish violent extremism for more than 20 years. I would argue these developments result from long processes tied to the erosion of Israe
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