![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() by Staff Writers Tokyo (AFP) Oct 6, 2017
The popular governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, Friday unveiled her policy platform to unseat Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledging to scrap nuclear power by 2030 and freeze a planned tax hike. Koike, who has shaken up the sleepy world of Japanese politics with her new Party of Hope, aims to distinguish herself from Abe with her vow to phase out nuclear power in Japan, still haunted by the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. The party also promised to ditch a proposed sales tax hike from eight to 10 percent. Abe plans to use part of the proceeds from the raise to boost funding for childcare as the country battles a falling birth rate. Dubbing her new policy platform "Yurinomics" -- a clear allusion to her opponent's "Abenomics" -- she said she aimed to "provide hope to Japan and its people". Koike hopes to put up enough candidates to form a majority in the 465-seat lower house of parliament after a snap election called by Abe for October 22. But she has repeatedly stressed that she will not run herself for a seat in parliament, concentrating on running Tokyo, the world's biggest city and the host of the 2020 Olympic Games. By law, the Japanese prime minister has to be a member of parliament, meaning that Party of Hope voters have no clear idea at the moment who they would be electing to run the world's third-largest economy. Her reticence to go all in with her political gamble appears to be taking some of the wind out of her sails. After an initial blur of publicity and some favourable polling numbers for Koike, Abe's conservative LDP party appears to be holding its lead ahead of the official start of campaigning on October 10. Abe called the snap election hoping to take advantage of a disorganised and weak opposition but was caught unawares by the media-savvy Koike, who unveiled her new party just hours before his election announcement.
![]() Washington (AFP) Oct 1, 2017 Just a few years ago, Facebook and Twitter were hailed as tools for democracy activists, enabling movements like the Arab Spring to flourish. Today, the tables have turned as fears grow over how social media may have been manipulated to disrupt the US election, and over how authoritarian governments are using the networks to clamp down on dissent. The latest revelations from Facebook and ... read more Related Links Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com
![]()
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |