Liberal Democratic Party "total defeat"

April 26, 2021 (Monday) Fine

・First national election under the Suga administration: by-elections for Hokkaido 2nd district and Nagano district, and a re-election in Hiroshima, all decided on the 25th.

Liberal Democratic Party “all loses.” Also a blow to future governance.

・Nikkei News and TV Tokyo <9413> [Close 2,293 yen] Public opinion polls conducted from April 23 to 25.

Support for the Suga Cabinet at 47%, roughly unchanged from 45% in March.

Regarding the government's COVID-19 measures, 65% said they do not evaluate them, a record high, up 10 points from the previous survey in March.

Evaluation of the COVID-19 response “positive” has declined by 8 points from the previous survey to 30%, the lowest in the history of these polls.

During the first state of emergency in May 2020, it was 38%; during January 2021, it was 39%.

・Japan Airlines (JAL) <9201> [Close 2,201 yen] Plan to consolidate China-based low-cost carrier Spring Airlines Japan (Narita, Chiba) as a subsidiary.

Plan to invest several tens of billions of yen by June and acquire a majority stake in the company.

Rebuild growth strategy with a view to a post-COVID tourism demand recovery.

・Japanese companies are hurriedly reviewing supply chains to avoid human rights abuses.

Investigate overseas suppliers for child labor or forced labor and, if needed, switch procurement sources.

・A Nikkei Poll asked who would be most suitable as next prime minister.

First place: Tarō Kono, Minister of Regulatory Reform, 24%; second: Shigeru Ishiba, former LDP secretary-general, 16%; third: Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment, 14%.

Fourth: Shinzo Abe, former prime minister (8%); fifth: Fumio Kishida, former chairman of the Policy Research Council (5%); sixth: Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister (4%).

・Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings <9501> [Close 317 yen] Regarding the plan to discharge Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant treated water into the sea, according to Nikkei poll:

54% said it is appropriate, 38% said not appropriate.

“Appropriate” support was 67% among ruling party supporters and 41% among opposition supporters.

・Nagoya mayoral election to fill vacancy: incumbent independent Takashi Kawamura (72) to win a fifth term on the 25th vote-count.

Voter turnout 42.1%, 5.2 points higher than the previous 36.9%.

・In the first national elections since Suga took office, both houses’ three elections resulted in opposition parties (including Constitutional Democratic Party and Democratic Party for the People) uniting to achieve results, while the Liberal Democratic Party failed to win any seats.

This could affect Prime Minister Suga’s dissolution strategy.

・On the 25th, the state of emergency was applied to Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto prefectures.

Shut‑down and shortened hours for department stores and restaurants led to crowds in Tokyo’s Ginza and Osaka’s Namba dropping 30–40% from the previous Sunday.

On the other hand, compared to last spring’s first wave, foot traffic is higher, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the declaration.

・Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings <9501> [Close 317 yen] The three-year midterm management plan,

If Kawasaki’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant cannot be restarted due to regulatory actions, consolidated ordinary profit for the quarter ending March next year would be 75 billion yen lower than if it resumes operation.

・Katsunori Tamura, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, on the 25th said about July start of general vaccination for those under 64: “If there is enough vaccine, it is possible.”

Vaccination for the elderly is slated to be completed by the end of July, and there is also consideration to run general vaccination in parallel before completion.

・President Joe Biden on the 24th,

described the killings of Armenian civilians begun in 1915 during World War I by the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) as “genocide (massacres of a people).”

Turkey, an ally, strongly opposed this, making reconciliation even more difficult.

・Real estate prices in South Korea continue to rise.

In just over four years since Moon Jae-in took office, Seoul condo prices have risen by about 80%.

In the metropolitan area, high rents are forcing residents to become “apartment refugees,” a social issue, making it almost certain that housing will be a focal point in the 2022 presidential election.

・Global COVID-19 cases and (deaths per day) as of 4/25 4:00 PM, compiled by Johns Hopkins University: World total 146,470,000 cases (13,121 deaths)

U.S. 32,045,236 (722); India 16,960,172 (2,767); Brazil 14,308,215 (3,076); France 5,534,656 (217); Russia 4,099,988 (390); Turkey 4,591,416 (339)

U.K. 4,418,810 (32); Italy 3,949,517 (322); Spain 3,468,617 (0); Germany 3,291,293 (118); Argentina 2,845,872 (298); Poland 2,751,632 (515)