(20 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS –
Tokyo, Japan – 20 July 2025
1. Various of Tokyo residents casting votes in polling station
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Daiichi Nasu, self-employed:
“I immediately rule out any party that uses issues centered around foreigners as a campaign platform.”
3. Voter at polling station
4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Daiichi Nasu, self-employed:
“I believe foreign labor is necessary, especially with the labor shortage. And when it comes to foreigner-related problems, I think Japan should be more open to accepting refugees. So, the idea of exclusion doesn’t sit right with me. I voted with those hopes in mind.”
5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Shogo Takeshima, office worker:
“I think we should accept foreigners who follow the rules and have come to Japan properly. Since Japan is facing a declining birthrate, I think it’s better to continue accepting foreigners who can help support Japanese society.”
6. Various of voters in polling station
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Satoko Takeshima, office worker:
“Real estate prices are rising now, and it’s becoming a situation where Japanese people can’t afford to buy homes. This is mainly because foreign investors are buying properties for short-term investment purposes, which drives up prices. I see this as a moral issue — people who genuinely want to live in these homes, who want to buy and live in them, can’t. Even if they want to live in Tokyo, they can’t. I think that’s a serious problem, and I really hope proper regulations will be put in place for foreign investors.”
8. Voter in wheelchair enters polling station
9. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Satoko Takeshima, office worker:
“I also want inflation countermeasures to be improved first, and since I’m currently in the child-rearing generation, I want child-rearing policies and policies that make it easier to think about continuing to raise children.”
10. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuko Tsuji, office worker:
“In the midst of such chaos, I’ve come to feel that I want to vote for candidates who won’t fuel division, even slightly.”
11. Various of voters inside polling station
12. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuko Tsuji, office worker:
“As for the policies I consider important, of course the economy is one of them, but I also wish there were more political parties that talked about national security. It’s not just about immediate, everyday issues — national security is becoming a very important matter for future generations, including our children. It also ties into trade. So I really think it would have been better if there were more candidates who addressed these topics.”
13. Various of voters entering polling station in Tokyo
14. Various of campaign posters of different party candidates outside polling station
STORYLINE:
Japanese were voting Sunday for seats in the smaller of Japan’s two parliamentary houses in a key election with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his ruling coalition facing a possible defeat that could worsen the country’s political instability.
Voters were deciding half of the 248 seats in the upper house, the less powerful of the two chambers in Japan’s Diet. Early results were expected Sunday night.
Ishiba has set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which means his Liberal Democratic Party and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito need to win 50 to add to the 75 seats they already have.
That is a big retreat from the 141 seats they had pre-election, but media surveys predict big setbacks for Ishiba.
“That’s why I voted for the CDPJ,” he said. “I want to see progress on those fronts.”
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/338bf66946834b819bd7b98b1e5ff237
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in July 25, 2025, 6:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
