Japan 2021: No Time to Breathe - a podcast by Sam Rippon and Chern Han Mah

This week’s episode looks back on the recently-concluded Norwegian coalition negotiations and looks ahead to the upcoming Japanese general election. After September’s Storting election, Norway finally has a new government with Jonas Gahr Støre being sworn in as the Prime Minister leading a minority Labour-Centre coalition. Halting hopes for a new Red-Green coalition, why did the Socialist Left withdraw from the negotiations and was it politically-expedient for them to do so? Will this government manage to survive a full term in office? Why did the Centre Party take on large foreign policy roles in the Cabinet?

With Japan’s 100th Prime Minister Fumio Kishida facing a general election in his first month in office, is the LDP heading for another big victory? Yoshihide Suga left the governing party with low approval ratings after an unpopular Olympic Games and troubled Covid record, but Kishida is hoping to revive their fortunes and fend off a collaborating Opposition. Is he capable of reviving their fortunes and weathering a mixed record in the post-Suga era? Does the electoral system protect the LDP from a surprise Halloween loss? Is the Opposition capable of uniting to defeat the historically-dominant LDP when still under different party brands? All these questions and more answered in this week’s episode.

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