The Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for almost all of the postwar era, selected hardline conservative Takaichi as its new head in a weekend vote

International News via Reuters:

Sanae Takaichi’s bid to become Japan’s first female prime minister was thrown into doubt on Friday when her ruling party’s junior coalition partner quit.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for almost all of the postwar era, selected hardline conservative Takaichi as its new head in a weekend vote. But she must win approval in parliament to become premier later this month. 

That had been seen as fairly straightforward given her coalition had by far the most seats, though it was short of a majority. But with partner Komeito’s exit and opposition parties seeking to unite behind an alternative candidate, her path has suddenly become less certain. 

Following a meeting with Takaichi on Friday, Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito said the two parties’ 26-year partnership had broken down over the LDP’s failure to respond to a political funding scandal that has dogged the ruling group for two years. 

He said Komeito would not support Takaichi in the parliament vote, expected to be held in the second half of October.

Takaichi called Komeito’s decision “extremely regrettable” but said she would do whatever she could to win parliament’s backing.

The political turmoil comes ahead of a number of Japanese diplomatic engagements, with multilateral summits in Malaysia and South Korea, and U.S. President Donald Trump widely expected to visit Japan at the end of the month.

The yen strengthened as much as 0.5% to 152.38 per dollar after the news. It had fallen to an eight-month low earlier this week as investors fretted that Takaichi’s big spending plans would weigh on the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Yoshinobu Tsutsui, head of Japan’s biggest business lobby Keidanren, also lamented Komeito’s decision and said he was worried about political instability.

”With urgent policy challenges piling up at home and abroad and key diplomatic engagements imminent, political stability is indispensable. In this context, it is truly regrettable that Komeito has made this announcement,” he said.

CHALLENGE FROM OPPOSITION

With Komeito gone, Takaichi may seek to broker alliances with other parties such as the centre-right Innovation Party.

But they may think twice, said James Brown, a political science professor at Temple University Japan.

“This is in all likelihood going to be an unpopular and potentially very short-lived government, given the real weaknesses going into it. Do you want to tie your party to that?”

Meanwhile, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party has suggested it may support the charismatic leader from another opposition party Yuichiro Tamaki as a candidate to challenge Takaichi for the premiership.

Tamaki, head of the populist Democratic Party for the People, said in a post on X that he was “prepared to serve as Prime Minister” and was deeply honoured by the CDP’s support.

Opposition parties can put forward their own candidates when parliament meets to vote on the next premier.

Any candidate who secures a simple majority in the first round wins approval. If not, the two candidates with the most votes go into a run-off.

Together the CDP and DPP control 175 seats in the lower house. The LDP is the largest party with 196 seats, 37 short of a majority.

Takaichi’s selection as LDP leader last week dampened market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike, sending stocks higher and weakening the yen. She is known for her staunch support of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” stimulus policies.

“If opposition parties and Komeito team up to choose Tamaki as leader, that will create an administration consisting of an opposition alliance,” said Takahide Kiuchi, an economist at Nomura Research Institute. “The recent market moves that have priced in Takaichi’s economic policy will be rolled back.”

Komeito’s Secretary General Makoto Nishida told a press conference Japan had entered an “era of the multi-party system” and that his party would strive to become “the axis of centrist, reform-oriented political forces.” 

Komeito, a socially liberal party affiliated with a lay Buddhist organisation, had also criticised Takaichi’s tough language on foreigners and visits to the Yasakuni Shrine – seen by neighbours as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Kantaro Komiya, Leika Kihara and Tim Kelly; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Kim Coghill, Kate Mayberry and Hugh Lawson

The exercise “sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said

International News via Reuters:

NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon, will be hosted by the Netherlands and start next week, with 71 aircraft from 14 nations taking part, officials from the Western military alliance said on Friday.

The exercise “sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

Rutte made his remarks in a video message recorded at Volkel airbase in the Netherlands, the main host of this year’s drill.

Bases at Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in Britain and Skrydstrup in Denmark will also be involved, NATO said.

“We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible,” Rutte said.

The exercise does not use nuclear weapons but simulates scenarios in which they could be used, NATO officials said.

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have at times warned of the danger of nuclear confrontation with NATO, which has condemned such rhetoric as irresponsible.

In recent weeks, however, nuclear tensions have cooled. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to maintain for one year the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set out in the New START Treaty, which expires next February.

Jim Stokes, NATO’s director of nuclear policy, told reporters at alliance headquarters in Brussels that Steadfast Noon was “routine” and “not directed at any country”.

“It’s also not linked to any real-world events,” he said.

Reporting by Andrew Gray, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Aidan Lewis

The quake, in waters off the town of Manay in the province of Davao Oriental, triggered a tsunami alert for coasts within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre

International News via Reuters:

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least two people, while towns near the epicentre suffered structural damage and authorities warned of strong aftershocks. 

The quake, in waters off the town of Manay in the province of Davao Oriental, triggered a tsunami alert for coasts within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre, but the warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia were subsequently lifted.

There were initial reports of damage to homes, buildings and bridges, one official in Manay said, although the full extent of the damage in the Philippines was not immediately clear.

At least two people were killed, civil defence official Karlo Puerto said by telephone, both in Mati City close to where the quake struck. There were no other reports of casualties from regional disaster offices contacted by Reuters. 

The quake was among the strongest in recent years to hit the Philippines, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences more than 800 quakes each year.

It came two weeks after the Philippines experienced its deadliest earthquake in more than a decade with 74 people killed on the central island of Cebu following an offshore quake of magnitude 6.9.

VEHICLES SHAKING, GATES RATTLING

A video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed people in the city of Davao calmly holding on to parked vehicles that rocked from side to side as the ground shook, as metal gates rattled nearby. 

Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay, said the quake lasted 30 to 40 seconds and damaged some homes and the facade of a church, while leaving cracked roads and unpassable bridges.    

“We couldn’t stand earlier. I am 46 years old now, and this is the strongest earthquake I ever felt,” Diuyen said by phone. 

Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said authorities were assessing the situation and search-and-rescue teams would fan out once it was safe.

“We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it,” he said in a statement.

WARNING OF STRONG AFTERSHOCKS

Seismology agency Phivolcs warned of aftershocks as large as magnitude 6.4 and urged people in affected areas to stay away from the shoreline. People in coastal areas had earlier been told to move inland or seek higher ground.

Verfied footage from the southern Philippines showed workers filing out of buildings to gather in the streets, lamps swaying in shops, and offices with toppled cabinets and workers holding on to desks as structures and fittings around them creaked. 

Video images from Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi showed fishing boats returning from sea and children playing on a beach from which water had receded. 

Phivolcs revised down the magnitude to 7.4 from an initial figure of 7.6, and put the quake’s depth at 23 km (14 miles). 

The governor of Davao del Norte in the Philippines said people panicked when the earthquake struck.

“Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Edwin Jubahib told broadcaster DZMM. “It was very strong.” 

Reporting by Mikhail Flores in Manila and Ananya Palyekar and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ananda Teresia and Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by John Mair and Clarence Fernandez

The union’s members had previously voted in favour of a walkout to pressure Lufthansa into agreeing a more generous pension deal

International News via Reuters:

Lufthansa will continue talks with German pilots’ union VC over a pension dispute, both parties said on Friday, averting a possible strike at its core airline for the time being.

The union’s members had previously voted in favour of a walkout to pressure Lufthansa into agreeing a more generous pension deal.

After constructive talks on Thursday, both parties said they are exploring the option of further negotiations and new dates.

While Lufthansa has not submitted a new offer, there have been indications that a solution can be found, said a spokesperson for VC, or Vereinigung Cockpit.

“We are still committed to finding a solution without strikes,” said a Lufthansa spokesperson.

The union is demanding higher employer contributions to company pension plans for the 4,800 cockpit employees of the core airline brand Lufthansa and the cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo.

Lufthansa sees no financial leeway for this, as its core brand has excessive costs and hasn’t been earning any money since last year, and has threatened to move more jobs to its cheaper subsidiaries, Discover and City Airlines.

Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Writing by Miranda MurrayEditing by Ludwig Burger