A MAGA like movement is growing in Japan which became more evident after their recent upper house election that saw the ruling LDP lose majorities in both houses for the first time since 1955:

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba walks after addressing the media at the vote counting center in the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. AFP-Yonhap

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition failed Monday to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, NHK public television said.

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already have to retain their majority. With just one more seat to be decided, the coalition had 47 seats.

The loss is another blow to Ishiba’s coalition, making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan’s political instability. It was the first time the LDP has lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party’s foundation in 1955.

Korea Herald

It looks like if Prime Minister Ishiba wants to create a new coalition he is going to have to change government policy to address the concerns of the Sanseito party which saw massive gains in this election:

The emerging populist party Sanseito stands out with the toughest anti-foreigner stance, with its “Japanese First” platform that proposes a new agency to handle policies related to foreigners. The party’s populist platform also includes anti-vaccine, anti-globalism and favors traditional gender roles.

Conservative opposition groups, especially the DPP and Sanseito, gained significant ground at the Liberal Democrats’ expense, while the centrist top opposition CDPJ was sluggish. The DPP quadrupled to 17 seats from four, according to interim results reported by Japanese media. Sanseito surged to 14 from just one.

You can read more at the link, but of course the media is claiming that Sanseito is xenophobic for wanting to limit immigration to protect Japanese culture.

The Dokdo defense drill may have been low key this year, but at some point when the Lee administration needs to provoke anti-Japanese sentiment to obscure some domestic political issue, expect some kind of Dokdo crisis. Even a conservative president has used this tactic. Anyone remember when President Lee Myung-bak tried to pass an information sharing deal with Japan a few years ago and it caused a public outcry and he had to cancel the deal?  It was so bad he had to fly to Dokdo and speak out against Japan to prove he was not a Japanese traitor:

 South Korea conducted regular defense drills near its easternmost islets of Dokdo on Thursday, a military official said, in what marked the first such exercise held under the Lee Jae Myung government.

“The Navy and the Coast Guard conducted the drills in the East Sea,” the official said, stressing they are part of regular drills aimed at defending South Korea’s territory and its people’s properties.

In a similar scope compared with the biannual drills conducted last year, the defense drills did not involve the Marine Corps.

Some of the drills in the past involved fighter jets and landing maneuvers on the islets, but they have taken place in a relatively low-key approach recently.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This interview with a U.S. diplomat really just affirms everything the Trump administration has been asking other allies to do, which is increase defense spending:

 A U.S. diplomat on Friday reaffirmed the United States’ “ironclad” security commitment to South Korea, but called on the Asian ally to make the “highest-level” efforts to strengthen its own defense capabilities.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, State Department deputy spokesperson Mignon Houston made the remarks amid expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration might request South Korea to bolster its defense spending and military capabilities as it prioritizes deterring threats from an assertive China.

Houston also pointed out that addressing North Korea’s nuclear quandary remains a “priority” issue that Washington has “not taken our eyes off of,” while underscoring that the Trump administration is looking forward to working “very closely” with the government of new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

“South Korea is a strong and capable partner. President (Trump) believes that South Korea has the ability to ensure at the highest level that their defense capabilities are refined and strong. This is something we know we need,” she said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There is still plenty of procedural hurdles this bill has to go through before being passed, but the Senate is trying to prevent the Trump administration from making any proposed cuts to USFK’s current troop levels:

 A Senate defense policy bill for fiscal year 2026 includes a ban on the use of funds to reduce the number of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops below the current 28,500, its text showed Thursday amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration could seek a USFK troop cut.

Posted on Congress’s website, the Senate bill — the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — contains the ban for the first time in five years. It also reaffirms the “sense of Congress” on reinforcing the South Korea-U.S. alliance by maintaining the current USFK troop level.

The bill comes amid speculation that the Trump administration could consider a USFK reduction and call on South Korea to increase its defense spending for its own defense, as Washington prioritizes deterring the “pacing threat” from an increasingly assertive China.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Horrible flooding tragedy currently going on in South Korea:

Seventeen people have been killed and 11 have gone missing in the heavy rains and landslides that began across South Korea four days ago, the government said Sunday.

The data from the interior ministry and the National Fire Agency, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, also showed that a large portion of the toll — 10 dead and four missing — occurred in the southern county of Sancheong.

The other deaths occurred in Osan and Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province; Seosan, South Chungcheong Province; and Dangjin, South Chungcheong, and the southwestern city of Gwangju.

Firefighting officials said rescue work was still under way in Sancheong, which could lead to a change in the toll.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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