New Man, New Plans
NEED TO KNOW
New Man, New Plans
JAPAN
When Ishiba Shigeru was running to become leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, he promised to “speak the truth with courage and sincerity.”
His comments appeared designed to address Japanese voters’ concerns about the performance of outgoing Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, whose approval ratings were “wallowing” at less than 30 percent, just before the East Asian country holds parliamentary elections on Oct. 27, the Economist wrote.
So far, Shigeru, known as a maverick and a populist with a liberal tinge, has been making good on his promise.
First, Shigeru has long been considered an outsider among the Liberal Democrats for his willingness to buck party bosses, as World Politics Review noted. Accordingly, the first thing he did in his first speech after he was sworn in as premier on Oct. 1 was to apologize for the slush fund scandal that has tainted the Liberal Democrats’ reputation, reported the Associated Press.
Shigeru, a former banker who has served in a number of cabinet posts including as defense minister, is now considering whether to endorse Liberal Democrats connected to the scandal, which involved hidden campaign funds, noted the Japan Times.
Second, Shigeru has argued that the Japanese government must address economic inequalities between urban and rural areas. To that end, he has vowed to end the deflationary environment that has curbed growth in Japan for decades, while also helping Japanese citizens who are suffering due to the inflation that has struck their economy in recent years, the Financial Times explained.
He called on lawmakers to support his plan to send stimulus checks to low-income households, subsidize local governments and raise the minimum wage, Reuters reported.
That’s not Shigeru’s only balancing act. He wants to strengthen Japan’s military; not to undercut the defense pact between his country and the US – a vital part of Japan’s plan to counter China’s growing power – but to reduce the asymmetry between them.
“Today’s Ukraine may be tomorrow’s East Asia,” he said in his inaugural speech, according to Nikkei Asia. “Japan is facing its most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II. There is no doubt that we should fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.”
Analysts such as Stanford University international policy lecturer Daniel Sneider say that Ishiba may be “the most intriguing and potentially difficult leader” of Japan for Americans. That’s because, as Sneider wrote in Toyo Keizai Online, the new leader “has a reputation as a Japanese Gaullist, someone willing to forge a more independent path for Japan.”
Still, Japan might for example seek out a cooperation agreement with the US on how to handle a possible nuclear confrontation with China, Voice of America wrote. Such a deal would mirror the US agreement with South Korea on how they would respond to North Korea deploying nuclear weapons.
Whether Shigeru’s different approach will work remains to be seen. But as Sebastian Maslow of the University of Tokyo wrote in the Conversation: “What is clear is that the Liberal Democratic Party, operating in crisis mode, has voted for a leader who is willing to change the party and to restore the public’s trust in government.”
Blinking
BRAZIL
Brazilians regained access to X this week following the lifting of the Supreme Court ban on the social media platform, which came after X owner Elon Musk backed down in his fight with Brazilian authorities, Agence France-Presse reported.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes announced the move, ruling that X had settled $5.2 million in fines for breaching court orders intended to fight against misinformation.
X also agreed to name a legal representative in the Latin American country.
The suspension of X in August was the culmination of a months-long fight between Musk and Brazilian authorities over allegations that the platform did not comply with the country’s strict Internet regulations aimed at curbing the spread of hate speech and political misinformation.
Brazil had ordered Musk to delete content that violated federal laws and ban users who allegedly spread defamatory fake news or made threats against Supreme Court justices.
Tensions escalated sharply in late August when Moraes blocked the platform for failing to deactivate accounts belonging to numerous supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, and for failing to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil.
Musk – who initially refused to comply with the orders – admonished the judge for being an “evil dictator” and compared him to “Voldemort,” the villain in the Harry Potter franchise.
But he later relented, a move that observers believe came from pressure from investors in Musk-led firms, CNBC noted.
Analysts said the dispute highlighted the tensions between freedom of expression and corporate responsibility. Brazilian officials partly blamed the spread of online misinformation for the pro-Bolsonaro riots that rocked the country in January 2023.
Some commentators and pro-democracy activists welcomed the ban, saying the surrender of the social media giant to the rule of law was a victory for the country’s institutions and sovereignty, according to the Guardian.
Friends to Foes
KENYA
Kenyan lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to impeach Vice President Rigathi Gachagua this week over allegations of corruption, heightening political tensions with the Kenyan president, William Ruto, the BBC reported.
Gachagua has been accused of acquiring properties worth $40 million through corrupt means. The wealthy businessman has denied the charges and has said that most of the houses and land in question belonged to his late brother’s estate.
The deputy is also under fire for allegedly supporting anti-government protests and practicing ethnically divisive politics, according to Deutsche Welle.
Gachagua, as Ruto’s running mate in the 2022 election, helped him secure a large block of votes from central Kenya. At the time, Gachagua also battled corruption allegations.
Local media also reported a growing political rift between Ruto and Gachagua in recent months.
Political alliances shifted after Ruto dismissed most of his cabinet, replacing them with members of the main opposition party following violent mass protests against unpopular tax increases this summer.
Last month, police summoned a number of lawmakers allied with the vice president to answer charges involving their alleged funding of the protests in June.
Gachagua is the first Kenyan deputy to be impeached by the lower house of the legislature. The upper chamber will now decide on his impeachment, wrote Reuters.
Meanwhile, the vice president plans to challenge the impeachment in court, according to the Associated Press. He has also warned that his removal from office would ignite discontent among his supporters and among his tribe, the largest in the country.
President Ruto has yet to comment publicly on the matter.
When Mud Sticks
COLOMBIA
Colombian election officials plan to launch an investigation into President Gustavo Petro and his campaign manager over alleged financial misconduct during his 2022 presidential campaign, the latest scandal to hit the embattled leftist leader, Al Jazeera reported.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) approved the probe Tuesday, months after two council members released a report saying that the president exceeded financial limits by around $1.2 million.
The CNE’s statement outlines 12 financial transactions that were allegedly not disclosed by Petro’s campaign. Some of these transactions reportedly involved funds from prohibited sources, including labor unions, Reuters reported.
The investigation will target Petro and campaign manager Ricardo Roa. It could result in fines for the president, but observers noted that it is unlikely to lead to impeachment.
They added that if the probe proceeds, Petro’s charges will be heard by the accusation committee in Colombia’s lower house of congress, where according to the Colombian constitution presidents must be tried.
Even so, Petro’s coalition holds a majority in that commission, making impeachment unlikely.
The CNE’s decision comes weeks after the president warned of an alleged plot to assassinate him or remove him from power through the courts. He has denied the recent allegations.
Still, suspicions surrounding his 2022 historic campaign that saw him become Colombia’s first leftist leader have dogged him since last year.
In July, Petro’s eldest son, Nicolas Petro, was arrested for allegedly accepting money from a drug trafficker to fund his father’s campaign events.
Nicolas claimed his father was unaware of these funds.
Petro’s administration has been deeply tainted by scandals that have made it difficult for him to enact the ambitious social reforms he promised during his campaign.
In May, former government officials agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a bribery probe related to the purchase of water tankers.
DISCOVERIES
Warrior Central
More than 3,000 years ago, a violent clash unfolded along the Tollense River, in what is now northern Germany.
Around 1250 BCE, armies of about 2,000 warriors – some estimates believe the number to be as many as 4,000 – fought against each other on what would become known as Europe’s oldest battlefield.
Scholars are still unsure about the crucial details of the battle, such as who the combatants were and why they were fighting – especially considering the unprecedented level of violence for the Bronze Age.
Now, a study on arrowheads used during the battle is unveiling new insight into what caused the bloodshed.
“The arrowheads are a kind of ‘smoking gun,’” Leif Inselmann, lead author of the study, said in a statement. “Just like the murder weapon in a mystery, they give us a clue about … the fighters of the Tollense Valley battle and where they came from.”
Inselmann and his colleagues analyzed bronze and flint arrowheads unearthed at the Tollense site and compared them with more than 4,700 arrowheads from other parts of Europe. While most matched local designs, a few stood out that bore distinct shapes that are typical of regions much farther south, such as Bavaria and Moravia.
Historians have been divided on whether the battle was exclusively among locals or involved foreigners. But the new findings suggest that foreign warriors from Central Europe joined the fray, possibly as part of a larger coalition or even a mercenary force.
The battle took place during a tumultuous period in European history known as the “Late Bronze Age Collapse,” when societies across the Mediterranean and parts of Europe experienced widespread turmoil.
While the exact reasons for the conflict in Tollense remain unknown, researchers suspect that regional tensions, competition for resources, or the rise of organized warrior classes may have played a role.
And evidence from nearby burial sites suggests that warrior elites were becoming more common, and fortifications built around this time required large, organized armies to defend them.
Study co-author Thomas Terberger told National Geographic that the findings challenge earlier assumptions that the period was largely peaceful and show that “large violent conflicts were a part of Bronze Age life.”