Abe Hashimoto

Abe Hashimoto: However, the meeting between Hashimoto and Abe a week ago was seen in Osaka as a sign Abe government is getting desperate in the face of expert consensus the bills are unconstitutional, and needs all the allies he can find to pass them before the September, when the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election takes place, according to The Japan Times. Clearly, Abe is courting Hashimoto to pressure coalition partner Komeito . However, last week meeting was also another step in the longer-term effort by Abe and his allies to separate Hashimoto and his most ardent supporters in his Japan Innovation Party of constitutional revision from the rest of the party. As ever, Hashimoto is playing hard-to-get, even as he is quite happy to find himself back in the national media spotlight. Yet if anything formal does happen between Abe and Hashimoto, it will have to take place with Komeito blessing. These are the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. This is because, unlike Hashimoto party, Komeito has deep experience with, and knowledge of, two critical ministries LDP members cannot afford to alienate lest they anger supporters back home. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.