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AbstractJapan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continued to slide in public opinion polls in 2023, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's approval ratings never recovering from the scandal over the party's association with the controversial Unification Church that was exposed in the previous year. Kishida survived an assassination attempt in April, and the LDP's subsequent strong performance in by‐elections helped to temporarily stabilise his leadership. However, the party faced a fresh scandal in November, when a police investigation into the misreporting and mishandling of 'slush fund' money by the LDP's major factions led to the removal of four senior Cabinet ministers and an even sharper decline in support for the Kishida administration. Rising consumer prices, due in part to a weakening of the Yen, were also a major concern throughout 2023, with inflation for the full year reaching 3.1 per cent, its highest level since 1981.

AbstractThe assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in July had an enormous impact on politics in Japan in 2022, with subsequent recriminations regarding connections between ruling party lawmakers and the controversial Unification Church new religious movement leading to public outcry and forcing Prime Minister Kishida to remove several high‐profile Ministers from his Cabinet. There was contentious debate over whether a state funeral should be held for Abe, and a new law was passed restricting the fundraising activities of religious groups like the Unification Church. Meanwhile, Japan continued to slowly roll back restrictions introduced to combat COVID‐19, finally reopening its borders in October. The Russian invasion of Ukraine provoked protest from the Japanese government and contributed, along with a major drop in the value of the yen to the US dollar, to rising consumer prices, with inflation reaching a 42‐year high in October.