U.S.-Japan Caucus visited Japan for five days as an official representative of the United States and the U.S.-Japan Caucus. While there, he met with various officials within the Japanese Government, including, Shinzo Abe (The Prime Minister of Japan), Caroline Kennedy (the then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan), Yoichi Miyazawa (Then Japanese Miniser of Economy, Trade, and Industry), as well as the members of the Japanese-US Parliamentary Friendship League (the Japanese counterpart of the U.S.-Japan Caucus). On January 12, 2016, the U.S.-Japan Caucus came out in support of a historic agreement between Japan and South Korea surrounding the controversial issue of Japanese Comfort Women. The
2014 Japanese general election re-appointed). The turnout in this election is the lowest in Japanese history. In 2012, the Democratic Party government under Yoshihiko Noda decided to implement a raise of the Japanese consumption tax. Following this move, the Liberal Democratic Party under Shinzo Abe regained control of the Japanese government in the December 2012 general election. Abe proceeded to implement a series of economic programs known as "Abenomics" in a bid to stimulate the economy. Despite these programs, Japan entered a technical recession in mid-2014, which Abe blamed on the consumption tax hike, even though many members of the LDP supported the hike.