2013 Japanese House of Councillors election a number of issues. Shinzo Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in the December 2012 general election after several years in the opposition. In campaigning to win control of the House of Councillors, Abe sought to resolve the "twisted parliament" problem for the next three years. Just prior to the election, the U.S. dollar fell against the yen on expectations of more momentum for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive monetary easing to fight deflation and boost growth for the export-dominant economy of Japan. Abe's LDP and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, were tipped to win a
Holy See–Japan relations Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014, and Prince Akishino in 2016. Holy See–Japan relations The relations between the Holy See and Japan were informally established in 1919, when the Japanese government accepted a request by the Holy See to send an apostolic delegate to their country. It was not until 1942 that Japan began full diplomatic relations between the two states, making Japan the first Asian country to do so, and not until 1958 that the Japanese mission to the Vatican in Rome was upgraded to an embassy. The decision was made by Emperor Showa during World War II, hoping that