The above video is a TV commercial for the Democratic Party of Japan in advance of the approaching Diet session and this summer's election (hat tip: Trans-Pacific Radio and Mutant Frog).I wish it weren't so. I'd like to think that this ad was actually made by an LDP operative seeking to discredit the DPJ; I …
Year: 2007
China challenges the regional security order
Reports have emerged that China successfully tested an anti-satellite missile last week, after two previous failures (BBC; CNN). The implications of this test are obvious but not necessarily ominous.The question is, in light of Japan's recent overtures to improve cooperation with China and with a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao scheduled for this spring, …
Continue reading China challenges the regional security order
Abe as oligarch?
Political Japan's long holiday is winding down, with the regular session of the Diet due to begin next week, and both the LDP and the DPJ are preparing for the session and the run-up to the July elections with conventions this week.At the LDP's convention, Abe surprised no one by declaring that he intends to …
Will they or won’t they?
The "they" in the title of this post are, of course, the members of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board, and the 120.54 million yen question is whether its members will vote to raise interest rates on Thursday.Call me naive, but I'm used to the Fed's way of doing business, namely advertising the direction of …
Open Stackelberg Warfare in Japan
I have previously noted tension between the Bank of Japan and Abe Shinzo's governing coalition regarding the timing of the next round of interest rate hikes. It seems that that tension has become open warfare between monetary authorities and LDP and government officials in advance of this week's meeting of the BOJ's Policy Board.As this …
The rotten heart of ‘ugly Japan’
Taking a break from chronicling the fortunes of Abe Shinzo, I found this article in the Japan Times fascinating.It reports on talk of relocating the elevated expressway that currently runs over the Nihonbashi Bridge, a historic landmark in the center of Tokyo and once the origin point for the Tokaido trunk road that ran from …
Abe visits Europe
Forgive me for indulging in a bit of self-promotion, but my latest article, on Prime Minister Abe's visit to several European capitals, is online at the Henry Jackson Society website here.Feel free to direct questions and comments back here.
Abe on the Beeb
The BBC interviewed Prime Minister Abe (transcript here) on foreign policy. Nothing especially new here, but it offers an excellent picture of Japan's foreign policy approach in light of China's rise. Notice how Abe uses the language of international responsibility -- Japan is not only concerned about the direct threat posed by North Korea, it …
Clint Eastwood’s "Letters"
I finally made it to Roppongi Hills last night to see Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima (Roppongi Hills being the only place in the Tokyo metro area playing the film with English subtitles). The companion to Eastwood's Flag of Our Fathers, Letters is without question a deeply moving film, made in the spirit of …
Overdue
Leading news in Japan's newspaper's today is a report that the US military is finally compiling detailed plans for a crisis on the Korean Peninsula in cooperation with the Japanese government, the Self-Defense Forces, local governments, and private actors. (See the Yomiuri Shimbun's article here.)As the title of this post suggests, the only thing surprising …
Tobias S. Harris 