Mr. Ozawa, back at the helm of the DPJ — and apparently no longer estranged from the other party leaders — has fixed his attention squarely on a campaign that many seem to think will happen any day now (another "Happening Dissolution" [Japanese Wikipedia]).Accordingly, the DPJ is scrambling about to conclude the nomination process for …
Year: 2007
An unscripted summit?
Mere days before President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda are scheduled to meet in Washington, a State Department spokesman has announced that the US will not give concrete consideration to the abductions issue when it comes to removing North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.Now, I don't disagree with this policy — …
Observing Japan in J@pan Inc.
The November-December issue of J@pan Inc. magazine includes an article by me on why the DPJ's Upper House election might not have been such a great thing after all.It went to press before changes could be made to reflect the Ozawa follies earlier this month (thankfully Mr. Ozawa returned to the helm), but otherwise I …
Fukuda makes it explicit
Following my discussion of the US-Japan alliance in this post and this post, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, a few days before his summit with President Bush in Washington, has told the Washington Post that "his government's reach in global security affairs would not be as expansive as the Bush administration wants."In other words, Mr. Fukuda …
The alliance in an Atlantic mirror
I went to Carnegie Hall last night for a panel discussion on US-German relations held as part of the current Berlin in Lights festival underway in New York City. Moderated by Richard Holbrooke, the discussion featured Henry Kissinger, Josef Joffe, John Kornblum (a former US ambassador to Germany), and Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg, a member …
Election talk
The second phase of the extraordinary session of the Diet has begun, and the talk is largely of snap elections and censure votes.Policy, as Jun Okumura suggests, has pretty much taken a back seat to politics as both parties continue to position themselves in the new political landscape.The immediate challenge is the prospect of the …
"The state is less dependable than a convenience store"
Masuzoe Yoichi, minister of health, labor, and welfare and the LDP's resident political scientist, has an essay in the December issue of Chuo Koron in which he details the crisis of confidence in the Japanese state and calls for systemic change that will restore the confidence of the people in their government.The title of his …
Continue reading "The state is less dependable than a convenience store"
Towards a new alliance
Looking over Secretary Gates's visit to Tokyo, there were few surprises.He "demanded" to legislators that Japan renew its refueling mission. He voiced his opposition to proposed cuts in Japan's host-nation support (i.e., the sympathy budget) for US forces in Japan. And has become standard for ministerial visits to Japan, he reasssured Japan of the viability …
The alliance cools
Robert Gates, US secretary of defense, is in Japan for talks with Prime Minister Fukuda and members of Mr. Fukuda's cabinet, including the defense and foreign ministers, for talks on US-Japan security cooperation. Not surprisingly, Japan's interrupted refueling mission in the Indian Ocean topped the agenda.It's a shame that Mr. Gates did not take office …
Political Japan’s never-ending year goes on
After this past week's drama, the LDP and the DPJ are now returning to business. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in town for his first visit since taking office, with a packed agenda of issues of concern; Nagata-cho is abuzz with rumors about an early election to be called by the LDP to …
Continue reading Political Japan’s never-ending year goes on
Tobias S. Harris 