...Now that the city of Obama has given him his very own hissho daruma, described by Asahi as an "indispensable item" for Japanese elections.
Month: February 2008
More trouble on the BOJ succession
In a meeting between Oshima Tadamori and Yamaoka Kenji, the Diet strategy chairmen of the LDP and DPJ respectively, the two parties came closer to an agreement on joint personnel decisions. They discussed a proposal that envisions an "expanded representatives committee" of twenty from both houses that will question government-nominated candidates about their policy positions …
Aso returns from the wilderness
Aso Taro, faction leader, former foreign minister, former LDP secretary-general (briefly), and losing contender for the LDP presidency in 2001, 2006, and 2007, essentially went into self-exile after the LDP's faction chiefs united to deny him the premiership and make Fukuda Yasuo prime minister. He indicated that he would not accept a post in Mr. …
Intimations of change
The revised bill for the special measures law on taxation, which includes the government's ten-year extension of the temporary gasoline tax, has been scheduled for interpellation in the plenary session of the House of Representatives from Tuesday, 19 February. The bill on the road construction special fund will be under discussion from Thursday, 21 February. …
It’s not about numbers
Edward Chmura at Japundit points to a Mainichi article that lists incidents since 1955 involving US forces in Okinawa that have resulted in fatalities.He concludes, "While admitting that even one such act is horrible, and taking into account the fact that some such acts may not have been reported during the early years of The …
Violating liberties to protect human rights
Aside from the party's defense of the privileges of the road tribe and their allies in rural Japan, unity within the LDP has been elusive.The latest issue to divide the party's ranks is the Protection of Human Rights bill. The bill, originally submitted to the Diet in 2002 before being rejected in 2003, was equally …
Continue reading Violating liberties to protect human rights
The protests (and apologies) continue
The situation in Okinawa continues to worsen. Staff Sergeant Tyrone Hadnott, the Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old Okinawan girl, is now in Japanese custody. Japanese officials at all levels of government have expressed their outrage at the US.On Wednesday morning, Onodera Itsunori, parliamentary vice foreign minister, arrived in Okinawa to meet with US military …
The DPJ continues playing hard to get
As I wrote on Monday, the DPJ may ultimately come around to Muto Toshiro, the government's candidate for the presidency of the Bank of Japan, but it will not give in to pressure — and it will make its decision on the nomination on its own terms and at its own pace.It increasingly looks like …
The end is near
If you haven't read it yet, go read MTC's account of the last days of "Tanakaism."
The US forward presence must change
In the span of a weekend, two events have cast doubts on the durability of US deployments in Japan.The first, obviously, is the alleged rape of a middle-school student by a thirty-eight-year-old Marine committed in Okinawa. The incident has prompted protests to the US consul-general and Marine commander in Okinawa, and promises on the part …
Tobias S. Harris 