In the latest blow to the Japanese right's ambitions to scold and isolate China, the Sazanami, a Takanami class destroyer, departed today for China, where it will visit Zhanjiang, a port in China's Guangzhou province from June 24-28. The visit will reciprocate last year's visit to Japan by the Chinese destroyer Shenzen.The visit will of …
Month: June 2008
Asia’s future is in the hands of its middle powers
Hugh White, a professor at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, has been waging a determined fight against Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Asian regional vision in a series of articles and blog posts.The crux of his critique can be found in the title of a speech he gave in Tokyo earlier this month: …
Continue reading Asia’s future is in the hands of its middle powers
Idealism and realism in the DPJ
The Japanese political system's pendulum continues to swing, as the DPJ's fortunes are worsening at the moment that Fukuda Yasuo's fortunes are on an upswing.The tension within the DPJ is spilling into the open again, with Maehara Seiji waging an open campaign on the pages of Japan's monthlies against what he sees as disingenuousness in …
Japan ends its isolation?
After effectively opting out of the six-party talks under Abe Shinzo, Japan is set to return to participation in the process to neutralize (if not dismantle) North Korea's nuclear arsenal.Machimura Nobutaka, chief cabinet secretary, announced Friday that in talks in Beijing, North Korea agreed to "reinvestigate" the case of Japanese abductees in North Korea and …
Fukuda looks to political reform
In the July issue of Bungei Shunjyu, Akasaka Taro paints a portrait of Fukuda Yasuo at the present time as ebullient as the current Diet session draws to a close. (Part one here. Part two here.)The prime minister is reportedly pleased with his achievements during the current Diet session, having faced down the LDP's road …
Censured!
As planned, the House of Councillors passed a non-binding censure motion against the Fukuda government this evening.It should be noted that the upper house passed twelve bills — including four government bills — on Tuesday, bypassing normal deliberation to clear the agenda for the censure motion. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the DPJ …
What’s normal?
William Gibson (previously discussed here) gave an interview to the science fiction site io9 recently in which he discussed the politics of his latest book, Spook Country.One comment in particular caught my eye. Asked about Canada, his adopted home since fleeing the US to escape the draft, he said:Canada is set up to run on …
Guam, Okinawa, and the fate of realignment
The Joint Guam Program Office, the US Department of Defense office responsible for drawing up plans for the expansion of US military facilities on Guam to accommodate the forthcoming influx of US military personnel, has a new website.For a look at the scale of the on-base construction project — the project to which the Japanese …
To Kansai readers
I will be in Osaka this weekend. Please send an email to Observingjapan@gmail.com if you are interesting in meeting up.
Fukuda the unflappable
The DPJ has decided that it will submit a censure motion against the government on Wednesday, as planned. The LDP and Komeito agreed Tuesday that it will extend the Diet session by six days to 21 June to ensure the automatic passage of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with ASEAN (the one-month period during which …
Tobias S. Harris 