I decided to put off this announcement until I knew for sure, but now, having received my first acceptance to a Ph.D. program, I'm ready to ask for your help in retooling Observing Japan.I know that come this autumn I simply won't have the time to devote to this blog that I have now. I …
Author: Tobias S. Harris
Tobias Harris is Japan analyst at Teneo Intelligence. He is the author of a forthcoming biography of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The headline says yes, but the body says not yet
The FT's David Pilling reports that the DPJ will accept the government's nomination of Muto Toshiro, currently the BOJ's deputy governor, to serve as Fukui Toshihiko's successor as BOJ governor.At least that's what one might think from the headline: "Japanese opposition to accept new bank chief."The body of the article, however, indicates that while the …
Continue reading The headline says yes, but the body says not yet
Has Ozawa overstayed his welcome?
One consequence of a general election's being pushed back until this autumn at the earliest is that Ozawa Ichiro's term as DPJ president may expire before he gets his chance to risk his political career in a bid to unseat the LDP.There is a chance that his term could be extended without a party election, …
Kan in the lion’s den
On Friday, the National Governors Association held its second meeting in Nagata-cho in as many months, an emergency meeting to protest plans to end the special fund for road construction by redirecting gasoline tax revenue into the general fund. Higashikokubaru Hideo, popular comedian-cum-governor of Miyazaki prefecture, evoked the name of bankrupt Yubari City in calling …
The Machimura faction grows
Seki Yoshihiro, an LDP member of the House of Representatives representing Hyogo-3, has announced that he is joining the Machimura faction, making him the eighty-fifth member of the party's largest faction.Mr. Seki, a "Koizumi kid" as indicated by his membership in the "Group of 83" (AKA, the Koizumi Kids Klub), is neither the first member …
The LDP and DPJ discuss personnel
Among the tasks facing the Diet in the first half of the regular session is the selection of a new heads for the Bank of Japan, the Board of Audit, the National Personnel Authority, and the Fair Trade Commission. Selecting personnel for these posts is done by a "dual key" system: both houses — in …
Reforming the Diet
Speaking at a press conference at the Diet on Wednesday, a group of seven young members of the House of Representatives from the LDP and the DPJ announced their intention to submit independently a Diet reform bill that will draw up rules of the game for the divided Diet.The members from the LDP are Kono …
Violence at the Gaimusho
A twenty-two-year-old suspect, reportedly the member of a right-wing organization, has been arrested after hurling a Molotov cocktail at the front entrance to the Foreign Ministry. No one was harmed but the suspect, who stabbed himself with a kitchen knife after hurling the explosive.He was reportedly demonstrating against the Foreign Ministry's failure to complain to …
The LDP’s candidate surplus
Sato Yukari, the "assassin" denied the LDP's nomination for Gifu-1, will receive the party's endorsement to run in Tokyo-5, which includes Meguro ward and part of Setagaya ward. The district's current representative, Kosugi Takashi, a former education minister, will be retiring at term's end.The LDP had considered endorsing Dr. Sato for other districts, but ultimately …
Is administrative reform a wedge issue for the DPJ?
Mainichi has an editorial about the government's administrative reform proposals — discussed in this post.Most of the editorial simply summarizes the contents of the proposals, but includes a paragraph about opposition within the LDP to the proposals."Wholly negative opinions — 'Not realistic' — can be heard from within the LDP regarding the restrictions on direct …
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Tobias S. Harris 