Watanabe Yoshimi, the onetime cabinet minister who left the LDP earlier this year to form a reformist "third force" with independent Eda Kenji, is still preparing to launch a new party before next month's general election. But while the prospects for his incipient (and still nameless) party looked bright as the reformist rebellion against Prime …
Category: Observing Japan Blog
REMINDER: Politics blogger party Saturday
Just a reminder that at 7pm on Saturday evening various political bloggers will be meeting at the Pink Cow in Shibuya.Information available here.
More realism from the DPJ
The emerging realism in the DPJ observed last week has grown in recent days, especially on foreign policy.The party's manifesto for next month's election, due to be released to the public any day now, considerably softens the language on a number of foreign policy issues on which the DPJ had previously taken controversial positions."Soften" is …
On the radio
I will be discussing the Japanese political situation on Newstalk K57 in Guam at 7:30am JST.It appears that you can listen live here.
Fleeing a sinking ship?
A week after Nagasaki Kotaro — and his 3600 supporters in Yamanashi's second district — left the LDP, another Koizumi child has bolted the party.Yamauchi Koichi, a first termer representing Kanagawa's ninth district, had, as discussed in this post, come to recognize the unpleasant situation for reformists in the post-Koizumi LDP. As he said in …
Aso gets his election
As planned, Prime Minister Aso Taro dissolved Japan's House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon.Despite criticism from members of the cabinet last week, all signed the cabinet decision for dissolution. Before dissolving, Aso attended a meeting with LDP Diet members, humbly accepted their criticism, and then proceeded to dissolve the lower house.The campaign will officially begin in …
Nakagawa Hidenao fights to the bitter end
In response to the LDP's decision to convene a closed-door gathering Tuesday that will enable LDP members to "exchange opinions" with Prime Minister Aso Taro, Nakagawa Hidenao demanded that the party open the event to the media.The LDP executive dismissed his request, frankly arguing that airing the party's dirty laundry — more than it has …
Ozawa will run in Iwate
After strong indications last week that he would switch districts, Ozawa Ichiro has announced that he will be running in Iwate's fourth district instead of switching to Tokyo's twelfth district, where he would run against Komeito president Ota Akihiro. I can only imagine the communication between the DPJ and Komeito in advance of Ozawa's decision.The …
Aso will fight on
The anti-Asō rebellion was over before it even began.Instead of a meeting of LDP Diet members that would meet today and debate whether to hold a party presidential election before a general election — thereby undoing the prime minister's plan for a 21 July dissolution — the LDP executive agreed to an informal, closed gathering …
The emerging realism of the DPJ
As the general election approaches, there are signs that a new realism is afoot in the DPJ.Mainichi reports today that the DPJ is prepared to remove the party's opposition to the MSDF's participation in the Indian Ocean refueling mission in support of coalition activities in Afghanistan, at least until the expiration of the current law. …
Tobias S. Harris 