Chiba's gubernatorial election, held Sunday, was viewed by some DPJ members going into the election as a critical test for Ozawa Ichiro's fragile leadership of the party.Coming within a week of the indictment of Okubo Takanori and Ozawa's decision to hold on despite the indictment, Ozawa's critics insisted that the Chiba election, in which DPJ-backed …
Category: Observing Japan Blog
The end of the beginning
Ozawa Ichiro indicated, in a tearful press conference Tuesday evening, that he will stay on as DPJ president despite the indictment of his chief public secretary — but Ozawa's statement may have only been the end of the beginning of the final act of Ozawa's long career.The press conference itself was a masterpiece of defiance. …
Will he stay or will he go?
Okubo Takanori, Ozawa Ichiro's chief secretary, has as expected been indicted by the Tokyo district public prosecutor's office for violating the political funds control law..Ozawa is due to announce whether he will remain as DPJ president today.In the days leading up to the indictment, the DPJ has rallied behind its embattled leader, which in practice …
For the western press, Japan is always rising
Forbes and AP have run nearly simultaneous articles reviving the "Japan rising" meme that I thought had died with Abe Shinzo's government.Tim Kelly of Forbes uses the occasion of the commissioning of the Hyuga — previously mentioned in this post — to argue that the launch of Japan's "first aircraft carrier since America dismantled the …
Continue reading For the western press, Japan is always rising
Going west
To readers in San Francisco and the Bay area, I will be in town from Tuesday to Sunday. As always, I am interested in meeting with readers.Feel free to email me at observingjapan@gmail.com. If I get enough replies, perhaps I'll organize a group meetup.
On Japan’s leadership problem
My latest contribution to the Far Eastern Economic Review Online looks at Japan's leadership deficit.It's available here.
Butter over guns
In the Asahi survey of political attitudes discussed in this post, respondents were asked to pick which portions of the budget that would like to see enhanced and which portions they would like to see cut.I already noted that the top three programs respondents want to see enhanced are health and welfare, economic stimulus, and …
The Japanese people lose hope
Jun Okumura notes that while the political world waits to find out whether Ozawa Ichiro will survive the scandal in his political organization, the DPJ has revived an approach pursued in the earlier half of this decade.The DPJ, he writes, banned contributions from the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors based on a recommendation in 2003 …
The LDP finds something to agree on
While the Nishimatsu scandal continues to ripple through both the LDP and the DPJ and while all wonder whether next week will see Ozawa Ichiro's resignation as DPJ president, LDP members of all stripes continue to criticize Ozawa for remarks made prior to when the scandal broke regarding the future of the US military presence …
Sailing to Somalia
Two Maritime Self-Defense Forces (MSDF) destroyers, the Sazanami, last mentioned on this blog when she paid a visit to China last year, and the Samidare, have departed from Kure naval base in Hiroshima prefecture for a four-month tour patrolling for pirates off the horn of Africa. The destroyers are expected to arrive in theater April …
Tobias S. Harris 