Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto and Wen Jiabao, his Chinese counterpart, have met briefly in Brussels on the sideline of the ASEM summit, marking an end to the bilateral standoff following the collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese Coast Guard vessels in the vicinity of the disputed Senkakus.As expected, Japan and China reiterated the …
Category: Observing Japan Blog
The end of the "strategic, reciprocal" relationship?
Since Abe Shinzō succeeded Koizumi Junichirō in 2006, the focus of Japan's China policy has been the promotion of what has been called in official documents as a "strategic, reciprocal relationship" between Japan and China. Acknowledging the importance of the bilateral relationship for peace and stability in East Asia, the two countries agreed to build …
Continue reading The end of the "strategic, reciprocal" relationship?
Kan presses the reset button
Having successfully fended off Ozawa Ichirō's challenge to his leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan — indeed, having defeated Ozawa by an unexpectedly large margin, not only winning the vote among Diet members but also receiving the support of 249 of 300 district-level party chapters and sixty percent of the vote among local …
Previewing the DPJ election
I was on CNBC Asia again today to preview the Kan-Ozawa showdown.http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1590936714/code/cnbcplayershareIn case you're wondering why I've been silent during this campaign, the reason is simple. The DPJ scheduled its election the same week as my doctoral exams (how rude! - ed.) and so I have not been able to follow this electoral campaign to …
Talking Ozawa and the economy on CNBC Asia
I was on CNBC Asia's Asia Squawkbox today to talk about the Ozawa situation and the state of economic policy.http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1578719588/code/cnbcplayershareOddly enough, I was on CNBC Asia one year ago exactly talking about the DPJ's victory the previous day. What a difference a year makes.
Ozawa’s last stand?
"All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs." — Enoch PowellReturning to his familiar role as Ozawa Ichirō's trusty factotum, former Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio announced Thursday that he will be supporting Ozawa in a …
The politics of Kan’s apology
"I would like to face history with sincerity," said Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto in a statement issued on 10 August, the 100th anniversary of Japan's annexation of Korea. "I would like to have courage to squarely confront the facts of history and humility to accept them, as well as to be honest to reflect …
What can the Yakuza explain anyway?
Having read and enjoyed Jacob Adelstein's Tokyo Vice, it was with considerable interest that I read his article "The Last Yakuza" in the World Policy Journal (h/t to Corey Wallace).Like Wallace, I have no particular expertise with which to assess the role played by the Yakuza in Japanese society. But also like him, I am …
The 2006 roadmap’s impasses
In the wake of its defeat the Kan government has made it patently clear that the Hatoyama government's "ratification" of the 2006 realignment plan was nothing of the sort — it is now saying that it will be impossible to complete negotiations before Okinawan gubernatorial election in November. The government once again is considering alternatives …
What next for the LDP?
With the exit polls suggesting that the LDP will edge out the DPJ in this election and recover some of its strength in the upper house, it is worth asking what will be the consequences of victory for the LDP.Most obviously, LDP leader Tanigaki Sadakazu will have a new lease on his position, delaying generational …
Tobias S. Harris 