Aside from the party's defense of the privileges of the road tribe and their allies in rural Japan, unity within the LDP has been elusive.The latest issue to divide the party's ranks is the Protection of Human Rights bill. The bill, originally submitted to the Diet in 2002 before being rejected in 2003, was equally …
Continue reading Violating liberties to protect human rights
As I wrote on Monday, the DPJ may ultimately come around to Muto Toshiro, the government's candidate for the presidency of the Bank of Japan, but it will not give in to pressure — and it will make its decision on the nomination on its own terms and at its own pace.It increasingly looks like …
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
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 …
The Budget Committee in the House of Councillors is currently debating the 2007 supplementary budget before moving on to the 2008 budget.The opposition, now in control of the HC, has been giving the prime minister and members of his cabinet a rough time in deliberations, at least according to Yamamoto Ichita, LDP HC member. Writing …
As the temperature in the debate over the temporary gasoline tax lowers and the parties prepare to negotiate, it seems increasingly likely that Prime Minister Fukuda will succeed in pushing a general election until "after the G8 summit."Mr. Ozawa admitted as much Thursday in a speech at his annual political workshop. He declared that the …
Days after an agreement that resulted in the government's momentarily backing away from plans to extend the gas surcharge temporarily, Yamaoka Kenji, the DPJ's Kokutai chairman, has provided a reminder of just how precarious the agreement is. Mr. Yamaoka warned that if the government moves on the legislation in the HR before "thorough debate" — …
As noted by Jun Okumura, the Fukuda government has thrown down the gauntlet in the debate over the extension of the temporary gasoline tax. The LDP and Komeito agreed Monday to submit a bill to the HR Tuesday (and pass by Wednesday) that will extend the tax for two months, giving the government time to …
The government has submitted its bill extending the temporary gasoline tax for ten years as part of its bill related to the revision of the tax system. It is not clear, however, whether the government will give up on finding a compromise with the opposition and push for passage before the end of the month, …
Having just finished the process of using Article 59 to pass the new anti-terror law, the Fukuda government is once again debating whether to go through the process of rushing a desired bill (the extension of the temporary gasoline tax) through the House of Representatives in order to leave the government time to "re-pass" the …
Continue reading Another consequential decision for the government
Tobias S. Harris 