As expected, the translation of Hatoyama Yukio's essay in VOICE (discussed here) has caused a stir in the United States.Asahi quotes several anonymous former US government officials, as well as Sheila Smith from the Council on Foreign Relations, criticizing the essay. One of the former officials suggested that the Obama administration will simply ignore the …
Tag: 2009 general election
Why the LDP will lose Sunday
I have an article at The New Republic's website that, building on some ideas initially explored at this blog, offers an explanation for why we're about to witness a major pendulum swing in Sunday's general election.
Election preview for The Economist
I recently had a conversation with The Economist's Tokyo bureau to discuss Sunday's general election.It is available here in iTunes. It is also available at The Economist's website, here.
On the DPJ’s youth
When the campaign officially began, I noted that the difference in the average age of LDP candidates (55.5) versus DPJ candidates (49.4) was one of several significant features separating the parties.I was curious, however, about the median age of DPJ candidates, which I think says more about the youth of the party than the average …
The LDP’s unlucky numbers
With two days until the general election, Asahi anticipates that turnout this year might be higher than 2005's 67.5% and might even top 70% for the first time since the 1990 general election. The weather should cooperate: there is some rain in the forecast for the Kanto area Sunday, but otherwise it looks clear across …
More on Ozawa
Foreign Policy's website has an essay I've written regarding the role of Ozawa Ichiro in a DPJ government here. For the record, I did not pick the detail.MTC has some excellent thoughts on the Ozawa dilemma here.
TV appearances
I will be talking about the election on Al Jazeera English at 1pm this afternoon and will also be appearing in a segment on the election airing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 7pm news and again at 10:30pm on Lateline.
The LDP on the brink of disaster
The general election campaign is heading into its final days. Despite another two days of campaigning, the LDP and DPJ are mostly battling for seats on the margins — the LDP to keep from falling below 100 seats, the DPJ to reach the magic number of 320, the number required for a supermajority. As the …
Hatoyama in the New York Times
There isn't much I can add to MTC's comments on the New York Times's publication of the translation of Hatoyama Yukio's essay in Voice (which originally appeared in the Christian Science Monitor). I am stunned that no one at DPJ HQ thought better of having Hatoyama's provocative essay appear — again — in an American …
The DPJ prepares for its first steps towards a new style of government
The general election may be another four days away, but the DPJ's position in the polls seems secure and so the party is acting like a "responsible party" and putting plans in motion for its transition into government.I have already written of the names mentioned for the leading positions in a Hatoyama cabinet — but …
Continue reading The DPJ prepares for its first steps towards a new style of government
Tobias S. Harris 