Political Japan's long holiday is winding down, with the regular session of the Diet due to begin next week, and both the LDP and the DPJ are preparing for the session and the run-up to the July elections with conventions this week.At the LDP's convention, Abe surprised no one by declaring that he intends to …
Tag: Abe Shinzo
Abe visits Europe
Forgive me for indulging in a bit of self-promotion, but my latest article, on Prime Minister Abe's visit to several European capitals, is online at the Henry Jackson Society website here.Feel free to direct questions and comments back here.
Abe on the Beeb
The BBC interviewed Prime Minister Abe (transcript here) on foreign policy. Nothing especially new here, but it offers an excellent picture of Japan's foreign policy approach in light of China's rise. Notice how Abe uses the language of international responsibility -- Japan is not only concerned about the direct threat posed by North Korea, it …
Important dates
As the year winds down and Japan's political establishment evaluates the first several months of the Abe Cabinet -- and wonders whether Abe will be able to bounce back in the new year -- several important dates have been set.The Diet's regular session will open on January 25th, and run through June 23rd, ending about …
Abe turns a corner?
After weeks of depressing news, has Prime Minister Abe Shinzo finally turned a corner and found a way to boost his sagging poll numbers?Two recent decisions in particular suggest this may be in the offing.First, Mr. Abe announced yesterday that the LDP would not accept campaign contributions from three major Japanese banks that had announced …
"Jimintology"
The LDP -- 自由民主党 / 自民党 (jiyuuminshuto, abbreviated as jiminto) -- was formed out of an alliance between two rival parties in 1955, and throughout its history it has been a patchwork of factions, clubs, and policy tribes (zoku) and has encompassed a broad range of ideologies. For most of its history, factions have been …
Bush, Sr. meets Abe
Former US President George H.W. Bush visited Japan on Saturday and met with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo (and, incidentally, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in Tokyo for meetings with Abe).I can't help but laugh at the symbolism of Abe meeting with George H.W. Bush, with whom I compared Abe in this post. Abe …
The government comes clean
One story that I've neglected to follow here is the ongoing scandal regarding allegations that the Abe and Koizumi governments had arranged "plants" to ask friendly questions at town hall meetings that were inaugurated in 2001. I held off on commenting because it was unclear how the 「やらせ問題」(yarase mondai, the "fake" problem) fit with the …
The 総理 (souri) goes slowly, and pays for it
I spoke earlier today about Abe Shinzo running into trouble with LDP members of the Upper House; now the FT reports that a number of surveys by Japanese newspapers have shown substantial drops in Abe's popularity. Even Yomiuri -- the leading conservative daily -- registered a major fall in his public support.The article notes, "Survey …
Continue reading The 総理 (souri) goes slowly, and pays for it
Abe stumbles into more trouble
Fresh off a bruising battle over the readmission of a dozen LDP postal rebels, Mr. Abe has apparently caused an uproar among the party's caucus in the Upper House of the Diet in suggesting that as the party's executive nominates candidates for the summer 2007 elections, some sitting LDP members could potentially find themselves replaced …
Tobias S. Harris 