Speaking Monday at a party held by the Kanagawa chapter of the LDP, Koizumi Junichiro changed his position on the timing of a general election.He had previously stated that he shared the LDP leadership's view that an early election is unnecessary, but Monday he warned that an election is coming soon — and LDP members …
Tag: Aso Taro
Three weeks and counting
Aso Taro continues to position himself as the LDP's savior in a rapidly approaching post-Fukuda period — in MTC's extended (and excellent) Fukuda-as-currency analogy, Mr. Aso is hoping that he is the best store of value in a chaotic environment.His latest move is to come out on behalf of the restoration of the temporary tax …
Regional decentralization is out of reach, for now
Bad news for Aso Taro: progress towards substantial decentralization may be impossible to realize.So says the government's Prefectural Integration Vision consultation group, which released an interim report on Monday. The whole report is available for download here, in PDF format.According to Mainichi, the group — which was formed in January 2007 under Mr. Abe — …
Continue reading Regional decentralization is out of reach, for now
Latest at FEER Forum
My latest contribution to FEER's website — "The Second Coming of Taro Aso" — can be read here.
Hiranuma’s kiss of death?
After nearly returning to the LDP in the waning days of the Abe cabinet, Hiranuma Takeo, holdout postal rebel and conservative stalwart, is not particularly popular among the LDP's elders.Recall, for example, that in January Mori Yoshiro scolded Nakagawa Shoichi for working with Mr. Hiranuma in their "True Conservative Policy Research Group," AKA the HANA …
Will Fukuda last?
Many analysts of Japanese politics assumed at the inception of the Fukuda cabinet that his was little more than a caretaker government.Now more than 100 days into the Fukuda administration, it remains difficult to say whether that assessment will turn out to be accurate. If the caretaker's job is to stabilize the ruling party and …
Radical decentralization
Aso Taro, looking hungrily to his next bid for the LDP presidency, has continued his campaign to remake his image with an article in Voice in which he discusses the need for a radical reorganization of how Japan is governed, including both a consolidation of prefectures into larger "states" and a transfer of authority, including …
The reinvention of Aso Taro
Speaking in Yokohama on Monday, Aso Taro, former foreign minister and LDP secretary-general, and conservative stalwart, called for an LDP-DPJ compromise on the road construction fund, emphasizing the need for mutual consent.So continues the reinvention of Mr. Aso in advance of his next bid for the LDP presidency.As I noted last month, Mr. Aso has …
Aso returns from the wilderness
Aso Taro, faction leader, former foreign minister, former LDP secretary-general (briefly), and losing contender for the LDP presidency in 2001, 2006, and 2007, essentially went into self-exile after the LDP's faction chiefs united to deny him the premiership and make Fukuda Yasuo prime minister. He indicated that he would not accept a post in Mr. …
The right is alive, if not kicking (yet)
As planned, onetime Abe wingman Nakagawa Shoichi has formed a conservative study group within the LDP that will keep the flame of the Abe revolution burning.At the opening meeting, Mr. Nakagawa said, "The things which everyone said 'we must do' until a few months ago must not be forgotten." By which he means those things …
Tobias S. Harris 