I have an op-ed on the Fukuda reshuffle in the Tuesday edition of the Wall Street Asia.It can be found online here.
Tag: cabinet reshuffle
They like him, they really, really like him…but will it matter?
Jun Okumura provides a convenient breakdown of the initial polls pertaining to the Fukuda reshuffle.The bounce to Prime Minister Fukuda appears to have been somewhere around five percentage points, excluding Yomiuri's freakish poll recording a fourteen-point increase (a poll that can't be compared with earlier Yomiuri polls due to a differing methodology).What I found interesting, …
Continue reading They like him, they really, really like him…but will it matter?
Change in Ichigaya
With the Fukuda cabinet reshuffle, Hayashi Yoshimasa becomes Japan's fourth defense minister in the past twelve months.Of all the changes in the reshuffle, the ousting of Ishiba Shigeru is perplexing.The prime minister had given Mr. Ishiba his vote of confidence in the midst of calls for his resignation in the wake of the Atago incident, …
Meet the new Fukuda cabinet
I am in Los Angeles on a brief layover before heading to Chicago, so I don't have time to offer a more thorough discussion of the Fukuda reshuffle.For something more than my cursory remarks, I strongly recommend Jun Okumura's take and MTC's two posts.Readers will not be surprised to learn that I am underwhelmed by …
Reshuffle questions
It appears that the new cabinet won't be announced until Friday evening, after my departure from Narita, so it looks like readers will have to wait until tomorrow for my thoughts on the prime minister's choices.But my thinking on the fundamental unsoundness of Fukuda Yasuo's decision to reshuffle remains unchanged. (Readers can find my thread …
The reshuffle is tomorrow
The prime minister has announced that he will be reshuffling his cabinet and the LDP leadership on Friday afternoon, 1 Aug, after meeting with Komeito's Ota Akihiro in the morning.Of course Mr. Fukuda had to pick the afternoon of my departure from Japan to reshuffle his cabinet.If the reshuffle is done expeditiously, I will try …
Here comes Koike and friends
With Fukuda Yasuo set to finalize a schedule for a cabinet reshuffle after consultations with Komeito — according to Machimura Nobutaka, the prime minister is waiting for reports on the latest failed Doha Round negotiations before proceeding — the cabinet reshuffle is a go, possibly as early as 4 Aug (Monday).The media has immediately shifted …
Fukuda will take the plunge
I apparently overestimated Fukuda Yasuo's strength and independence in the face of pressure from within the LDP.Yomiuri is reporting — corroborated by Asahi and NHK — that the prime minister has settled on a cabinet reshuffle in early August. Interestingly, Yomiuri's source is Komeito chief Ota Akihiro, whose party is pushing hard for an election …
Fukuda passes, for now
It appears increasingly unlikely that Fukuda Yasuo will decide to reshuffle his cabinet before the autumn Diet session.NHK is reporting that at the very least there will be no decision on a reshuffle before the end of the month, as two members of the cabinet are delayed in returning from WTO talks abroad.Mr. Fukuda told …
Fukuda the pressured
Watching the news this morning, I saw Fukuda Yasuo's remarks yesterday on whether he intends to reshuffle his cabinet in advance of the autumn extraordinary session of the Diet.As before, he stated that he has not made his decision yet, that he is considering the "whole situation" in regard to conditions within the LDP and …
Tobias S. Harris 