On Sunday, I suggested that Aso Taro would not enjoy the honeymoon enjoyed by his predecessors upon becoming prime minister.Now that the first opinion polls are in, it is clear that the public is losing its tolerance for LDP inaction.There was talk that the Aso cabinet might receive public approval in the sixties; isn't that …
Continue reading The Japanese public decides to wait and see on Aso
"Now is the time to change Japan. It is not exaggeration to say that this is the last chance to change."So said Ozawa Ichiro Sunday as he marked his uncontested election to a third term as president of the DPJ.Mr. Ozawa gave an extended policy address to mark the occasion and to steel his party …
Pushing the DPJ to the headlines again for the first time since Prime Minister Fukuda resigned at the start of September, the Democratic Party of Japan and the People's New Party are reportedly close to an agreement to merge. Ozawa Ichiro met with his counterpart Watanuki Tamisuke Tuesday to discuss a merger, and indicated to …
The campaign to replace Fukuda Yasuo as LDP president and prime minister officially began on Wednesday, with the five candidates — Aso Taro, Koike Yuriko, Yosano Kaoru, Ishihara Nobuteru, and Ishiba Shigeru — holding a joint press conference before traveling the country to campaign.The press conference makes clear just how farcical claims of the LDP's …
Continue reading Aso seals the deal, and the LDP pats itself on the back
Ozawa Ichiro has effectively been elected to a third term as leader of the DPJ; not surprisingly, no one else filed to run in the party leadership election.At the same time, the LDP field has widened to five candidates, each with markedly different viewpoints.Not surprisingly, Mr. Ozawa's uncontested reelection has been unfavorably contrasted with the …
The word in the Japanese media is that Fukuda Yasuo's resignation came as a complete surprise, reportedly made even without consulting with his wife.The LDP was blindsided. The public, it seems, is angry over Mr. Fukuda's "irresponsibility." The DPJ has already called for a general election.I was not among those who wrote Mr. Fukuda off …
It is safe to assume that when Mori Yoshiro admonishes someone, the mood in the LDP is bleaker than previously thought.Mr. Mori, whose mission is not the advancement of an agenda of reform or reaction but the preservation of LDP primacy, has taken it upon himself to use his bully pulpit as a former prime …
In an unexpected but not wholly surprising move, the DPJ's upper-house dissidents will announce Thursday that they're leaving the DPJ to form their own party, citing the DPJ's failure to put the people before politics as the reason for their departure.The rebels — Watanabe Hideo and Oe Yasuhiro (both representatives from the DPJ national PR …
MTC beats me to pointing out the futility of the forthcoming seventy-day extraordinary session, which will convene from Sept. 12.The government, he notes, will lack the time to pass the most significant pieces of legislation on the agenda (beyond a stimulus package) and override the upper house if necessary. No refueling mission extension. No tax …
Noda Yoshihiko's decision not to challenge Ozawa Ichiro for the DPJ presidency has prompted the expected comments from LDP politicians about the DPJ's failings.Aso Taro, never one to hold his tongue, said Saturday in Kagoshima, "A party leadership election is an especially good opportunity to fight over policy. If one cannot speak without hesitation, is …
Continue reading Will the DPJ’s uncontested election have consequences?
Tobias S. Harris 