In this post earlier this month, I discussed the importance of "pride" — hokori (誇り) — in the thinking of the Japanese right.In this vein, Younghusband at Coming Anarchy writes of a dispute between the DPJ and The Economist over the recent cover that featured the pun "Japain."Iwakuni Tetsundo, head of the DPJ's international bureau, …
Continue reading "Pride" is not just the property of the LDP
LDP proposes, DPJ disposes — again.As MTC points out, the LDP did the exact same thing in introducing the nomination of Tanami Koji as it did with the nomination of Muto Toshiro: it failed to consult with the DPJ beforehand.Indeed, showing that it has learned absolutely nothing and suggesting that the government is in fact …
The big news of the day is, of course, the government's decision to submit a new candidate for the BOJ governorship in place of Muto Toshiro. It is still unclear who the government will submit in his place — the LDP is reportedly sounding out the plausibility of Mr. Fukui's staying in office, although the …
With the end of Fukui Toshihiko's term as BOJ president rapidly approaching, there are signs that the LDP and the DPJ might be able to come to terms on the nomination of his successor.Messrs. Oshima and Yamaoka, Diet strategists for the LDP and DPJ respectively, met once more on Thursday and agreed that a vacancy …
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 …
Janne Morén's recent post on institutional loyalty (thanks for the reminder, MTC) provides an excellent argument for why to anticipate a new political realignment in the near future.He writes:If we return to politics, the situation shares some similarities and there is a clear possibility of a similar dissolution of loyalty between lawmakers and their parties. …
The fight between the LDP-Komeito governing coalition and the DPJ over the leadership of the Bank of Japan shows no sign of abating.On Wednesday, of course, the DPJ-led House of Councillors formally rejected the government's nomination of Muto Toshiro to be the new president of the BOJ. The government has resubmitted Mr. Muto's nomination in …
Following the government's formal nomination of Muto Toshiro for the post of BOJ president on Friday, the LDP launched a war of words over the weekend to paint the DPJ as irresponsible and pressure it to accept Mr. Muto to prevent a vacancy at the BOJ.On Saturday, Tanigaki Sadakazu, LDP policy chief and former finance …
The signs of change in the DPJ's thinking on the timing of the next general election discussed here is now a definite policy shift.As Mr. Ozawa told reporters in Kyoto Thursday, "We are struggling on the major premise of a dissolution this Diet session, although since the right to dissolve the Diet is held by …
In a transparent attempt to shift the blame for the Bank of Japan "crisis" from the government to the DPJ, today the Fukuda Cabinet officially submitted its nomination of Muto Toshiro to be the next BOJ president. If a Mr. Muto or another candidate is not confirmed within the next twelve days, the post will …
Tobias S. Harris 