Prime Minister Fukuda held a press conference Tuesday with journalists from foreign wire services at which he said in response to a question about whether it is fun being prime minister, "It's not fun! It's like a painful lump." To deal with stress, he told the reporters that he sleeps and drinks wine.Little wonder that …
Tag: Fukuda Yasuo
Japan ends its isolation?
After effectively opting out of the six-party talks under Abe Shinzo, Japan is set to return to participation in the process to neutralize (if not dismantle) North Korea's nuclear arsenal.Machimura Nobutaka, chief cabinet secretary, announced Friday that in talks in Beijing, North Korea agreed to "reinvestigate" the case of Japanese abductees in North Korea and …
Fukuda looks to political reform
In the July issue of Bungei Shunjyu, Akasaka Taro paints a portrait of Fukuda Yasuo at the present time as ebullient as the current Diet session draws to a close. (Part one here. Part two here.)The prime minister is reportedly pleased with his achievements during the current Diet session, having faced down the LDP's road …
Fukuda the unflappable
The DPJ has decided that it will submit a censure motion against the government on Wednesday, as planned. The LDP and Komeito agreed Tuesday that it will extend the Diet session by six days to 21 June to ensure the automatic passage of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with ASEAN (the one-month period during which …
Rudd’s vision
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, arriving in Japan Sunday for a four-day visit, delivered a foreign policy address on Wednesday of last week that has sparked a major debate in Australia about the future of Asian multilateralism.In the speech, Mr. Rudd laid out his vision for an Asia-centered Australian foreign policy that sounds remarkably like …
Fukuda the survivor
With the regular Diet session entering its final week (or penultimate week), it's possible that Prime Minister Fukuda may emerge from the session stronger than seemed possible.His bolstered stature has less to do with personal victories — the pork-and-patronage members of the LDP are no less angry with his leadership than before, and he still …
Here comes a censure motion
The power to pass a non-binding censure motion in the upper house has been burning a hole in the DPJ's pocket since the moment it took control of the House of Councillors, and it looks like the DPJ will finally make good on its threat to use it against the Fukuda government.For those keeping score …
Australia and Japan in the same boat
After being criticized at home (and, supposedly, in Tokyo) for failing to visit Japan on a swing through Asia in March, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will be in Tokyo this week for meetings with Prime Minister Fukuda.Andrew Shearer, a fellow at Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy, has an excellent op-ed in The Australian …
Administrative reform in sight
Its fate uncertain after being introduced in the Diet, the government's administrative reform bill now looks set to pass both houses after the DPJ concluded an agreement with the LDP and Komeito on a compromise bill.The bill, according to Asahi, will pass the HR's cabinet committee on Wednesday and the whole HR on Thursday.The government …
All or nothing at all
June is approaching, and that means we're one month closer to the expiration of the anti-terror special measures law passed in January via Article 59.Both parties are stepping up their preparations for the fight over a new bill that will likely occur in the autumn special session.When the Fukuda government agreed to Komeito's demand to …
Tobias S. Harris 