Following his first salvo in the creation of a new Fukuda Doctrine, Sankei reports that Prime Minister Fukuda is preparing to launch the next salvo, which will be aimed at remaking Japan's foreign and defense policymaking process, namely by intensifying the Kantei's leadership in foreign policy.Mr. Fukuda's approach is markedly different from Abe Shinzo's, the …
Tag: Fukuda Yasuo
The new Fukuda doctrine
On Thursday of last week, Prime Minister Fukuda gave a keynote foreign policy address at the fourteenth annual International Conference on the Future of Asia, hosted by Nikkei in Tokyo.Not for the first time Mr. Fukuda gave me reason to lament his political troubles at home, as he gave a speech that was stunning in …
The post-Fukuda landscape remains open — for now
Aso Taro, who has presumably been vying for the LDP presidency since losing it to Fukuda Yasuo in September 2007, was asked about his intentions at a speech on Monday. Like his potential rival, Yosano Kaoru, Mr. Aso demurred, declining to declare what has been openly acknowledged for months.I suppose it would be inappropriate for …
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Nakagawa sees an end to the Fukuda slide
Break out the champagne! The prime minister's slide has stopped!So declares Nakagawa Hidenao, in response to a Hodo 2001 poll that showed Mr. Fukuda's approval rating rise four points to 24.2% and his disapproval rating fall two points to 70%.A net six-point shift in a single poll (which is limited to 500 people in the …
The post-Fukuda era looms
Asahi conducted a poll of LDP and DPJ prefectural chapters asking about support for the current party leaders.In the DPJ, Ozawa Ichiro's relationship with the prefectural chapters is secure: forty-four of forty-seven want him to remain as party head to lead the DPJ into the next general election.The news for Fukuda Yasuo, however, is bleak. …
The DPJ will use administrative reform as a wedge issue
With the government's having finally dispensed with the gasoline tax and road construction issues — for now — attention is now turning to other portions of the Fukuda agenda, such as it exists.Item number one is the government's — or perhaps more accurately, Administrative Reform Minister Watanabe Yoshimi's — administrative reform plan (previously discussed here). …
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Fear and loathing in the wake of Hu’s visit
As Jun Okumura notes, a poll by Fuji TV's Hodo 2001 program found that Fukuda Yasuo gained nothing from Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan last week.The poll recorded that nearly sixty percent of respondents disapprove of Mr. Fukuda's China policy.Beyond public doubts, Mr. Fukuda's action (or inaction) during Mr. Hu's visit have driven …
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May contribution to FEER Forum
You can find my latest contribution to FEER Forum here, discussing the impending demise of the Fukuda government.
The LDP’s dilemmas
Yamamoto Ichita, taking a break from rocking out, writes of the divide between LDP veterans and youngsters in the debate over Prime Minister Fukuda's plan to shift the special road construction fund into the general fund from 2009.The question is how the prime minister should proceed. At present, the HR will be voting next week …
Sankei analyzes its polls
Sankei Shimbun, whose website is probably the best among the websites of the major dailies, is posting a four-part series of articles online that breakdown the newspaper's public opinion polls. (Three of four have already been posted.) Regardless of the analysis provided in these pieces, they are worth looking at because they provide fine-grained analysis …
Tobias S. Harris 