John Plender, columnist in the FT, has a column (subscription only) in Wednesday's edition talking about the "accountability gap" in Japanese corporate governance.He wrote:...There is a corporate governance vacuum. Before the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, the postwar model of capitalism known as “Japan Inc” incorporated governance disciplines based on a main bank …
Tag: Japanese democracy
Free-for-all in the LDP
I want to call attention to this post by Adamu at Mutantfrog Travelogue, which thoroughly dissects the prevailing circumstances of the Abe Cabinet, including Abe's recent quashing of rumors hinting at a cabinet reshuffle.I just want to add a couple points to his cogent analysis.The problem, I think, with the Abe Cabinet is the Koizumi …
Seen and heard at the Diet
I was in attendance at today's session of the Upper House's Budget Committee, where it was my boss's turn to question the government.I managed to see a line of questioning derived entirely from my own research posed to Prime Minister Abe and Defense Minister Kyuma, which was satisfying -- although the acoustics of the chamber …
The muddy waters of the post-Koizumi era
For those who want a general overview of the present state of Japanese politics -- what's changed, what hasn't -- check out this article by Tokyo University professor Kabashima Ikuo and PhD candidate Okawa Chihiro. Published at Japan Echo, a monthly journal that publishes translations of scholarly articles originally written in Japanese, Kabashima and Okawa …
Japan’s evolving democracy…aimed squarely at USFJ?
In light of this recent post on encouraging signs that the realignment of the US military presence may at last be ready to move forward to a conclusion that satisfies both countries, I found this op-ed in the Japan Times by journalist Hanai Kiroku interesting, in that it shows how the US military presence has, …
Continue reading Japan’s evolving democracy…aimed squarely at USFJ?
Courageous or foolish?
The big story in political Japan today is that the drop in the rate of support for the Abe Cabinet has continued unabated, with the Asahi poll finding that the rate of support has dipped below the rate of people actively oppose to the cabinet.What I found most interesting, however, was the Yomiuri poll (in …
Nagata-cho, day one
My service in Kanagawa Prefecture is at an end. I am now making the long commute -- along with most of the Tokyo metropolitan area, it seems -- to central Tokyo, to Nagata-cho, Japan's Capitol Hill.No time was wasted today, as I was very rapidly thrown into the Nagata-cho life this morning. Almost immediately upon …
Revolution from below
This article at Mainichi online, on ceremonies to commemorate Northern Territories Day, caught my eye for a couple reasons.The first is that I can't help but wonder if a push to resolve longstanding territorial disputes with Russia is driven by rising fears of abandonment in the government of Japan. Outside the alliance with the US, …
Political Tourette’s Syndrome?
The new Diet session is more or less on hold, as the DPJ and other opposition parties have decided to boycott the Lower House's Budget Committee meetings on supplemental expenditures until Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Yanigasawa resigns.Although Abe has apologized for his subordinate's remarks, the opposition has continued to push for resignation.And not without …
The DPJ starts out on the wrong foot
As I alluded to earlier, in this post on Abe's speech at the opening of the new Diet session, the DPJ may find itself unable to attack the LDP for improprieties by LDP members in the raising of political funds due to the resignation of erstwhile DPJ member Tsunoda Giichi from his position as vice …
Tobias S. Harris 