Amidst all the changes introduced by the Hatoyama government since it took office in September, it is easy to forget what may be the most revolutionary change of all: transparent government.The most visible example thus far is the Government Revitalization Unit's comprehensive review of government spending programs, ably chronicled by Michael Cucek here and here. …
Tag: Japanese media
The strengths and weakness of Mr. Hatoyama’s government
After meeting with Ozawa Ichiro Monday, it appears that Hatoyama Yukio will get Fujii Hirohisa as his finance minister after all. The party's executive board — comprised of the inner circle of party leaders, including Hatoyama, Ozawa, Kan Naoto, and Okada Katsuya — has approved the roster, which will now go before the party's board …
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Sankei’s revealing gaffe
In case anyone doubted that the conservative media will have it out for the incoming DPJ government, the Sankei Shimbun has done everyone a favor and admitted that, like the LDP, it has gone into opposition.Sankei's city desk recently established a Twitter feed, at which the following was posted on 30 August even before voting …
Everything you ever needed to know about the Japanese media
Via Joël J. Legendre comes a link to a truly encyclopedic report from the US government on the state of the Japanese media, up to and including a wide variety of digital media.You can find the report here.The whole report is worth reading, although perhaps not in one sitting, and keeping as a reference.I found …
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Hatoyama’s media problem
As expected, the translation of Hatoyama Yukio's essay in VOICE (discussed here) has caused a stir in the United States.Asahi quotes several anonymous former US government officials, as well as Sheila Smith from the Council on Foreign Relations, criticizing the essay. One of the former officials suggested that the Obama administration will simply ignore the …
Fukuda passes, for now
It appears increasingly unlikely that Fukuda Yasuo will decide to reshuffle his cabinet before the autumn Diet session.NHK is reporting that at the very least there will be no decision on a reshuffle before the end of the month, as two members of the cabinet are delayed in returning from WTO talks abroad.Mr. Fukuda told …
Mr. Fukuda on holiday
Fukuda Yasuo, his (un)popularity barely affected by his hosting of the G8 summit last week, celebrated his seventy-second birthday Wednesday by starting a six-day vacation.Asahi notes that this is early for a prime minister to take his summer holiday, and speculates that since the prime minister does not have plans to travel far, there might …
Web developments
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest daily by circulation, is finally entering the twenty-first century.Earlier this month it revamped its website, introducing an RSS feed and other web tools. It also created a clipping service, for which users must register.Meanwhile Japan's other political parties have followed the LDP and created YouTube channels of their own (DPJ; …
What if the Australian prime minister came and nobody noticed?
Is there a news blackout on Prime Minister Rudd's visit to Japan?He made a speech on climate change in Kyoto and visited Hiroshima on Monday, and neither Yomiuri nor Asahi have articles online about his activities.It's possible that they have articles in the print edition that aren't online, but if that's the case, why did …
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The Koizumi mystery
I hesitate to link an article in Shokun!, but I think this short article raises an important point.The article wonders about Koizumi Junichiro's support for Koike Yuriko as a candidate for the premiership and his renewed involvement in politics more generally, particularly his recently formed nonpartisan study groups that may resemble proto-parties. It dismisses Ms. …
Tobias S. Harris 