The government has submitted its bill extending the temporary gasoline tax for ten years as part of its bill related to the revision of the tax system. It is not clear, however, whether the government will give up on finding a compromise with the opposition and push for passage before the end of the month, …
Tag: Japanese politics
Another consequential decision for the government
Having just finished the process of using Article 59 to pass the new anti-terror law, the Fukuda government is once again debating whether to go through the process of rushing a desired bill (the extension of the temporary gasoline tax) through the House of Representatives in order to leave the government time to "re-pass" the …
Continue reading Another consequential decision for the government
Is the LDP doomed?
MTC makes the bold prediction that the LDP "faces annihilation" in the next general election.I'm inclined to agree, simply because it seems that the LDP has finally exhausted the patience of the Japanese people — and the members of the LDP seem more interested in dividing into warring ideological camps than in making good policy …
Who won the battle over postal reform?
On Saturday, Koga Makoto, the LDP's chief election strategist, announced that the party's candidate in Gifu-1 will be Noda Seiko, a former postal minister ousted from the party as a postal rebel in the summer of 2005 and readmitted to the party in December 2006. The dispute was over whether the party would give the …
Japan on the brink
The Diet returned to business yesterday after a two-day recess, with Prime Minister Fukuda and members of his cabinet delivering speeches outlining the government's basic policies for the 2008 regular session.Prime Minister Fukuda — despite his decline in popularity, which he has said "can't be helped" — gave another excellent speech, his second in two …
Let there be strife
The LDP held its party convention in Tokyo on Thursday, and the mood was anything but cheery.Prime Minister Fukuda spoke bluntly about the existential crisis facing the party today. "We are facing the greatest crisis since the foundation of the party," he said to a crowd of some 3400 party members and supporters.Reiterating the party's …
High spirits in Yokohama
In the exceedingly brief pause between the just-finished special session of the Diet and the regular session of the Diet scheduled to begin tomorrow, both the LDP and the DPJ have held their party conventions.The message at the DPJ convention in Yokohama was simple: "Now is the time for realizing regime change and making the …
At FEER Forum
An article that began life as my review of the events of 2007 and has gone through several iterations since is now online at The FEER Forum, the Far Eastern Economic Review's group blog.You can read it here.
The imperious Mr. Ozawa
I'm with MTC: the "can the DPJ govern" meme has been beaten to death.The DPJ is here and it will in all likelihood be the largest party in the HC for at least the next six years. No amount of griping about the DPJ's unsuitability will change that. Even if the "realignment" happens, the change …
Use of force
"Japan PM forces navy bill through" — BBC."Japan's ruling party steamrolled a new anti-terrorism law through parliament." — Morning Brief, Foreign Policy Passport."Japan's ruling coalition forced a bill through parliament today..." — LA Times (AP)"Fukuda forces through law on Japanese naval deployment" — International Herald Tribune (NYT)"Japan forces through terror law" — Financial TimesAnyone else …
Tobias S. Harris 