Even as the Japanese people confronted slow growth and considered whether the longstanding institutions of Japanese capitalism would be able to guarantee prosperity in the future, they faced the prospect of an aging, shrinking population and worried about the stability of Japan's social security system. As baby boomers retire, Japanese society, like other developed societies, …
Continue reading The Japanese public’s enduring anxiety about social security
In my last post I discussed public opinion regarding fiscal stimulus, fiscal reconstruction, and the role of the state. In this post, I'll look at public opinion concerning the behavior of Japanese companies, labor market practices, and the role of the government in promoting microeconomic or supply-side changes in the Japanese economy as a means …
Continue reading The Japanese public weighs structural reform
In the wake of Koizumi Junichiro's landslide election victory in 2005, the Economist published a survey on Japan under the headline "The Sun Also Rises," complete with a cover photo over the sun shining over Mt. Fuji.The Economist was hardly alone in proclaiming that the Koizumi era marked the beginning of a new, optimistic era …
After nearly a month of "phony" campaigning — passed quickly, didn't it? — the campaign for the 30 August general election began today as candidates filed their paperwork and parties submitted their lists for proportional representation voting. The main difference from now is simply that the long list of restrictions included the Public Elections law …
With his party's launch scheduled for 8 August, Watanabe Yoshimi has finally revealed its name.Minna no tō.Apparently the official English translation will be "Your Party." I'm not sure which is worse, the name in the original Japanese or its translation. I realize that Japanese parties have run the gamut when it comes to names, and …
Surprisingly, given the howls of protest from within the LDP that greeted Suga Yoshihide's proposal to include a ban on hereditary candidates in the party's election manifesto, the LDP appears ready to include restrictions on political inheritances in the manifesto after Suga met with Koga Makoto, the LDP's chief elections strategist, and Ibuki Bunmei, former …
Continue reading The LDP’s reformists continue to battle family politics
As Prime Minister Aso Taro prepares to travel to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama, he leaves behind a political situation that is nothing short of chaos.Asahi has published a snap poll that found that 71% of respondents — and 76% of self-described independents among the respondents — believe that Aso should resign immediately, …
NTV has just released a new opinion poll conducted over the weekend that shows that Aso Taro's approval rating has fallen below 10%, clocking in at 9.7% compared with 17.4% the previous month. His disapproval rating in the same poll rose seven points to 76.2%.Among the 55 respondents who said they support the Aso government, …
Did Koizumi Junichiro just kill the Aso government with a laugh?Speaking at a meeting of the Diet members' group for the promotion of postal privatization, an LDP study group featuring a number of leading reformists, including Nakagawa Hidenao, Shiozaki Yasuhisa, Takebe Tsutomu, and Ishihara Nobuteru, Mr. Koizumi commented on Aso Taro's recent remarks about "revising" …
In May 2008, I wrote about the creation of an LDP study group with the goal of eliminating the House of Councillors — the Diet's upper house — and moving to a unicameral system, a proposal that I suggested was an anti-democratic temper tantrum in response to DPJ control of the upper chamber.This proposal and …
Continue reading The foolish crusade against the House of Councillors
Tobias S. Harris 