With the Fukuda cabinet reshuffle, Hayashi Yoshimasa becomes Japan's fourth defense minister in the past twelve months.Of all the changes in the reshuffle, the ousting of Ishiba Shigeru is perplexing.The prime minister had given Mr. Ishiba his vote of confidence in the midst of calls for his resignation in the wake of the Atago incident, …
Tag: LDP
Meet the new Fukuda cabinet
I am in Los Angeles on a brief layover before heading to Chicago, so I don't have time to offer a more thorough discussion of the Fukuda reshuffle.For something more than my cursory remarks, I strongly recommend Jun Okumura's take and MTC's two posts.Readers will not be surprised to learn that I am underwhelmed by …
The reshuffle is tomorrow
The prime minister has announced that he will be reshuffling his cabinet and the LDP leadership on Friday afternoon, 1 Aug, after meeting with Komeito's Ota Akihiro in the morning.Of course Mr. Fukuda had to pick the afternoon of my departure from Japan to reshuffle his cabinet.If the reshuffle is done expeditiously, I will try …
Here comes Koike and friends
With Fukuda Yasuo set to finalize a schedule for a cabinet reshuffle after consultations with Komeito — according to Machimura Nobutaka, the prime minister is waiting for reports on the latest failed Doha Round negotiations before proceeding — the cabinet reshuffle is a go, possibly as early as 4 Aug (Monday).The media has immediately shifted …
Fukuda will take the plunge
I apparently overestimated Fukuda Yasuo's strength and independence in the face of pressure from within the LDP.Yomiuri is reporting — corroborated by Asahi and NHK — that the prime minister has settled on a cabinet reshuffle in early August. Interestingly, Yomiuri's source is Komeito chief Ota Akihiro, whose party is pushing hard for an election …
Nakagawa’s fantasy world
For once I'm not talking about Nakagawa Shoichi.Nakagawa Hidenao, onetime LDP secretary-general under Prime Minister Abe and now the putative leader of the LDP's Koizumians, has written a series of posts at his blog over the past week, starting with one on 19 July in which he criticized the DPJ for its "former Socialist Party …
Fukuda the pressured
Watching the news this morning, I saw Fukuda Yasuo's remarks yesterday on whether he intends to reshuffle his cabinet in advance of the autumn extraordinary session of the Diet.As before, he stated that he has not made his decision yet, that he is considering the "whole situation" in regard to conditions within the LDP and …
The feeling is mutual
MTC reports on comments by Koga Makoto and Suga Yoshihide, the LDP's chief and deputy election strategists regarding the possibility of a general election around the new year.MTC notes that Nikkei believes that this scheme is connected with the desire of New Komeito's leadership not to have to vote on the latest enabling law for …
Fukuda, the LDP, and Japan: all hamstrung
Fukuda Yasuo has returned from his vacation at the Prince Park Tower hotel near Shiba Park in Tokyo.His agenda is no less crowded than it was last week.In the final week of the month, Mr. Fukuda, his government, and his party will be considering the new budgetary guidelines, deliberating on when to start the autumn …
Don’t expect Japanese troops in Afghanistan
With five or six weeks until the start of the autumn extraordinary session of the Diet, one of Fukuda Yasuo's responsibilities during the recess is determining his government's approach to the Japanese contributions to operations in and around Afghanistan. The enabling law for the current Maritime Self-Defense Forces refueling mission will expire in January, meaning …
Continue reading Don’t expect Japanese troops in Afghanistan
Tobias S. Harris 