Speaking of what voters think, Sankei points to the latest public opinion poll delivering bad news to Prime Minister Fukuda. Following last week's Yomiuri poll that showed the cabinet's disapproval rising nine points to exceed 50% (just barely) for the first time Mr. Fukuda's inauguration, with the approval rating falling 6.9% to 38.7%, a public …
Tag: LDP
More on Koizumi’s address
Yamamoto Ichita, reformist LDP member of the House of Councillors from Gunma-ken, writes at his blog that journalists and other members of the Diet have contacted asking him to explain what Mr. Koizumi's intention was in his Friday remarks.He says:You might say that the average person cannot understand the thinking of a political genius. (Laughter.) …
A Koizumi comeback in the making?
On Thursday I wrote that the fight within the LDP over administrative reform may be an opportunity for marginalized Koizumians to regain influence within the party.It appears that they may be getting some heavyweight support: from Koizumi Junichiro himself.Sankei observes that in the new year, Mr. Koizumi has been more active on behalf of his …
Ishiba will fight on, with Fukuda’s help
Far from abandoning Defense Minister Ishiba Shigeru to his critics, Prime Minister Fukuda made clear today that he stands with Mr. Ishiba in emphasizing the need for fundamental reform of the Defense Ministry. The Atago incident, instead of spelling the end of Mr. Ishiba's second tour of duty in Ichigaya, may end up bolstering it …
Administrative reform is a wedge issue after all
In this post earlier this month, I asked whether administrative reform, the subject of a private consultative commission at the Kantei, was the ideal wedge issue for the DPJ to wield against the LDP.At the time, the DPJ had yet to elevate the issue to the top of its talking points. It appears, however, that …
Continue reading Administrative reform is a wedge issue after all
Recommended Book: Democracy Without Competition in Japan, Ethan Scheiner
"First-rate economics, third-rate politics."This phrase has long been shorthand for the LDP's half-century of nearly uninterrupted rule, despite corruption and high levels of unpopularity among the Japanese people (although of late there might be some convergence between economics and politics).Japanese and non-Japanese scholars have concocted numerous explanations for the LDP's enduring hold on power. Some …
Continue reading Recommended Book: Democracy Without Competition in Japan, Ethan Scheiner
Peace in our time (well, not really)
The LDP and the DPJ have come to an agreement on the process for approving candidates for positions that require HR-HC consensus. The terms of the agreement, the result of negotiations between the two parties' Kokutai chairmen, calls for separate hearings for candidates in the HR Committee on Rules and Administration and the HC Committee …
Into the pig box with them
With the debate within the LDP over the human rights protection bill intensifying, Abe Shinzo, former prime minister, has followed Mr. Aso out of exile and is now openly reunited with his ideological comrades within the LDP. He announced Friday that he is joining Nakagawa Shoichi's "True Conservative Policy Research Group," making him the group's …
Aso returns from the wilderness
Aso Taro, faction leader, former foreign minister, former LDP secretary-general (briefly), and losing contender for the LDP presidency in 2001, 2006, and 2007, essentially went into self-exile after the LDP's faction chiefs united to deny him the premiership and make Fukuda Yasuo prime minister. He indicated that he would not accept a post in Mr. …
Intimations of change
The revised bill for the special measures law on taxation, which includes the government's ten-year extension of the temporary gasoline tax, has been scheduled for interpellation in the plenary session of the House of Representatives from Tuesday, 19 February. The bill on the road construction special fund will be under discussion from Thursday, 21 February. …
Tobias S. Harris 