Say that five times fast.In response to the readmission of Hiranuma Takeo, prominent postal rebel, to the LDP, and to the general thrust of discourse within the LDP — Mr. Abe's speech to the Diet yesterday notwithstanding — the reform-minded "Koizumi children" are apparently at work preparing to convert their study group into a formal …
Continue reading Anti-faction non-faction to become a faction?
The special session of the Diet is officially opened.Prime Minister Abe, opening the session today, claims to have reflected deeply upon the results of the July's Upper House elections and recognizes that there are many who wish to see him gone, but for all that humility, it's entirely unclear whether he has actually learned anything. …
The DPJ, now calling the shots on the administration of the Upper House, has announced the distribution of the chairmanships of Upper House committees, and in a gesture that strikes me as magnanimous, has given the chairmanship of the Budget Committee to the LDP. The LDP has named Konoike Yoshitada to fill the post.While the …
That's the question asked by Amaki Naoto in a post that wonders why the DPJ has not responded to the arguments made by Kurt Campbell, Michael Green, and others about the nature of the mission in Afghanistan.Amaki, of course, is convinced that it is all a US war, and thus the DPJ should make the …
Continue reading Why has the debate on the anti-terror special measures law problem not deepened?
With Typhoon Fitow bearing down on the Kanto plain, I have decided to take shelter from the storm for the evening, and so there's no better time to step back and ponder the evolution of the Japanese party system.In the aftermath of the Upper House election, there was some talk of a political realignment as …
With the special session of the Diet due to start on September 10th, the Abe government is beginning to outline its options for the renewal of the anti-terror special measures law in the face of unyielding (thus far) DPJ opposition.The government evidently recognizes that it is facing an nearly impossible window in which to pass …
In an essay in the forthcoming issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review that I co-authored with Doug Turner, we discuss that the challenge for the LDP going forward is reconfiguring the party's identity for the post-Koizumi era. Reform or reaction? Urban or rural? These are the questions that the party has to answer.And yet …
US officials — including the president — continue to voice their desire that Japan renew the anti-terror special measures law (the latest contributor is National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley), and the new Abe Cabinet continues to signal its willingness to compromise with the DPJ in getting the law passed.It's not entirely clear to me how …
Continue reading The LDP, somewhere between a rock and a hard place
The ongoing tantrum being thrown by the US government and Japan experts in Washington's think tanks in response to the DPJ's decision to oppose the extension of the anti-terror special measures law continues unabated.Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman, voiced the Pentagon's strong desire that Japan continue to contribute to the multinational coalition working to rebuild …
Continue reading Tantrums in Washington will have consequences in Tokyo
MTC asks an extremely pertinent question about which I have been wondering all week.While pleasantly surprised by the new cabinet, MTC wonders who exactly was responsible for picking the new lineup. Mr. Abe no doubt has many people whispering in his ear — perhaps he would think more clearly if that wasn't the case — …
Tobias S. Harris 