Nakagawa Shoichi, the finance minister under Aso Taro who, becoming infamous worldwide for his behavior at a G7 meeting in Rome in February, was forced to resign and then lost his seat in the August general election, was found dead at his home in Tokyo's Setagaya ward Sunday morning. Yomiuri notes an absence of external …
Tag: Nakagawa Shoichi
Nakagawa Shoichi in trouble
As a follow-up to Saturday's review of the races in Hokkaido, this story from Hokkaido should be of interest.Nakagawa Shoichi, the former finance minister who I suggested faces an uphill battle for reelection in Hokkaido's eleventh district, went before a meeting of his koenkai to declare that from henceforth he will abstain from alcohol (cold …
Hokkaido, a DPJ stronghold
In 2005, the DPJ managed to win eight of twelve single-member districts in Hokkaido, while equaling the LDP with three of the block's eight proportional representation seats. By receiving three of eight seats, the DPJ in Hokkaido outperformed the DPJ nationwide, winning 33% of the vote and 37.5% of the seats, compared with 31.02% of …
The conservatives undaunted
Abe Shinzo, former prime minister and favorite of many alliance managers in Washington, was in Washington, D.C. this past week, meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and delivering addresses at the Brookings Institution and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation's US-Japan Seapower Dialogue.Chris Nelson, eponymous author of The Nelson Report, concluded from Abe's visit that "he …
After the launch
In the wake of North Korea's Unha-2 launch Sunday, the Japanese establishment and public have uniformly reacted with a sense of outrage and a desire for an vigorous Japanese and international response to the test.With substantial public support — 78% of respondents in a Yomiuri poll — the government is investigating tightening sanctions and plans …
Aso’s missed opportunity
As Aso Taro's poll numbers continue to plummet — in addition to reaching 11% approval in the Mainichi and Sankei Shimbun polls, his disapproval rating in the Sankei poll is at 80.2% — and as the likelihood of an LDP defeat in this year's general election rises, it is worth asking whether there was anything …
Aso follows Mori’s path
"President Bush will welcome Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Washington for a working visit March 19. In addition to their important shared security objectives in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States and Japan have common interests on a broad range of global issues. The President looks forward to exchanging views with Prime Minister Mori on …
And there you have it
Nakagawa Shoichi has indicated that he will resign following the passage of the 2009 budget and budget-related bills.As MTC notes, "Provided that the Asō Cabinet is still existence then, I would have to add."I would add that with Nakagawa Shoichi's self-destruction, the power of the LDP's ideological conservatives appears to be in freefall.Consider the HANA …
Nakagawa will not survive
Nakagawa Shoichi's behavior at the G7 meeting in Rome — the slurred speech heard around the world — has quickly become a full-blown scandal.With the rallying cry of "exposing disgraceful behavior," the DPJ, the SDPJ, the JCP, and the PNP are preparing to submit a (non-binding) censure motion in the upper house.Mr. Nakagawa will go …
Nakagawa Shoichi is now Aso’s problem
As the above video illustrates, Nakagawa Shoichi, finance minister, financial services minister, and Aso ally appeared at the G7 meeting in Rome, where he stumbled and slurred his way through his remarks to the press and fell asleep during the plenary session.Hatoyama Yukio, DPJ secretary-general, has already called for Mr. Nakagawa to be fired for …
Tobias S. Harris 