After an abbreviated recess, the Diet will reconvene today for its 2009 ordinary session.The situation facing Aso Taro, his party, and his country is dire, and growing darker by the day. The latest development is the tent village — is it appropriate to call it an Asoville or Aso-mura? — that has been growing in …
Tag: Ozawa Ichiro
The lessons of 2008
I have already written one retrospective essay on 2008 in Japanese politics, but I wanted to look back in more detail at this year's events and crystallize the year into a handful of lessons.As 2008 enters its final days, what have we learned about the state of the Japanese political system?First, and most importantly, the …
Conservatives, Clientelists, and Koizumians
Asahi has published a long article illustrating the feeling of crisis that has descended upon the LDP, especially following Aso Taro's disastrous showing in the latest Nikkei poll (discussed here).After months of building, it appears that the dissolution of the LDP may finally be in motion.The LDP can be roughly divided into three broad groupings, …
Continue reading Conservatives, Clientelists, and Koizumians
The center cannot hold
A new Nikkei-TV Tokyo poll conducted at the end of November found that Prime Minister Aso Taro's approval rating is in free fall.According to the poll, Mr. Aso's approval rating fell seventeen points to 31%, while his disapproval rating rose nineteen points to 62%. Twice as many respondents oppose the government's plan for a new …
The DPJ gambles
Prime Minister Aso Taro returned from the G20 meeting in Washington and immediately met with Ozawa Ichiro to discuss the conclusion of the extraordinary session of the Diet.The LDP and the DPJ are set for another showdown over the MSDF refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, as the DPJ has announced that it will boycott …
Ozawa responds
Two days after Aso Taro issued his challenge to the DPJ to put country first, DPJ President Ozawa Ichiro delivered his rebuttal to Mr. Aso's address.The speech was mostly a repeat of his speech last month to the DPJ convention following his uncontested reelection as DPJ president.In contrast to Mr. Aso, he provided a series …
The shape of the Ozawa revolution
"Now is the time to change Japan. It is not exaggeration to say that this is the last chance to change."So said Ozawa Ichiro Sunday as he marked his uncontested election to a third term as president of the DPJ.Mr. Ozawa gave an extended policy address to mark the occasion and to steel his party …
No honeymoon for Aso
Voting will begin today in the LDP's presidential election, which looks to be little more than a coronation for Aso Taro.Ishikawa prefecture had its vote on Saturday, and it appears that Ishikawa will give all three of its votes to Mr. Aso. I expect Ishikawa will be only the first of many sweeps to come.But …
The DPJ and PNP draw closer
Pushing the DPJ to the headlines again for the first time since Prime Minister Fukuda resigned at the start of September, the Democratic Party of Japan and the People's New Party are reportedly close to an agreement to merge. Ozawa Ichiro met with his counterpart Watanuki Tamisuke Tuesday to discuss a merger, and indicated to …
Election envy?
Ozawa Ichiro has effectively been elected to a third term as leader of the DPJ; not surprisingly, no one else filed to run in the party leadership election.At the same time, the LDP field has widened to five candidates, each with markedly different viewpoints.Not surprisingly, Mr. Ozawa's uncontested reelection has been unfavorably contrasted with the …
Tobias S. Harris 