Seijigiri #17 - February 9, 2007 - Ministerial misspeak leads to the birthrate leads to 外人 犯罪 裏 ファイル leads to some intemperance
In this edition of Japan’s (self-declared) favorite political podcast, Ken and Garrett go off on the political system as it is, having been driven to great frustration by the problems in the government underlying the ill-considered remarks of Ministers, xenophobia and racism on the conbini shelf, and the arrogance of officials who tell the citizens of this fine land that they ought to want to crank the pups out.
Although we’ve referred to Yanagisawa, Aso, and Kyuma’s unfortunate remarks as gaffes, we explain why they’re not so much gaffes as symptoms of deeper problems.
We also touch on the latest belle of the blogosphere,
And that’s not all! No, your humble sevants go on to promise a Six-Party Talks special in the near future.
As always, thank you for listening.
Sites referenced in this edition of Seijigiri:
The Foreigner Crime File Situation at JapanProbe
Review of GAIJIN HANZAI Mag: what’s wrong with it? at debito.org
Good Foreigner, Bad Foreigner at Mutant Frog
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鳩山 由紀夫 のホームページのアニメーション - A Near Miss with Ibuki, Abe Gives Up, & a Warning to Foreigners from the NPA via the US Embassy
- TPR News: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - Yanagisawa, Ishihara, Nakasone, whaling, and Japan blogs
- Homelessness in Japan
- TPR News: Friday, December 22, 2006 - IC card for foreigners in Japan, the Honma Maasaki scandal and Taro Aso
Seijigiri #16 - January 23, 2007 - Abe’s Diet session opens this Thursday: How will he build the beautiful country?
Shinzo Abe’s new job as Prime Minister of Japan will take a big turn in the upcoming week. The ordinary session of the Diet opens this Thursday, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to lay out his vision in a speech on Friday. Garrett and Ken have singled out seven items that could become the cornerstones of Mr Abe’s first regular session of the Diet as a Prime Minister. The seven items that might form the crux of his program include:
- Education reform
- Constitutional reform
- Pressure on North Korea
- Strengthening security ties with the United States
- Moving toward a bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council
- Proposing ways to tackle the nation’s declining birth rate
- Setting up a US-style national security council
Seijigiri looks at what Mr Abe might and might not prove successful at, as well as makes a few predictions for the upcoming Diet session.
Blogs and sites mentioned in this podcast:
Mutant Frog Travelogue: Amazingly weird DPJ commercial gets party leaders in trouble at annual convention by Adam Richards
Tokyo Calling: Japan’s first podcast by Scott Lockman
From the inside, looking in by Shin Fukushige
Japan Probe
Errata: Unfortunately, I referred to America’s former ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, as “Tom Bolton.” We did not catch the error in time to correct it. Red Sox fans in the audience might recognize Tom Bolton as a former Sox lefthander who pitched for us from 1987-1992, before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Billy Hatcher. Overall a mediocre pitcher, Bolton did go 10-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 1990. Of course, the man he was traded for, Billy Hatcher, had his most famous moment as a Red Sox in 1993, when he stole home at a game I watched from the first base side seats in Fenway Park; thus, there is a connection from TPR to Tom Bolton, tenuous as it may be. We regret the error - Ken.
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #7 - October 8, 2006 (Abe’s bold steps and a big gaffe)
- Show notes for Seijigiri #7
- TPR News: Monday, January 29, 2007 - Women are Machines, Kyuma is a Headache, Bird Flu is on the Rise, & more
- Seijigiri #15 - January 5, 2007 - What’s in store for Japanese politics in 2007?
- The Just-Under-One-Fifth Compromise
Seijigiri #15 - January 5, 2007 - What’s in store for Japanese politics in 2007?
Seijigiri returns after a long winter break. Garrett and Ken are back and are joined once again by special guest Albrecht Stahmer.
This edition of Seijigiri, a podcast focusing on Japanese politics, brings a special discussion on the issues that promise to shape Japan’s political discourse over the coming year. Garrett, Ken and Albrecht discuss Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s situation, the recent scandals involving three powerful government figures, Japan and the United Nations, regional power, how the economy might affect Abe’s future, Keidanren’s projections for the economy, the upper house diet election coming up in July, and how the DPJ and Ichiro Ozawa figure into the mix.
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Seijigiri #14 - December 3, 2006 (Politics, Power, and, of course, Education, with Mr. Aso for dessert)
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Ken and Garrett take a look at the emergency measures taken by the Education Rebuilding Council designed to address bullying. Why is it worse to suspend a bully than allow a kid to be bullied?
Nakaima was elected Governor of Okinawa. How does this fit into the LDP’s plans?
The town hall meeting scandal is discussed, along with it’s implications and dirty little secrets. It’s a scandal within a scandal. What’s not to love?
George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Aso Taro shows us that remembering the past and letting your thoughts go can produce disturbing results, for which yor hosts dutifully poke fun at him. One can’t imagine that Prime Minister was all that pleased with his Foreign Minister’s talk of an arc disturbingly reminiscent of a certain sphere of yesteryear.
We know you have a choice in Japanese politics podcasts and we appreciate your choosing Seijigiri. If there’s anything we can do to make your time with us more comfortable, please let us know.
Thank you for listening.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Education reform at Japan Probe
Say it with me: “Dentsu” at Mutant Frog Travelogue
Town hall meeting scandal at Japan Considered
Related Posts:
Seijigiri #13 - November 24, 2006 (Bullies & the Pols Who Love Them)
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Ken and Garrett discuss the Education Bill (called the “Patriotism Bill” by the Washington Post), Tokyo Governor Ishihara’s unhelpful comments, what people outside the government are doing to address the bullying problem, and why fretting over abductees may be hurting Japan’s ability to deal with North Korea.
Why is MEXT getting it wrong on bullying? Is the kantei pushing for nationalism? Is Japan making a mistake by trying to decrease rice production?
Bonus! Japan’s workers are receiving record high bonuses. Is that a good sign?
These questions and more addressed in everyone’s favorite Japan-based English-language Japanese politics podcast.
Thank you for listening.
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Seijigiri #12 - November 16, 2006: A special discussion on the Japan lobby
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In this special discussion edition of Seijigiri, Garrett and Ken discuss the ‘Japan lobby’ and the role it plays in influencing American politics and foreign policy. In particular, we look at the role played by the Japan lobby in the defeat of US House Resolution 759, which would have called upon Japan to acknowledge, apologize for and make amends for its practice of forcing women into sexual slavery during the second world war.
As always, thank you for listening.
Links to further reading on related issues:
Ken Silverstein’s Cold Comfort: the Japan Lobby Blocks Resolution on WWII Sex Slaves was published by Harper’s on October 5, 2006.
The Boston Globe published a piece on the process that killed House Resolution 759.
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Seijigiri #11 - November 3, 2006 (Seijigiri toughens up and goes to school.)
Ken and Garrett are back with a full slate. North Korea’s actions are helping Abe Shinzo get his hoped-for reforms of Japan’s defense posture with the upgrading of the Defense Agency to Ministry status and changes to allow the SDF to operate more extensively overseas. Japan’s schools are plagued with troubles, a test for the newly formed Education Rebuilding Council. To top it all off, the LDP continues to push the DPJ into the shadows with by-election wins in Osaka and Kanagawa.
High school seniors need to study more history, others are being pushed over the edge by bullying. What will Education Minister Ibuki and Special Advisor Yamatani do? Is the SDF going to go overseas more often? Are the DPJ’s losses in the by-elections a sign of continuing decline? Is DPJ chief Ozawa Ichiro ineffective? Should Japan seek to normalize relations with North Korea? If not definitive answers, your hosts can at least give you some food for thought.
Thank you for listening.
Leave us a comment, let us know what you think.
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- Seaman Ship: The Maritime Self-Defense Forces Recruiting Ad
- Trans-Pacific Radio’s Most Played Audio Casts
- Bullying in Hokkaido: The Hokkaido Prefectural Board of Education Demands all Evidence be Removed from the Web
- Japan Bullying and Suicides in the International News
- TPR News: Friday, December 8, 2006 - Abe is less popular, Koizumi wants to go to Pyongyang, and the Bullying crisis continues
Seijigiri #10 - October 19, 2006 (A little more North Korea, some Rice, then we come home for school.)
Ken and Garrett keep up with what’s going on in response to the DPRK’s nuclear test and return to domestic issues. Condi Rice visits Japan to talk about North Korea and renews America’s promise to defend Japan against all threats, Abe Shinzo’s education board meets to improve teacher quality and student morality, and Yasukuni pops up again. 84 lawmakers decided to stop by for a visit at the Shrine’s autumn festival. What does it mean for relations with China and South Korea?As promised, here’s an image of the 84 lawmakers and 90 assistants as they head into the Yasukuni Shrine on Wednesday, October 18. Although prime minister Abe Shinzo was not among them, Chinese officials have publicly ‘warned’ the prime minister against making a future visit. Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, who was meeting with Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist party’s International Liaison Department, said that Abe would be sure to visit the shrine. According to Ozawa, it would be difficult for Abe to honor China’s request as doing so would cause him to lose popular support at home.
The Shiki Theatre Company (
Thank you for listening.
Related Posts:
- Trans-Pacific Radio’s Most Played Audio Casts
- Seijigiri #13 - November 24, 2006 (Bullies & the Pols Who Love Them)
- Seijigiri #8 - October 10, 2006 - A special update on the North Korean nuclear test
- Seijigiri #11 - November 3, 2006 (Seijigiri toughens up and goes to school.)
- North Korea announces nuclear test
Seijigiri #9 - October 11, 2006 (Special Discussion of North Korea’s First Nuclear Test)
Mere hours after the DPRK’s first nuclear test was reported, TPR assembled some news links, got a post up as soon as possible, and released a brief announcement as Seijigiri #8. We promised a more in-depth discussion when events became clearer, so here it is: Ken and Garrett talk about the test, what it may have been, how the other parties to the Six-Party Talks reacted, and what might happen in the coming weeks.
News of a possible second test broke while Garrett and Ken were recording, so there’s some discussion of that as well. More to come if and when a second test is confirmed.
Update: Reports of a second test seem to have been spawned over confusion casued when an earthquake registering 6.0 on the richter scale occured off the coast of northeast Japan on Wednesday morning. NHK broke the news, which was then apparently picked up by a government source. US and South Korean officials have said that there have been no signs of a second North Korean nuclear test.
Instant errata:
We know that Idi Amin was from Uganda, not Ghana. We also know that there is no real evidence to support the idea that he ate anyone, Ghanaian or otherwise.
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- Seijigiri #7 - October 8, 2006 (Abe’s bold steps and a big gaffe)
- North Korea announces nuclear test
- Seijigiri #10 - October 19, 2006 (A little more North Korea, some Rice, then we come home for school.)
Seijigiri #8 - October 10, 2006 - A special update on the North Korean nuclear test
In this special edition, we bring you the voices of nine world leaders as they comment on the October 9th nuclear weapons test by North Korea. This release is seven minutes long and will soon be followed by a longer, in-depth discussion of the issue. All non-English comments have been voiced over with translations.
As always, thank you for listening.
The speakers are:
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