The Democratic Party of Japan’s plan to bolster party unity by having incumbent president Ichiro Ozawa run for reelection unopposed may have backfired.

DPJ Upper House member Yasuhiro Oe has told reporters that he and fellow DPJ Upper House members Hideo Watanabe and Yumiko Himei - all vocal critics of Ozawa - will join forces with independent lawmakers Hiroyuki Arai (formerly of the LDP) and Shinpei Matsushita to form Voltron a new third party. (Read on …)

In this edition of TPR News: A few old favorites are back in the limelight this time - corruption at the Farm Ministry, bullying-related suicide, Japan’s approach to human rights legislation, and the country’s declining population are joined by a facelift for Nagatacho, drugs in sumo, and the latest news in business and the economy.

Politics

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. The extraordinary Diet session is set to begin on September 12th and will last a mere seventy days, leaving no time for the overrides of the opposition or the fifty-nining of bills that were the hallmark of the recent ordinary Diet session and last year’s extraordinary session. As Shisaku author MTC points out, this will leave a number of contentious issues unresolved.

The Indian Ocean refueling mission, reallocation of road tax revenues into the general fund, and a consumption tax increase, among others, are likely to fall by the wayside as there will be scant time to debate any of the above bills, have them approved by the House of Representatives, shot down by the House of Councillors, and aged for sixty days before being fifty-nined through by the ruling camp’s two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives on the second vote. (Read on …)

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The 47th edition of Seijigiri is about a week late, but has some extra content to make up for that. Co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley begin by taking a look at the recent reshuffling of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s cabinet, and try to project just how this new group might perform. A few ministers are looked at closely, including Finance Minister Ibuki Bunmei, State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano, State Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs Seiko Noda, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai.

After that, the discussion turns to polling numbers for the new cabinet, which has generally received a boost since the reshuffle. What will the cabinet have to do to continue improving on public sentiment? The discussion then moves to a quick look at the new cabinet’s first project, which will be to deal with weakening economic conditions. This brings up the issue of what will happen in the extraordinary session, and when that session may start. Once again, the LDP is going to have to get through a renewal of the refueling bill.

Over at the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, a vote for the next party president is due in September. Our hosts discuss my Ichiro Ozawa will most likely run uncontested and serve a third term as DPJ party president.

A quick look is taken at the North Korea situation, as the US has announced it will not yet remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Finally, the discussion moves to Garrett’s recent trip to Hiroshima and a discussion of the events surrounding the end of the war every August and how related issues are presented in both Tokyo and Hiroshima.

As always, thank you for listening.

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August 6th

On this day in 1945, at about 8:15 a.m., “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb detonated in aggression, was dropped on Hiroshima.

The 393d Bombardment Squadron’s Enola Gay and two other planes escorting it flew over the city unmolested as the Japanese military had decided to intercept only large squadrons in an attempt to conserve precious fuel and airplanes. (Read on …)

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Prime Minister Fukuda shook things up, changing 13 of the 17 Ministers in his Cabinet and dubbing the new bunch the “Cabinet for realizing peace of mind.”

‘’It speaks for itself that we did not carry out this reshuffle with a view to raising the public support ratings in preparation for the dissolution'’ of the lower house for a general election,” said continuing Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. ‘We are not carrying out politics or doing work as Cabinet members for the sake of ratings.'’
The fact remains that a general election is no more than 13 1/2 months away, no matter how high-minded the old LDP trusties dealing with the all-important economy are.

The Cabinet will officially get down to business once they go through an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Saturday morning.

Without further ado, here’s the line-up: (Read on …)

In this edition of TPR News: Fukuda to reshuffle the Cabinet; New Komeito calls for elections or a new majority leader; the DPJ presidential race heats up; industrial production and exports down, consumer prices up; Keirin involved in shady business; Nova’s Sahashi avoids a second indictment; and more.

Politics

The Diet is out of session, but politics continues apace.

Although the Fukuda Cabinet’s approval ratings have recovered a bit from their sub-20% nadir near the end of the ordinary Diet session, reaching 24% in the latest Asahi poll, the Prime Minister’s position is not looking much more secure, with his coalition partners and some members of his own LDP dropping hints that they don’t have confidence in Fukuda to lead them to victory in the general election that can occur no later than September of next year. (Read on …)

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Welcome to the 14th edition of BizCast Japan. In this edition of the show, co-hosts Albrecht Stahmer and Ken Worsley begin with a follow-up from the previous show. The new Fukutoshin subway line has opened in Tokyo, and Shinjuku department stores appear to have been the early winners, with strong jumps in sales reported over the first weekend.

After that, the discussion turns to the release of the iPhone in Japan, which happened the day before this show was recorded. The iPhone sold out on its first day, and although neither Apple nor Softbank are giving exact numbers, it seems as though the iPhone is off to a running start in Japan. Will the iPhone evolve into a must have product or will its lack of certain features ultimately hurt it’s potential to penetrate the Japanese market?

After talking about the iPhone, our hosts turn to a discussion of real estate in Tokyo, including the newly announced plans by Mori Building for a 46 story tower in Roppongi. Then, talk moves on to look at last week’s G8 summit, which was a complete disappointment. After that, Nissan’s sales strategy is considered and Shinsei’s decision to acquire GE’s consumer finance business in Japan is looked at. Finally, our hosts consider recent data showing deteriorating consumer sentiment in Japan, and speculate on whether consumer confidence has bottomed out or whether we might be a new all-time low next month.

As always, thank you for listening.

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Just as we did with the Black Stripe Theater’s Production of Glengarry Glen Ross, TPR is giving away tickets to their newest production: Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming. To get your pair, e-mail us at transpacificradio@gmail.com ASAP and let us know which shows you’d like to attend, in order of preference. We’re keeping this simple - first
come, first served. (Read on …)

In this edition of TPR’s Japanese politics podcast, your hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley take a look back at the big events of the ordinary Diet session that ended on Saturday. What was the ipact of the gas tax debate? The Bank of Japan Governor appointment debacle? The elderly health care struggle? The spats between the DPJ and LDP?

After that, the guys get into Prime Minister Fukuda’s ongoing troubles, the upcoming G8 Summit, Japan’s proposed new immigration policy, and more.

As always, thanks for listening.

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Asahi is reporting that former Nova President Nozomu Sahashi has been arrested on charges of embezzlement, after having initially been brought in for voluntary questioning on Tuesday morning.

It was just a year and a week ago that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry slapped Nova with a six month ban on signing up customers to long-term contracts.

More details to follow as they become available - this post will be updated.

As letsjapan.org is following these events in more detail, we recommend anyone following the case to head over there to read up.

HT to Shawn at letsjapan.org and JEN reader trev.