Latest release: Farm Ministry Corruption, Ne...
Seijigiri: An in-depth look at Japanese politics
Latest release: Seijigiri #47: Fukuda's new ...
BizCast Japan: A window into business in Japan
Latest release: BizCast Japan #14: The iPhon...
Shasetsu: Shasetsu means 'editorial' in Japanese
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TPR Spotlight: A focus on bigger issues
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Recent Audio Releases:
Prime Minister Fukuda Resigns
At this very moment (about 9:35 p.m. Japan Time on Monday, September 1st), Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is announcing his resignation, interrupting evening television broadcasts. Apparently, he decided to resign last week, feeling it better to step aside prior to the September 12th start of the extraordinary Diet session so as not to cause trouble.
Fukuda said he thought he had laid the groundwork for the next Prime Minister to make progress on the issues he wanted to address, but was unable to completely resolve. He assured the TV audience and press corps that he understood the problems and complaints of the people and strove to do what was best.
So far, the pundits agree that Fukuda had been boxed in by not only the opposition camp, but also the LDP’s coalition partners, who blocked most of his initiatives and showed no sign of making the coming extraordinary Diet session any more friendly than the recent ordinary Diet session or last year’s extraordinary session. For his troubles, Fukuda earned only the disapproval of the citizenry.
As of today, Fukuda’s approval rating stood at 29% - a nine point drop from its high just after the recent Cabinet reshuffle, but, unfortunately for him, one of the higher points for that measure this year. Disapproval was at 63%, an increase of 14 points.
At this point, the question is whether, or by how much, the impending LDP Presidential election will delay a general election (a question that takes us into speculation built on speculation.) Fukuda’s resignation doesn’t change the fact that there still must me a general election no later than September 2009.
With the coming election of a new LDP President and, hence, a new Prime Minister, a Special Session of the Diet will have to be convened. Whether this Special Session will supplant, be subsumed by, or be added onto the already planned Extraordinary Session, I’m trying to find out at the moment. If the latter, Fukuda’s resignation might have been very well-timed indeed. The lenghtened session could even act as a sort of punishment to New Komeito for its lack of loyalty. A longer session would also allow for the fifty-nining of at least one or two of the contentious, deadlock-inducing measures due to face the Diet this Fall, not least of which would be the Indian Ocean refueling mission, up for renewal again, which US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently urged Japan to continue on her visit here.
It would be kind of any readers who can set me straight on the above to comment below.
More to come.
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #41: The Budget is Passed, and Fukuda is Feeling the Pressure
- LDP Presidential Election: Aso vs Fukuda
- Seijigiri #43: Diplomatic Affairs, Fukuda’s Falling Approval Ratings, and “Gridlock” in the Diet
- Upper and Lower Houses Can’t Agree, so Fukuda Officially Becomes Prime Minister
- Seijigiri #34: Fukuda keeps the Faction Heads Happy and Koizumi’s “Great Mane of Richard Gere-ness” (with Adam Richards)
3 DPJ Members Leave to Form New Party of 5
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 …)
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- Seijigiri #24: Abe’s approval ratings bounce back, what’s being done in the Diet, and the foreign trainee program
- 2006: The year in Japan news, in cloud form
- Abe and the LDP in the Nikkei
- Japan’s Political Parties
- TPR News: January 19, 2007 - Abe at the yellow light, Aso vs Tanigaki, interest rates and more dirty money
Farm Ministry Corruption, New Diet Session, and Sumo Drugs: TPR News for Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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 …)
Related Posts:
- 3 DPJ Members Leave to Form New Party of 5
- Seijigiri #46: Diet Session Ends, Fukuda’s Future, and the Future of Immigration
- Yokozuna Asashoryu uses the Ketaguri -
朝 青 龍 のけたぐり - Prime Minister Fukuda Resigns
- Seijigiri #24: Abe’s approval ratings bounce back, what’s being done in the Diet, and the foreign trainee program
Seijigiri #47: Fukuda’s new cabinet, government spending, the extraordinary session, DPJ leadership, North Korea, and Garrett’s trip to Hiroshima
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.
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #43: Diplomatic Affairs, Fukuda’s Falling Approval Ratings, and “Gridlock” in the Diet
- Seijigiri #34: Fukuda keeps the Faction Heads Happy and Koizumi’s “Great Mane of Richard Gere-ness” (with Adam Richards)
- Seijigiri #33: Fukuda leads to Koizumi leads to Abe leads to Fukuda (with Adam Richards)
- Upper and Lower Houses Can’t Agree, so Fukuda Officially Becomes Prime Minister
- Seijigiri #41: The Budget is Passed, and Fukuda is Feeling the Pressure
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
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 …)
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #47: Fukuda’s new cabinet, government spending, the extraordinary session, DPJ leadership, North Korea, and Garrett’s trip to Hiroshima
- Defense Minister Kyuma is Gone: Shouganai
- Sato & the 3 Non-Nuclear Principles
- Japan’s War: Color footage from WWII showing the Japanese side
- Lux Radio Theater: China (starring Alan Ladd and Loretta Young)
New Cabinet Ministers Announced
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 …)
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #47: Fukuda’s new cabinet, government spending, the extraordinary session, DPJ leadership, North Korea, and Garrett’s trip to Hiroshima
- Farm Minister Endo Resigns: Abe Goes 0 for 3
- Seijigiri #30: What will Japan’s post-election political landscape look like?
- Is Abe Sick or is that just the “In” Thing these days?
- When a Gaffe is Not a Gaffe and Why It Matters
Cabinet Reshuffle, Economic Downturn, and Nova: TPR News for Thursday, July 31, 2008
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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- AACE No Longer Handling Australia Recruiting for Nova
- Another tale from the inside of Nova
- TPR’s Ken Worsley Discusses Nova on Radio New Zealand: With Audio File
- Seijigiri #47: Fukuda’s new cabinet, government spending, the extraordinary session, DPJ leadership, North Korea, and Garrett’s trip to Hiroshima
- Do You Work for NOVA? TPR Wants to Talk to You.
BizCast Japan #14: The iPhone in Japan, Department Stores, Real Estate, the G8, Nissan, Shinsei and Consumer Sentiment
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.
Related Posts:
- BizCast Japan #13: Department Stores, Fukutoshin, Seven-Eleven, Whale Meat, Real Estate and the iPhone
- BizCast Japan #11: Toyota, Mizuho, Blogging, Real Estate and Consumer Electronics in 2008
- State of the Trans-Pacific Radio for August
- BizCast Japan #7: Retail, Uniqlo, Condo Prices, Nova, Mobile Price Wars and the State of the Japanese Workplace
- BizCast Japan #6: Real estate, Investment funds, Billy’s Boot Camp, and Fast Retailing seeks to aquire Barneys
Free “Homecoming” Tickets
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 …)
Related Posts:
Seijigiri #46: Diet Session Ends, Fukuda’s Future, and the Future of Immigration
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.
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #30: What will Japan’s post-election political landscape look like?
- TPR Spotlight: Debito Arudou on the Foreign Labor Market (& Duran Duran), Part 1 of 2
- Seijigiri #40: The MSDF heads out, Gasoline and Capital Gains Taxes, Fukuda’s Policy Speech, and the 2008 National Budget
- Seijigiri #45: Could a Cabinet Reshuffle Help Fukuda’s Approval Ratings? Problems with the Cabinet, Road Taxes, 59ing in the Diet, and Koizumi is back on the scene
- Seijigiri #43: Diplomatic Affairs, Fukuda’s Falling Approval Ratings, and “Gridlock” in the Diet