Comments on: Traditional Japan, or just traditional politics?

By: Aceface

Aceface — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:32:01 +0000

In spite of recent Ozawa fiasco,Fukuda is losing the public support in the various polls. And now LDP is backstepping from election within this year.Added to that now LDP come up with the plan of increase of the consumption tax(with having Nukaga as finance minister,who could be summoned for hearing at the diet anyday relating this scandal at defense ministry.)
DPJ can recover from aftershock of Ozawa’s resignation/change of his mind,as more time goes by and the memory of the people fades out.So better the later the general election for DPJ and so it seems the political trend.Thus my money is on DPJ victory in coming election.

By: George

George — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:54:13 +0000

Curzon,

Angel’s asserting that the Moriya scandal—in addition to its direct affect of making the Indian Ocean refueling mission much more difficult to restart—is going to have an indirect affect is more substantial than it might seem. Like he says, the historical evidence implies that scandals like this don’t matter in the long run. To publically assert otherwise is commonplace for journalists—who are eventually proven wrong—and rare for academics. His argument is that the 1994 reformed changed the electoral institutions in such a way that scandals matter now.

During the Koizumi years it looked like Angel was right. The new LDP leadership makes one wonder, though. The guy in charge of elections, Makoto Koga, is about as old-school LDP as they come. We’ll see in the next election whether Angel is right (if the LDP loses big) or if he is wrong (if Koga engineers a victory).

By: Curzon

Curzon — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:09:35 +0000

Good speaking voice, but I don’t hear much substance in that blurb of a few minutes.