I'm watching the results of the Upper House election as they come in on NHK this evening, and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party is losing badly. Abe is swearing he'll stay in office to "fulfill his mission to create a new country," but even the usually obsequious NHK commentators are asking him pointed questions about his unpopularity with the electorate and hinting less than subtly that he ought to resign. His eyes look hunted, and he's on the ropes.
I really hope he does go. He's a ideologue who cares more about his pet right-wing policies (teaching patriotism in schools, revising the Constitution to get rid of the pacifist Article 9, pushing North Korea over the abduction issue) than basic issues like the economy and Japan's greying society. And he's proved surprisingly inept in his Cabinet appointments - after one farm minister committed suicide rather than face corruption allegations, he appointed another who was immediately exposed as engaged in precisely the same kind of corruption, for example.
The problem is that the leader of the Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, is himself a former Liberal Democrat politician who was heavily involved in that party's money politics before jumping ship when the faction to which he belonged became discredited by multiple corruption scandals. Ozawa is a very clever politician, but it's unlikely any opposition led by him will be motivated to clean up the corruption that's endemic to Japanese politics. Seeing Abe losing by such a landslide is exhilarating, but the lack of a decent alternative is thoroughly depressing.
But then I don't have a vote in Japan, so my opinion isn't worth the pixels it's appearing on your screen in anyway....
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Occasional diary of a bicultural family living in Osaka. It's mainly intended as a way of keeping our widely dispersed family and friends up to date with our lives. But however you've found your way here, welcome!
About Me
- Claire
- Our family consists of Claire (English, translator); Kei (6th grader) and Dan (3rd grader). Sakura is Japanese cherry blossom. The part of Osaka in which we live is named for it, and when the trees bloom in early spring their fragile beauty transforms the urban jungle.
1 comment:
It was very interesting to watch the elections last night. Not even a whole year after Koizumi's stunning victory, it is amazing to see the LDP party lose so badly.
Personally, I can't stand to watch Abe speak. He never just goes right through to the end of a sentence. He pauses in the middle like he's trying to decide if this is really the way he wants to go and then continues on. It gets old after awhile.
Even for people who didn't like Koizumi, at least he was a leader and had convictions. But there isn't anyone on the horizon, as you said, who is a good alternative. It'll be interesting to watch what happens over the next few years.
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