Seijigiri #23: Abe, Aso and Kyuma to the US, and the state of constitutional reform in Japan
As promised, we have our Golden Week edition of Seijigiri. We aimed to publish it on Constitution Day (May 3), but two days late isn’t bad. In this edition of Seijigiri, we begin by talking about why so many trips abroad were made by top Cabinet officials during Golden Week. After that, the discussion turns to a look at a pamphlet entitled “Japan in the UN Security Council - Our Viewpoint” that was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this past week.
With Japan and the Security Council as a backdrop, the discussion turns to Mr Abe’s visit to the US, defense and security issues, and then, the 2+2 meetings between Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
After that, talk turns to constitutional reform in Japan and what we should expect in the coming months. We look at opposition to constitutional reform - which is usually taken to be the re-writing of Article 9 - and especially opposition from New Komeito, who is the Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner in the Diet. Could there be a split in the ruling coalition over the coming years? What of consensus within the LDP itself?
As always, thank you for listening. We look forward to any feedback, and we’re expecting our next release to be the week of May 14.
Related Posts:
- State of the Trans-Pacific Radio for June
- Seijigiri #24: Abe’s approval ratings bounce back, what’s being done in the Diet, and the foreign trainee program
- Seijigiri #28: The Upper House Campaign Gets Underway, Kyuma and Koike
- Defense Minister Kyuma is Gone: Shouganai
- Trans-Pacific Radio’s Most Played Audio Programs
