In this edition of TPR News: The new Cabinet, the fight over Japan’s role in Afghanistan, new Agriculture Minister in trouble, retail sales are down, sales tax could be up, net cafe refugees, and a longer school week.

Politics

The past couple of weeks have been full of high drama in the world of politics. There’s a lot to cover, so we’ll pick up from this week and hit the highlights.

The big political news, of course, is the Cabinet reshuffle that occurred the day after Trans-Pacific Radio’s first anniversary - Monday, the 27th. As expected, Prime Minister Abe, or those influencing his Cabinet appointments, turned to big players in important LDP factions, likely as a move to quiet his critics within the party and solidify his own, somewhat tenuous position.

Mere days before the reshuffle, Defense Minister Yuriko Koike announced her intention not to join the new Cabinet, having only recently replaced the gaffe-prone Fumio Kyuma. Koike has been replaced by Masahiko Komura, who served as Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Justice Minister under Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

In another widely-predicted move, Taro Aso accepted the post of LDP Secretary General, replacing Hidenao Nakagawa. As Aso left the official Cabinet, the portfolio of Foreign Minister was picked up by Nobutaka Machimura, Aso’s predecessor in the post, Education Minister under Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, and, perhaps most important, both in terms of his being named to the Cabinet and his wielding power, head of the formidable Mori faction, which has produced the last three Prime Ministers - Abe, Koizumi, and Mori.

The second Abe Cabinet also includes Yoichi Masuzoe as new Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare, a former Professor of Political Science at the University of Tokyo and an outspoken critic of the Prime Minister. After the LDP’s resounding loss in the July 29th House of Councillors election, Masuzoe said Abe’s refusal to step down showed a disregard for the will of the people, as expressed in their rejection of his LDP at the polls.

Among other things Masuzoe inherits the mess at the Social Insurance Agency from outgoing MHLW Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, best known for his “birthing machines” remark, and says of his appointment, “Criticism is criticism. Now we must make the LDP one.”

The appointment that seems to have caused the most excitement is that of Kaoru Yosano as Chief Cabinet Secretary, replacing Yasuhisa Shiozaki. Known for his patience, Yosano has served as Education Minister, Economic Minister, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, and, under Prime Minister Obuchi, as Minister of the vaunted MITI.

The appointment causing the most confusion is that of former Defense Agency head Fukushiro Nukaga as Finance Minister. Nukaga’s experience comes from his having been State Minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy and information technology policy, however, he left both that post, in 2000, and the JDA, in 1998, amid scandal. He was JDA Chief again, under Koizumi, in 2005.

Why the Abe administration, beset by scandal up to this point, would want someone with a track record of nohting but scandal to head the MOF, the de facto rulers of Japan, is a mystery. Some commentators have speculated that Nukaga will, by being involved in yet another scandal, bring the arrogant MOF down a peg or two. On the other hand, considering the power of career bureaucrats, it might not matter much who they ignore.

Holding on to their respective portfolios are: MEXT Minister Ibuki Bunmei, METI Minister Akira Amari, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, Administrative Reform Minister Yoshimi Watanabe, and Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Hiroko Ota.

Since the reshuffle, support for the Cabinet has risen to 33% in the most recent Asahi Shimbun poll and to as high as 40% in other polls.

For more information on the new Cabinet, their dirt, their roles, et cetera, look for the forthcoming Seijigiri #31.

Before the new Ministers could even warm their seats, the ruling LDP got ready to fight the ascendant opposition DPJ, which controls the Upper House, over renewal of the anti-terror special measures law, better known as the law authorizing the SDF’s mission in Afghanistan, which is set to expire on November 1st.

In a meeting with US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa said he did not think the law should be renewed because it was in conflict with the spirit of the Japanese Constitution. The political blog Shisaku speculated that, among other reasons, Yuriko Koike stepped down as Defense Minister because she took a shot at Ozawa shortly before she’d have to win him over to pass a renewal of the anti-terrorism law.

New Chief Cabinet Secretary Yosano has taken a step in a conciliatory direction by abandoning his predecessor, Shiozaki’s, public criticism of Ozawa, most likely in the hope of bringing Ozawa around to supporting the anti-terror special measures law, a step some within Ozawa’s own party would like to see.

For his part, on Friday, Ozawa vowed to use his party’s power in the Upper House to block bills put forth by the ruling coalition in order to put pressure on Abe and his Cabinet, forcing the Prime Minister’s resignation and a general election sooner rather than later. Also on Friday, Ozawa appointed Katsuya Okada and Seiji Maehara as his vice presidents, Masayuki Naoshima as chief of the policy research council, and Kenji Yamaoka as chief of the Diet affairs committee.

New Defense Minister Masahiko Komura hit the ground running by meeting Cao Gangchuan, his Chinese counterpart, in Tokyo on Thursday. The meeting was the first between the two nations’ defense chiefs since September 2003, when then Defense Agency Director-General Shigeru Ishiba met with Cao in Beijing. The last time a Chinese defense chief visited Tokyo was nine years ago.

Komura primarily asked Cao for more transparency in China’s military build-up and tried to reassure the Chinese side that they had nothing to fear from Japan’s joint development of a missile defense system with the United States.

First Matsuoka, then Akagi, now new Agriculture Minister Takehiko Endo is in trouble over apparent financial improprieties. Specifically, Endo accepted a 50,000 yen donation from a livestock dealer in Yamagata, Endo’s home district, who received government subsidies.

On Friday, Endo admitted that a farmers’ mutual aid organization he heads had illegally received 1.15 million yen from the government by declaring 105 more members than it actually had. Endo said he learned of the illegal receipts three years ago, when a Board of Audit investigation discovered the fraud and reported it to the Yamagata prefectural government, but was awaiting instructions from the Board of Audit on what to do.

In May, the Yamagata prefectural government began discussing ways to get its money back with the Agriculture Ministry. Endo apologized publicly, but said he would not resign, saying, ‘’As I have assumed the post of minister, I want to make utmost efforts.'’

Business and the Economy

A report released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on Monday revealed that approximately 5,400 people across Japan are staying at 24 hour Internet cafes rather than living in a fixed home or apartment. The ministry stated that 80% of these “Net Refugees,” as they are referred to, are men, and that their average income is about 113,000 yen (about $1,000) a month.

On Friday, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released statistics showing that Japan’s retail sales fell 2.2% in July compared to the same month of last year. Retail sales in Japan have fallen every month since last October, except for the 0.1% increase in May of this year. Sales at large retailers fell 3.8% year-on-year. Once again, the drop in sales is being blamed on inclement weather, as a rainy holiday weekend seemed to have dampened sales.

On Thursday, new Health, Labour and Welfare minister Yoichi Masuzoe told reporters that a hike from five to seven percent in the consumption tax might be necessary in order to meet the growing needs of the nation’s increasingly burdened pension obligations.

Also on Thursday, real estate firm Miki Shoji released their quarterly Tokyo Office Building Market Research Report for July 2007. The report covers the five central wards of Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda and Chuo Wards). According to the report, vacancy rates at new large office buildings in Tokyo stood at 3.43% at the end of June, which was higher than the 1.76% measured in July 2006. At the same time, average rent continues to soar. At the end of June, the average rent in the five major wards surveyed stood at 20,794 yen per tsubo, which is about 3.3 square meters. This was 12.86% higher than a year ago. The average rent at large newly built buildings, however, was at 34,335 yen per tsubo, which is 26.91% higher than a year ago. This translates into an average increase of 7,281 yen per tsubo, which is about 2,200 yen higher per square meter than a year ago.

In July, Japan’s core Consumer Price Index fell by 0.1%. July was the sixth consecutive month showing a decline. At a press conference after the announcement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said that the data is “only showing the prices are not rising yet…I don’t believe the economy is still undergoing a continuous decline in prices.”

On Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced that July household spending in Japan was down down 0.1% in real terms from a year before to an average 291,632 yen. This follows five consecutive months of rising household spending.

Also on Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported that Japan’s unemployment rate is at 3.6%, which is a nine and a half year low. The number of people unemployed in Japan in July fell by 340,000 to 2.34 million, which is a fall of 12.7% from the previous year.

Society

In a return to fundamentals and, consequently, a departure from its “education with latitude” approach, the Education Ministry has proposed a 10% increase in class hours for elementary school students. The extra class time will be devoted to core subjects - Japanese and PE for first and second graders, science and social studies for third and fourth graders, and math and science for fifth and sixth graders, who would also have to start taking one English class a week.

Middle schoolers will see their school week lengthened by an hour next.

The increase in classroom hours is the first since 1977, when the “education with latitude” approach was adopted. The approach reached its peak in 2002, when the school week was contracted to five days from six and classroom hours were reduced by 30%.

Listen Now:

 TPR News: 9/2/07: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download