The latest edition of TPR News is on the way. In the meantime, a few updates that might interest our readers:

First, Goldhawk Productions, an independent producer of radio plays for BBC Radio 4, is preparing to cast and record a radio drama here in Japan and is currently in touch with local theater companies, looking for the right folks.

I might be completely wrong, but, based on whom they’re looking for and the type of subject matter that often forms the focus of BBC Radio 4 plays, I’m betting it’ll be either about or influenced by the murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker. (Read on …)

In this edition of TPR News: Fukuda falls past the point of no return; “fifty-nining”; consumer confidence down again; oil from algae; more international flights from Haneda; Kanto growing as Japan shrinks; US Navy reacts to a spate of very public crimes committed by its personnel in Japan; Japan is the world’s fifth most peaceful nation; the rising profiles of Koizumi and Koike; and much, much more.

Politics

It’s all politics in the purest sense this time around.

Is Yuriko Koike going to be Japan’s next Prime Minister?

Wouldn’t that be a surprise - conservative Japan having a woman at the head of government before the US. (Before Hillary Clinton supporters chime in, it’s over. It’s been over for a while.)

Many, if not most observers of Japanese politics (and probably most residents of Japan) chuckle, at best, and scoff, at worst, before moving on to other topics. Kingmaker Yoshiro Mori and Koike herself have referred to such a possibility as a “joke.” Nevertheless, the story has legs, popping up as a subplot to Western news items about or mentioning the former Defense Minister (the first woman in that job.)

Why the attention? Koike has some powerful supporters. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made her one of his “assassins” in the September 2005 snap election and has long extolled her virtues. (Attractive as she may be, at 55 she’s a fair bit past Koizumi’s preferred age range - half his age - which precludes the idea of seduction and points to his seeing something politically viable in her.) She has now been included in the “Parliamentary League to Achieve the Kyoto Protocol Goal,” or Mokusatsu Giren, with Koizumi and Hidenao Nakagawa - LDP Secretary General under Prime Minister Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary under Mori. Neither Koizumi nor Nakagawa, both pretty conservative in the right-leaning sense, is scoffing at the idea of fellow conservative Koike’s ascension to the top of the LDP. (Read on …)

Listen Now:

 TPR News: 5/23/08: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley are back with the 45th edition of Seijigiri. In this edition, discussion begins by noting that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s approval ratings remain very low, and considering how a re-shuffle of the Cabinet might help provide a boost to both the Prime Minister and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s image.

Damage to the Cabinet’s approval ratings appear to be coming from two main sources. First, the negative impact of Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe’s actions are considered. After that, talk turns to how the LDP is hurting its own image by using its supermajority in the Lower House to override rejections of bills by the opposition-controlled Upper House.

Such overrides are often referred to as “ramming” bills through the Diet in the English media. This procedure is allowed under Article 59 of the Constitution, and thus Garrett has coined the term “to fifty-nine a bill.” Opinion polls show that the public has opposed the LDP’s recent invocation of Article 59. Is this opposition issue-based or does the public see the LDP as abusing its power?

Finally, discussion turns to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has been back in the news lately, having formed two new “study groups” that are garnering some attention. Our hosts consider what Mr Koizumi could have up his sleeve, as well as whether the goals of these study groups - such as abolishing the Upper House - are even realistic.

As always, thank you for listening!

Listen Now:

 Seijigiri #45: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mr. Moto. Mr. I.A. Moto.

Sound familiar? John Phillips Marquand beat Ian Fleming to it by a few years. Like James Bond, Mr. Moto is recognized by his adversaries and fights Communism, but there the similarities end. Moto, although San Francisco-born, speaks with an indeterminate “Oriental” accent, has a high, almost effeminate voice, and prefers vaguely mystical utterances to wry asides. He’s also an agent of the American government, or possibly a former agent of the US government - his exact profession and position are unclear.

Despite the stereotypes, Mr. Moto was one of the earliest, most successful Japanese characters in Anglophone radio drama and the show’s story lines defy the racial stereotypes of the time (except for Mr. Moto being exceedingly sharp and mystical.)　We think it’s interesting to hear a portrayal of a Japanese man as hero so shortly after World War II. We hope you will, too.

Listen Now:

 TPR - Mr Moto X07: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The video below has been making the email rounds recently, and it certainly doesn’t look like a fun commute. At any rate, I think the train line itself is pretty easy to identify. I think I know which station it is based on some cues in the video, but I’m not saying what I think just yet.

I’ll write down what I think with some way to timestamp it. Tokyo densha otakus, what station do you think is in that video and why?