Seijigiri #45: Could a Cabinet Reshuffle Help Fukuda’s Approval Ratings? Problems with the Cabinet, Road Taxes, 59ing in the Diet, and Koizumi is back on the scene
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!
Related Posts:
- Seijigiri #44: The Gas Tax Vote, the LDP’s Trouble With Elderly Voters, the Olympic Torch Relay
- Seijigiri #43: Diplomatic Affairs, Fukuda’s Falling Approval Ratings, and “Gridlock” in the Diet
- Seijigiri #24: Abe’s approval ratings bounce back, what’s being done in the Diet, and the foreign trainee program
- Seijigiri #46: Diet Session Ends, Fukuda’s Future, and the Future of Immigration
- Seijigiri #25 - Abe, Pensions, Farmers, the Election, and the LDP Platform
