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For this special extended edition of Seijigiri, co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley are joined by Tobias Harris of Observing Japan. The discussion starts with Tobias describing some possible scenarios for this year’s upcoming lower house election, and moves on to take a look at the role of New Komeito’s role in the ruling coalition. After that, the agenda moves on to discuss Prime Minister Taro Aso’s agenda, and Tobias offers his opinion on why the LDP is unable to govern itself at this point.

Other topics discussed include the role of Yoshimi Watanabe, who recently resigned from the LDP, and a consideration of who could possibly lead the LDP in the future.

As always, thank you for listening.

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 Seijigiri #53: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This has nothing really to do with Japan, but is closely related to an issue on which I editorialized a little over a year and a half ago.

Reports came out this past weekend that a graduate student, recently arrived at Virginia Tech, was murdered and decapitated by an acquaintance in a cafeteria on the campus. Police apprehended the sole suspect immediately as he was still with the woman’s body when officers arrived.

Most reports are saying the victim was Chinese, although there have been reports that she was Japanese as well. Should the latter be true, we’ll see wall-to-wall coverage within hours, to be sure.

Whatever the nationality of the victim or her murderer, our sympathies go out to Virginia Tech, which has seen a worse two years than any other university in North America in recent memory. Clearly there’s a problem - here’s hoping they can find out what it is and address it.

In this edition of BizCast Japan, co-hosts Albrecht Stahmer and Ken Worsley take a look at the top eight business stories from Japan in 2008.

This show follows the same format as last year’s edition, with a group of “honorable mention” stories discussed first, followed by a closer look at the top eight stories. Issues discussed include the growth of foreign labor in the Japanese workforce, the Children’s Investment Fund, successful retailers during the recession, the opening of the Fukutoshin subway line, the re-branding of Matsushita as Panasonic, the debacle over nominating a new governor to the Bank of Japan, the arrival of the iPhone, mass bankruptcies in the construction and real estate sectors, food safety and self-sufficiency rates, inflation and deflation, the workforce during the recession, the establishing of the Tourism Agency, Nomura, McDonald’s setting the all-time record for sales by a restaurant in Japan, Steel Partners, DoCoMo’s drop below 50% of market share, lawsuits over overtime pay and the state of the automotive industry.

Which made the top 8 of ‘08? You’ll have to listen to find out. This special double release clocks in at just over 50 minutes.

Alby and Ken would like to express many thanks to everyone who has listened to the first ten episodes of BizCast Japan this year. We’ll be back again in a few weeks with our look ahead at the Japanese economy in 2009.

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 BizCast #16: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From Friday morning’s Nikkei:

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has approached Joseph Nye, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense during the Clinton administration, to serve as America’s next ambassador to Tokyo, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

The Nikkei comments on how Nye represents a possible shift away from the outlook of the Bush administration:

Nye, a Harvard professor, is a veteran diplomat known for his advocacy of nonmilitary influence, or “soft power,” in pursuing diplomacy, and has criticized President George W. Bush’s heavy reliance on the U.S.’ military prowess. He played a leading role in the review of the U.S.-Japan security arrangement during the Clinton years and is well versed in Japanese affairs.

We also learn that Christopher Hill, who has been representing the US in the ongoing Six Party Talks, is to be replaced by Kurt Campbell, a former assistant secretary of defense. Will this lead to a shift in America’s position on the Japanese abductees to North Korea?

Finally, it also seems likely that Obama will choose Jeffrey Bader, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, as the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council. If Mr Bader might make the Japanese nervous about the state of the US/Japan alliance going forward, it seems as though Mr Campbell’s appointment is meant to assuage such worries.