In this edition of Seijigiri, co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley begin by noting that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has just returned from a visit to Russia, where he announced over the weekend that he has no intention to reshuffle his Cabinet before the G-8 summit in July.

With this show being recorded on Tuesday the 29th, the lower house vote on extending the gasoline tax was slated to take place on the following day. The discussion turns to the divided Diet and the reasons why the LDP’s pushing the gas tax renewal through the lower house by using its supermajority may cause the Fukuda administration to see a further fall in approval ratings.

After that, the topic of how Japan is portrayed in the overseas media comes up. A recent article published by Time magazine described Japan’s gas tax as part of a trend towards “environmental consciousness.” Our hosts explain why this is simply not true, beginning with the fact that funds raised from the gas tax over the past 34 years have been used exclusively to smother the nation with roads and concrete - the by-products of LDP pork-barrel spending.

The use of funds from the gas tax for projects other than road construction is set to be debated, and possibly voted on, in May. Could this represent an end to the Tanaka-era use of public funds to pave the country? Will we see a new system emerge in which rural areas will not be able to rely on the massive public works projects that bought their votes for the LDP?

After these questions are considered, our hosts close the program by discussing the recent Olympic torch relay in Nagano and how the media has portrayed that event.

As always, thank you for listening.

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In this edition of TPR News: Fukuda talks tough, but his approval ratings keep falling; Korea’s Lee visits Tokyo; tax hike; Americans buy udon because Fukudome is batting .317; more on Steel Partners; a temple is defaced in Nagano after declining to host the Olympic torch; and more.

Politics

“Please tell me who in your party I can speak to, who can be trusted.”

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda appeared to catch DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa off-guard and surprised some political observers by expressing his frustration in a more assertive way than usual during their televised debate on Wednesday, April 9th.

While such debates are often formal and lacking in substance and Fukuda has been criticized for preferring old school back room horse trading to publicly hashing out disagreements and selling his policies to the public, the beginnings of change on both fronts crept up during the leaders’ first debate in three months.

After securing the DPJ’s agreement on the approval of Deputy Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who became acting Governor immediately upon assuming the post, as Governor of the Bank of Japan, the LDP nominated Hiroshi Watanabe to fill Shirakawa’s newly vacated Deputy Governoship. The DPJ, as expected, fell in behind Ozawa and rejected Watanabe on the grounds that he had been a senior bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance - the same reason given for rejecting three previous nominees for Governor or Deputy Governor.

Some observers viewed Fukuda’s unusually aggressive comments, attacking Ozawa’s leadership and the DPJ’s tactics of stalling in the Diet and complaining to the press, as signalling a change in tactics. While the opposition camp has publicly criticized Fukuda, his LDP, and their tactics, Fukuda has stuck to attempting to work out deals behind closed doors, the same unappealing practice televised debates between the Prime Minister and opposition leader were supposed to reduce when they were begun a few years ago. (Read on …)

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 TPR News: 4/22/08: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this edition of Seijigiri, co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley begin by (very) briefly noting that Japan’s sanctions against North Korea have been extended for six more months, before moving to discuss upcoming diplomatic events.

With Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda heading to Russia in early May, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura is currently in Russia making preparations for that meeting. Once Komura returns from Russia, he will be visited by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who will head to Japan in order to plan for President Hu Jintao’s visit to Japan from May 6. The discussion focuses on what might be on the agendas as well as what, if any, breakthroughs might be made in terms of Japan-China relations.

After that, the discussion focuses on domestic political issues. Now that a Governor has been found for the Bank of Japan, our hosts look at how the process played out and why Fukuda continues to see his approval ratings slide. Why has the LDP been unable to work with the DPJ, when its stubborn insistence on pushing its own agenda seems to be costing it points with the public?

Finally, the question of replacing Fukuda is raised. A recent interview in the Nikkei with former Prime Minister Yashuhiro Nakasone hints that Fukuda does not have much time left. Our hosts speculate on whether Fukuda will last long enough to host the G-8 summit in July, or whether the LDP would be better off with a fresh face attending the meetings.

Once again, thank you for listening.

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 Seijigiri #43: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this edition of TPR News: Fukuda’s approval ratings are down; the gas tax expires; BOJ to get a head; administrative reform weak; trouble with Australia; the best companies in Japan - in general and for women; Nintendo on top again; US Sailor charged with murder; Yasukuni hits theaters, or does it?; and liquor at your door.

Politics

Things are still looking grim for Prime Minister Fukuda and his Cabinet. According to a survey by the right-leaning Sankei Shimbun, the Prime Minister’s approval rating has fallen to 23.8% as his disapproval rating has risen to 59%. This doesn’t necessarily mean the opposition Democratic Party is looking any better, though. As the fight over the renewal of the temporary gasoline tax grinds on, 63.9% of respondents approved of Fukuda’s proposal to place gas tax revenue in general funds, thus nullifying one of the DPJ’s most convincing reasons for opposition to the extension of the three-decade old “temporary” levy - the breaking up of the Tanakaist dorozoku, or “road tribe”, that has long used gas tax-funded patronage to keep power and influence.
As expected, the DPJ held off from voting on budget-related bills and the gas tax expired on March 31st, causing gasoline prices to drop by about 24 yen. While the DPJ leadership sees this as a victory, others in the party worry that such stances are giving them the appearance of being a “party of defiance,” especially as the Prime Minister had acceded to one of their main demands and a plank in the party’s platform - adding gas tax money to general revenue.

As the expiration became a sure thing, Fukuda said, “The regions will end up with a revenue shortage and industry will stagnate. I wonder if the DPJ will really do this and ignore the regions. There’s still room to discuss this matter.”

Appearing to be holding out despite getting what they wanted, the DPJ have altered their goal to the permanent abolition of the levy, with Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama saying, “Many citizens are hoping for the abolition of the provisional tax rate. We’ve fought unyieldingly on this issue and are finally seeing the fruits of our efforts materialize.” (Read on …)

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In this edition of the Debito.org Podcast, Arudou Debito has recorded his entire speech (a little more than an hour and a half), along with Q&A, given at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on March 18, 2008. This is the standard speech he gave during his recent three-week-long nationwide tour to promote HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS, AND IMMIGRANTS TO JAPAN, so if you missed the tour, here’s your chance to see what he was on about. It’s not all about the book; he also talks about Japan’s lack of an immigration policy and issues of multiculturalization and Japan’s future. If you’d also like to see the powerpoint presentation he used that evening, download it at http://www.debito.org/HANDBOOKmarch08.ppt (note that the order of the slides is different).

Here is the speech write-up, as per the FCCJ archives: (Read on …)

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We’re a little disappointed that both hanami and baseball season have arrived at the same time this spring, but we’ve been doing our best to take in as much of both as humanly possible. To help you catch up on the latter while you may be busier doing the former, we offer you a quick-and-dirty preview of what might be expected from this year’s NPB season.

Team news for all 12 clubs in the Central and Pacific leagues is presented in the accompanying podcast. Changes, both good and bad, and some expectations for the coming months are discussed in this edition of TPR Spotlight on NPB.

League standings after games played April 4th, 2008: (Read on …)

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Lee Masters is in Genji Misako’s debt. Nara, as Misako says, is home to priceless art treasures of all types and they are being stolen by the American-born naturalized “Jap citizen” Nathan Sharp, the youngest colonel ever in the US Air Force. Art treasures aren’t the only thing being stolen, though. Japan is also involved in developing lasers for industrial and possibly military use and plans are being leaked to “Red China.” Who’s behind it all?

As Masters and Johnny try to sort it all out, listeners get to hear one of the most tortured uses of honor and face as plot devices of all time. At the same time, though, there are myriad opportunities to read too much into the story, which is always good fun. (Read on …)

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We’ve been away, but we haven’t forgotten you, dear listeners. Thanks for sticking around - don’t forget to check out some of TPR’s other recent releases while TPR News has been away, viz. a couple new installments of Japan’s (self-declared) finest political podcast, Seijigiri.

In this edition of TPR News: More bad news for the PM; the gas tax fight continues as government waste comes to light; the opposition rejects three for the BOJ; North Korea might make it off the terrorism sponsor list; KFC prices to rise; kafunsho is bad for GDP; ShinGinko Tokyo, Shinsei Bank, and Resona Bank in trouble; and acquittals.

Politics

Things are just not looking up for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. According to a Yomiuri Shimbun poll last weekend, support for the Cabinet dropped to a new low of 33.9% as disapproval climbed to 54%. The leading reason for disapproval of the Cabinet was “Cannot approve of the Cabinet’s political stance,” followed by “Cannot expect much from the Cabinet’s economic policy” and “Cabinet lacks stability.”

With the contentious gas tax set to expire at the end of the month, the opposition DPJ may have the public on its side. In an Asahi Shimbun poll, 59% of respondents said they opposed the ruling coalition’s bill to extend the three-decade old temporary tax. The same percentage said revenues raised by the tax should be considered general funds and not be earmarked for road construction. The same poll saw Prime Minister Fukuda’s disapproval rating climb over 50% for the first time. In the aforementioned Yomiuri poll, 64% of respondents opposed extending the gas tax beyond its March 31st expiration date. Interestingly, though, 63% of the respondents to the Yomiuri poll also said the ruling and opposition camps should make concessions to reach an agreement on the gas tax bill - a process that, because of the ruling coalition’s supermajority in the Lower House, would seem to favor the extension of the gas tax that the ruling coalition seeks. (Read on …)

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 TPR News: 03/21/2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The 42nd release of Seijigiri is out just about on time. In this edition of the show, co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley begin by looking at the continuing mess with Japan’s pension system. Last week, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe announced that although 20.25 million of the over 50 million unidentified pension records could not be identified, “As promised, the government has completed its efforts to match all the accounts to their owners by the end of March.” In reality, only 11.72 million accounts have been identified, and just over 4 million have been put into the system.

From there, the discussion turns to look at how party politics are playing out in the process of finding a new Governor for the Bank of Japan. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s candidate, current Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto, has been rejected by the opposition controlled Upper House. Although this story is still active and being played out, it seems as though the DPJ’s near-shameless politicalization of the issue is actually good for Japan in some ways.

After that, Seijigiri takes a look at newly formed citizen group Sentaku, a movement which, in the words of Jun Okamura, “[D]ecries the political passivity on the part of the public and the reliance on the central bureaucracy and seeks to launch a thoroughgoing reform in the way we live and work by way of a new bottom-up, people’s rights movement.” Who’s involved and what are they up to?

Finally, a quick glance is made towards North Korea, as the Japanese government has decided to extend the economic sanctions against the country that were set to expire in April. Although Japan’s issues with North Korea have has low priority in the news cycle over the past few months, our hosts postulate on just what might happen to push North Korea back on the front page.

As always, thank you for listening!

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 Seijigiri #42: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download