Friday February 17, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

What do you think are the chances of the opposition parties unseating the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party in elections later this year?

Have Your Say Jun. 18, 2009 - 05:31AM JST ( 13 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

13 Comments

0

OkinawamikeJun. 18, 2009 - 08:07AM JST

zero or 0
0

some14someJun. 18, 2009 - 08:22AM JST

60:40 respectively.
0

DisillusionedJun. 18, 2009 - 08:55AM JST

The question should be: What do you think the chances are of the elected government staying in office for more than six months?
0

smartacusJun. 18, 2009 - 11:20AM JST

The LDP-backed candidates tend to get unseated at the local level, such as in mayoral and gubernatorial elections. I don't see a major change at the top unless the system were reformed so that voters could vote directly for the prime minister.

In any case, it is the vast bureaucracy that will continue to wield the power, no matter which party is in office.
0

Patrick SmashJun. 18, 2009 - 12:43PM JST

Mod: How about giving us a chance to have an online whine about local taxes, how expensive they are and how little we foreigners benefit from them? Just a thought...

Paddy
0

cleoJun. 18, 2009 - 01:17PM JST

How about giving us a chance to have an online whine about local taxes, how expensive they are and how little we foreigners benefit from them?

a whine? I don't want no wussy little whine. I just got this year's local tax bill this morning, and I'm livid! I want to explode, rant and rave, throw things at the wall, interview the little *%$#"! who decided I need to pay DOUBLE what I paid two years ago, on the same income, and wipe the blasted floor with him. Him and all the useless, money-grabbing pollies and bureaucrats who are wasting MY money.

On a more sober note, I don't understand how 'we foreigners' benefit less than non-foreigners? We use the roads the same, get our rubbish collected the same, send our kids to school..... What's different about being a foreigner?

As for the ruling coalition being unseated - I don't see how they could not be. I have never seen ordinary Japanese so angry and upset about not just a single issue, but all kinds of stuff. The opposition would have to do something monumentally stupid in the runup to the election not to get elected. That isn't totally unthinkable, of course.
0

stirfryJun. 18, 2009 - 02:24PM JST

well they should be, but given the pathetic state of the electorate, i wouldn't be betting the house on it
0

MittsuJun. 18, 2009 - 04:15PM JST

Does it really matter which bunch of do-nothing clowns run this fossilised country?
0

hellhoundJun. 18, 2009 - 11:17PM JST

What do you think are the chances of the opposition parties unseating the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party in elections later this year?

WHAT???????????????????????????
0

telecasterplayerJun. 19, 2009 - 12:59PM JST

Pretty good, unless Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Katherine Harris would be counting the votes.
0

Patrick SmashJun. 19, 2009 - 01:20PM JST

Cleo, totally agree with you. But I still like whine.

Does it matter who wins the next election? We have a choice between two party leaders who are both from dynasties and both had a grandfather who was a PM...
0

dammitJun. 19, 2009 - 02:04PM JST

Higher than it was before, but I still don't think they'll manage it.

Voter apathy here is even worse than in the UK.

Besides, both sides are alleged to have links to the yakuza - note I say alleged. How to choose between a rock and a hard place?
0

sf2kJun. 19, 2009 - 07:13PM JST

about as much as removing kerosene from home heating, and all plastic from commerce thus reducing Japan's 90% dependency on Iran and other Middle East countries. So.. zero.