Thursday February 16, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Aso's popularity plunges on eve of U.S. trip

Politics Feb. 23, 2009 - 01:33PM JST ( 23 )

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23 Comments

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YelnatsFeb. 23, 2009 - 02:39PM JST

Maybe he will stay in the States and not return.
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70x4060dFeb. 23, 2009 - 02:45PM JST

False media portrayals and fickle public have combined to hurt the man.
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timorborderFeb. 23, 2009 - 03:20PM JST

In a strange way, Aso is lucky in that he will be meeting a new President, who still possesses election aura (no big scandals yet). If he were to be meeting the previous incumbent of the White House, his popularity at home in Japan might be negatively impacted.
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noboritoFeb. 23, 2009 - 03:36PM JST

Leader would indicate someone is following him. Obviously he is a typical Japanese. Head in the sand.
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hoserfellaFeb. 23, 2009 - 03:43PM JST

On the contrary, timeborder. I think that standing next to a polititian with the aura and personality of Obama will only reinforce the reality of Aso as just another empty-suit Japanese PM.
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buggerlugsFeb. 23, 2009 - 04:15PM JST

Well he's got his wish. He will always be remember as a pm of japan...
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zurcroniumFeb. 23, 2009 - 05:35PM JST

IN preparing for the trip Aso-san is getting English lessons from the former PM Mori. Sure to be entertaining engagement.
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TriumvereFeb. 23, 2009 - 06:32PM JST

Plunges? You mean, even lower?!
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herefornowFeb. 23, 2009 - 07:05PM JST

I honestly can't believe there are even 11% who still support this clown. Send him out to pasture -- fast.
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Freddy5Feb. 23, 2009 - 07:07PM JST

Let's hope he remembers to bring his cold medication!
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bamboohatFeb. 23, 2009 - 09:35PM JST

No way can Obama be taking this fool seriously.
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SargeFeb. 23, 2009 - 10:57PM JST

"Aso's grip on power"

Heh, everyone knows the housewives wield the real power in Japan.
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some14someFeb. 23, 2009 - 11:19PM JST

Is it called popularity? Disapproval rating is more popular with people.
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LFRAgainFeb. 24, 2009 - 03:32AM JST

False media portrayals and fickle public have combined to hurt the man.

I think there's a lot more truth to this than many would be willing to admit. I think the media has been ruthless, sometimes unfairly so, in covering things like Aso's supposed illiteracy. For all of Aso's faults, he hasn't really been any better or worse than Fukuda or Abe. But then again, that's part of the problem. As prime minister, he should be able to rise about thing sort of thing. So far, he's demonostrated amply that he can't.

The biggest problem for Aso, as well as the past 4 prime ministers has been and always will be Ichiro "Always B*tching/Never Offering Solutions" Ozawa. The man is venom to the healthy political process, as far as I'm concerned, despite being leader of a vitally necessary opposition party.

In a strange way, Aso is lucky in that he will be meeting a new President, who still possesses election aura

I agree. I think more often than not, who you know gets far more mileage than what you know in Japan. It's always been that way, particularly in politics. Hence the seemingly shoe-in nature of Aso in his election, just because his grandfather was once PM. Same thing for Fukuda. Same thing for Abe.

Maybe people will assume that Aso will learn something or that some of Obama's ability to rally the people will rub off during his trip to the US. On the other hand, the current trend in public opinion has shown that the more Aso gets compared to Obama, the more they realize how truly ineffective he has been.
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herefornowFeb. 24, 2009 - 07:12AM JST

LFRAgain -- respectfully disagree. The country's likely biggest source of "news", NHK, has pretty much treated Aso with kid gloves, as they do anyone/anything associated with the LDP. And the major paper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, has not been overly tough either.
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soldaveFeb. 24, 2009 - 08:56AM JST

Aso had a grip on power???
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LFRAgainFeb. 24, 2009 - 09:28AM JST

herefornow,

We'll have to just disagree then. As I've said on other threads, I don't see the NHK news here being overly biased one way or another when it comes to reporting polical events. They report the news and that's all. News outlets, as I see it, are only responsible for reporting the "who, what, where, when, and how," and NOT the "why."

"Why" is always subject to interpretation, and while Western media, particularly news outlets in the US are now almost exclusively dominated by this "We're impartial Conservatives" / "We're impartial Liberals" dynamic, making it very hard to cut through the agenda-ladden crap to what actually happened, Japanese news, NHK in particular, tends to not pursue political analysis or political debate in its news reports. Yes, there are shows on NHK and other channels that do just that, wearing their political affiliation on their sleeves, but those shows are those shows, and they are not "The News" per se.

To that point, when LDP popularity drops, Japanese news reports, "LDP popularity has dropped." When the DPJ rips Aso a new one in the Diet, news outlets report, “The DPJ ripped Aso a new one in the diet." When someone calls Aso on his family’s ties to WWII slave labor, the news reports just that. That’s what news is and that’s all it should be.

In my criticism of Japanese news, I feel they've taken reporting of "what happened" to a ridiculous level, devoting an inordinate amount of airtime to, for example, Aso's kanji-reading mistakes. The trivial, mundane, and petty dominate what the public sees of Aso. This combined with Ozawa's incessant griping and the subsequent ample airtime devoted to such, gives, IMO, the public a very skewed view of Aso as some sort of clown. I may not agree with him politically and I don’t think I’d like him very much personally, but he’s certainly no clown and is quite accomplished in his own right.
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GaijinocchioFeb. 24, 2009 - 12:25PM JST

but he’s certainly no clown and is quite accomplished in his own right.

I agree, not a clown. More like a puppet.
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LFRAgainFeb. 24, 2009 - 01:45PM JST

True enough。
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sf2kFeb. 24, 2009 - 05:05PM JST

ugh.. i hate that there is no law mandating that the margin of error be published. Otherwise the title for the lowest score in history will always be in dispute.
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sharky1Feb. 24, 2009 - 10:09PM JST

The numbers look better if they post his disapproval ratings.