Japan's two-party politics in doubt as drubbing of DPJ looms

Sadly the clock is being getting set to be turned back.....to the dark ages I fear!

Sadly the clock is being getting set to be turned back.....to the dark ages I fear!

I wonder how this is possible, when Japan is allied with the greatest democracy in the world. Very weird, yup.

I wonder how this is possible, when Japan is allied with the greatest democracy in the world. Very weird, yup.

You have to have a short memory. Japan has been "allied" with the country you call as being the "greatest" democracy in the world, which is currently a debatable topic in and of it's own, for over 60 years.

That alliance has nothing to do with the internal politics here really, and when only one party runs things here, the LDP, cronyism, nepotism, graft, and all sorts of back room dealing, goes on to make the rich even richer.

Your rights, my rights, and all the folks of Japan's rights are going to be taking a huge steps backward in some ways when the LDP takes over full power again. The constitution is going to get changed in ways that will potentially bring some very serious consequences for the entire region and maybe world.

You can see it happening already, the push to restart the nuclear reactors, (short memories in government) , increasing taxes, inflation, cost of living, the gap between the haves vs the have-nots is going to increase exponentially and there will be little if anything anyone can do to change it, because the LDP will be in power, all by it's self.

One party politics? Is that a democracy? Really?

That alliance has nothing to do with the internal politics here really

Completely disagree. One of the reasons why Hatoyama failed was the matter about Futenma. Washington says what Japan must do.

Completely disagree. One of the reasons why Hatoyama failed was the matter about Futenma. Washington says what Japan must do.

In reality Hatoyama was a weak weasel that didn't know how or when to shut his mouth, that is without consulting with his wife and her alien friends.

Like all PM's here, they make promises that they can't keep, and Washington had nothing to do with it. If Hatoyama had some nutts on him he would have forced the Henoko issue, but he just couldnt get it up and do it.

Consider this, if he had forced the issue with the Okinawan government this whole thing would have been over years ago, with either the base being moved to Henoko, or the Marines to Guam. One of the other it would have been DONE.

Washington had nothing to do with that fiasco.

One party politics? Is that a democracy? Really?

Do you really think Democrats are different from Republicans? Only on the surface. Same in Japan. When DP tried to act like a real left-wing party, with a very pro-Asia attitude, the USA obstacled it. For this reason Japanese were disappointed. DP was ruling basically like LDP.

Washington had nothing to do with that fiasco.

Sure, sorry, but different sources that I read tell a different story.

Sure, sorry, but different sources that I read tell a different story.

The National Enquirer doesnt count.

Like all PM's here, they make promises that they can't keep, and Washington had nothing to do with it. If Hatoyama had some nutts on him he would have forced the Henoko issue, but he just couldnt get it up and do it.

You should read this:

Washington decided to test its loyalty with a plan hatched by Donald Rumsfeld to build a new Marine base on the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa in an aquatically vulnerable environment.

The LDP had earlier buckled under Rumsfeld’s intimidation, but then in venerable LDP style had proceeded to do nothing, and had been happy to dump the agreement into the lap of the new government. The base building plans are not feasible. Forcing the issue would almost certainly create an uproar in Okinawa that no government in Tokyo is likely to survive. But Prime Minister Hatoyama miscalculated.

http://www.karelvanwolferen.com/japans-political-tremors-and-shifts

This base project is not feasible since it would almost certainly lead to an uprising on the islands in the far south. Okinawa (comprising only 0.6% of the national territory) bears a burden of three quarters of all US military bases in Japan. Four years earlier Washington had pushed the new plans down the throat of the LDP, which subsequently did nothing until agreeing on it again when in February 2009 Hillary Clinton arrived in Tokyo on her first mission as Obama’s Secretary of State. The LDP did so against a background of solid expectations that it would lose elections to be held in August, and Clinton delivered the message that a change of government could not possibly mean a change of policy.

Once in power it was perfectly understandable that the first DPJ prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, would seek a way to re-negotiate the unrealistic US Marines base deal. He also talked about his desire for ‘more equal relations’ with the US, and advertised his interest in an old idea of a regional grouping ASEAN + 3 (China, Korea and Japan), plus hopes of working for better relations with neighbours in general.

http://www.karelvanwolferen.com/the-disabling-pacific-alliance

@Thomas Anderson: thanks. Simply, thanks. :)

Alas the DPJ Lords and Ladies are destined to suffer a heavy blow on this coming weekend and with that, theyre abject reign jester-dom will come crashing down amongst what is left of them on Monday the 22nd. No doubt they will have their regrets, as in hindsight what they could have been achieved and didnt will rue many a come back for the Lords/Ladies that were in power. Including the likes of Lord Kan and the bottom dwelling Noda, they will probably never make it onto the top floor ever again.

It will be interesting to listen to one of those fallen Lords represent himself in a new light this week, as he sets forth on his latest journey. Lord (cat) Ozawa has nine lives, but will he live through this next election ? As for the Lords/Ladies of the LDP-NK, we hope that they will use their newly granted power to better the Kingdom of Japan and pull this once dazzling economy back onto the world stage.

Question:

Why does the LPD prefer jam to jelly?

Answer:

Because they can't JELLY their policies down people's throats....

If one party politica is the will of the electorate then they get what they want (and deserve) and it is indeed a democracy. Sad part is that no other party can get their act together to challenge the existing losers. DPJ almost did but proved to be even more useless than LDP.

it is very sad indeed people don,t realize the consequences of no check and balance in power. they should look no further mother nature have shown us everything ilife must have diversity to balance just imagine a forest with one living species of tree it won't last . the same go for politic when these group seat too look in power they think they are good forgot real duty. eventually Japan political system will erode unable to work when one party dominance continue it will happened it will be too late .learn from past political sysytem in history and nature of this unhealthy trait this is not unity .

The DPJ, which won just 57 seats in last year’s election for the 480-member lower house, could win as few as 20 of the 121 seats up for grabs in the 242-member upper house, Nakano said.

So essentially 700 (!) more or less old oyaji deciding Japan's future. No wonder this country is going down the drain so fast. There can be no justification for having this many bureaucrats employed! What would they need? Like 300-250, tops.

So essentially 700 (!) more or less old oyaji deciding Japan's future. No wonder this country is going down the drain so fast. There can be no justification for having this many bureaucrats employed! What would they need? Like 300-250, tops.

In a country basically having one third the population of it's largest ally, it has nearly 200 MORE representatives in both houses of the Diet.

They should have a hell of a lot less like you say here, and which locally has been happening with cities, towns, and villages, having to cut the number of council members they have, it would save the government a TON of cash to cut half of the reps here, and all their associated staffers, but never going to happen.

Alex80Jul. 16, 2013 - 10:10AM JST

Completely disagree. One of the reasons why Hatoyama failed was the matter about Futenma. Washington says what Japan must do.

You should do something about your US myopia and then you might actually post a meaningful opinion.

The failure of the DPJ had nothing to do with the US but everything to do with the DPJ From the begining, the DPJ was nothing more than an anti-LDP collective of political groups who had very little else in common. Once they had overthrown the LDP, they split into their original groups and pursued their original self interests.

The LDP, while being a collection of fractions, has the common believe and understanding that politics without power is mere words and although they too share mutually exclusive interests, they will, unlike Ozawa or Hatoyama, comprimise to ensure that goal is realized.

Things will not change after this election, except for Abe might be shown the door because he actually does seem like a politician who has a set of political goals that might upset the LDP boat.

Japanese politics is not going to change without its own version of an Arab spring and never in the annals of history and only in George Orwell have sheep rebelled.

Expect more of the same.

Completely disagree. One of the reasons why Hatoyama failed was the matter about Futenma. Washington says what Japan must do.

You know I think there are quite a few folks that have a hard time understanding what they are reading.

Nobody put a gun to Hatoyama's head and forced him to make the promises he did about Futenma. He did that all by his lonesome as a way to appease the voters. He screwed it up royally all by his little self, he didnt need Washington's help to do that.

Knox

Technically the elected mmebers of Diet and Upper House are not bureaucrats. The real bureaucrats are the civil servants spread all over Kasumigaseki and elesewhere and there are tens of thousands of them, probably more. True US gets by with less politicians but their system is not exactly working at the moment. Finally, difference between US and Japan is - Americans throw money at their problems, Japanese throw people.

Finally, difference between US and Japan is - Americans throw money at their problems, Japanese throw people.

Huh? A country with over 210% of it's GDP in debt, compared to the USA at roughly 70%, I do believe you have it backwards here money wise.

I think concluding that Hatoyama caused the DPJ to lose power is incorrect. He was followed by successively more mainstream Kan and then Noda, both of whom initially had popular support. They all had one thing in common: none of had the courage to follow through with the "manifesto", or bring up each manifesto issue for a public debate. Even Hatoyama was avoiding the very difficult task of following through on the manifesto by focusing on Okinawa first, and last. Finally Noda took action ... in lieu of restructuring, increase consumption tax.

Now we have the LDP with economic doping. But in this race there are no rules but to win ... the only worry is, will we trip up on the side effects or get a hangover.

I'm very surprised that my post, quoting Karel Van Wolferen, one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable Japan experts (author of the book "Enigma of Japanese Power"), got thumbed down. Too bad some of the Americans can't see that their own government has been corrupted for some time now.

Dog

The failure of the DPJ had nothing to do with the US but everything to do with the DPJ From the begining, the DPJ was nothing more than an anti-LDP collective of political groups who had very little else in common. Once they had overthrown the LDP, they split into their original groups and pursued their original self interests.

No, that was because Ozawa and Hatoyama were brought down by the Japanese bureaucrats as well as the US government via bogus scandals after scandals in the media. They didn't like that they were trying to become more independent from the US and getting closer to their Asian neighbors.

Ozawa was the single politician that was responsible for breaking up the LDP, ending over half a century of political rule and eventually allowing the DJP to win. He deserves more credit for that. Kan didn't want to become the next Ozawa and Hatoyama, so he snubbed Ozawa who basically allowed him to become the PM, and complied with the bureaucrats. Noda pretty much did the same, but probably even more compliant to the bureaucrats as well as the US government.

Thomas AndersonJul. 16, 2013 - 07:01PM JST

I'm very surprised that my post, quoting Karel Van Wolferen, one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable Japan experts (author of the book "Enigma of Japanese Power"), got thumbed down.

Van Wolferen is sooooooo 1980's and his recent observations about Japan are so anarchiac and idiotic. I went to one of his lectures in the UK in 2005 and the guy was suggesting that Japan was playing dead with its economic crises. He's out of touch with 21st Century Japan, largely because he hasn't lived here since 1997..

I suggest you update your Japanese reading material and develop to the 1990s and read 'Japan a reinterpretation' by patrick smith, although his observations, concerning Japanese politics and Ozawa also look laughable today. Ozawa is and always has been about Ozawa and that it is why he is nicknamed 'The Destroyer'. Ozawa lives in Japan, not the Japanese state of Ozawa, and the DJP was not the OJP. Many in the DJP, even before the 2010 elections, were worried about their mephistpholian pact with the man and their worries proved correct.

I prefer useless to harmful.

Thomas AndersonJul. 16, 2013 - 07:44PM JST

LOL that's nonsense, he still writes books for the Japanese audience and they are still received well by the Japanese today.

And that's another thing..... 'The Enigma' was not well received by the Japanese, my Japanese professors at the time called it another example of Japanese bashing, which was a popular term then.

Back on topic please.

You should do something about your US myopia and then you might actually post a meaningful opinion.

I trust the geopolitical analysis that I read in many serious sources more than your opinion, sorry.

That's democracy for you. Just like in U.S, where 2 party system is basically a meritocracy controlled by bankers and corporations. And just like in Japan too, a semi authoritarian democratic government. There's no pure democracy & communist nation ever exist.