frontandcentre said...

frontandcentre at 06:06 PM JST - 31st August

Nakagawa getting turfed out is sweet justice for the profound embarassment that he caused his country. If ever there was somebody who thought he was in the Diet "by rights" it was that man. I hope that hereditary politics has had its day in Japan, and that people genuinely vote…

Posted in Many LDP heavyweights ousted at 06:06 PM JST - 31st August
frontandcentre at 06:00 PM JST - 31st August

good riddance

Posted in Aso says he will step down as LDP president at 06:00 PM JST - 31st August
frontandcentre at 04:31 PM JST - 31st August

Three moves certain to stimulate the economy:

Top rate of income tax down to 10 percent

Corporate tax reform to encourage smaller businesses to employ new workers

Progressive immigration policy enabling foreign workers to replace taxpayers as they retire

Posted in For you personally, what changes would you like to see the new DPJ government bring about in Japan? at 04:31 PM JST - 31st August
frontandcentre at 04:25 PM JST - 31st August

I quite agree that the bureaucracy is too powerful in Japan (as everywhere), however, for much of the post-war period they managed to do pretty well in terms of overall results, didn't they?

For many business sectors, bureaucracy is not the swear-word eponymous with overbearing regulation that it is in…

Posted in Bureaucracy appears unruffled by DPJ's sweeping victory at 04:25 PM JST - 31st August
frontandcentre at 01:03 PM JST - 31st August

What says it all is that the most persuasive argument that the LDP could make against the DPJ was a lack of experience...

Posted in Calls already coming in for fast action after DPJ sweeps LDP out of power at 01:03 PM JST - 31st August
frontandcentre at 09:13 AM JST - 26th August

The point at which the piece-by-piece reporting of this story reached "ludicrous" was long, long ago.

If this isn't trial by TV (before a judicial trial) - what is?

It should be a pathetic sideshow which was reported one day and forgotten the next - but as long as the…

Posted in Sakai says she fled to wait for stimulant use traces to disappear at 09:13 AM JST - 26th August
frontandcentre at 09:49 AM JST - 20th August

If she's admitted to using drugs, why bother with the detailed analysis and then with publishing the results before any trial takes place?

Answer - police like the attention they get for a prurient celebrity "slam-dunk". In any other first world country she'd be cautioned or released on unconditional bail…

Posted in Traces of stimulants detected in hair sample from actress Sakai at 09:49 AM JST - 20th August
frontandcentre at 01:30 PM JST - 12th August

I'm already tired of seeing his face on posters, and he's won the square root of b*gger all in serious golf tournaments so far.

Every time I see those ANA adverts, I thank myself he's driving golf balls and not flying planes.

Posted in Ryo Ishikawa at 01:30 PM JST - 12th August
frontandcentre at 04:09 PM JST - 11th August

Surprise, surprise - the government minister focuses on the celebrity "fallen star" rather than the poor hostess dead from dodgy ectasy, which is clearly a more appropriate and serious example to the kids of what can potentially happen...

Posted in Kawamura warns public against drug abuse after Sakai's arrest at 04:09 PM JST - 11th August
frontandcentre at 01:53 PM JST - 11th August

Assuming that she wasn't tricked or coerced into taking the drugs, then obviously the deceased woman could be held at least partly responsible for the tragic outcome. However, this nightmare scenario is one in which it's easy enough for Oshio to blame everything on the dead woman, who obviously cannot…

Posted in Ginza hostess' involvement with Oshio ends in tragedy at 01:53 PM JST - 11th August