Whether it be the Lockheed Scandal of the 1970s, the Recruit Scandal of the 1980s, or the more recent misadventures that shook the Abe administration, such as the fall of prominent ministers Akira Amari and Yuko Obuchi, the issue of “money and politics” is a theme that runs like a steam train through the center of postwar Japanese political history.
The 2017 general election shows that the Japanese floating voter favors the bold.
So this is how democracy dies—in a painfully boring press conference.
Yuriko Koike is well positioned to give the ruling party a run for its money.
The hope that Renho had inspired was all-too-quickly dashed by a do-nothing record of leadership.
The Abe government’s electoral dominance over the opposition parties has transformed from an impressively stable administration into a veritable school of corruption.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga have repeatedly been warning this particularly gaffe-prone set of Cabinet ministers to exercise caution and to be very careful about what they say in public. Reconstruction Minister Masahiro Imamura, however, didn’t seem to get the memo, and after a fresh gaffe he is swiftly out.
Populism can indeed win elections in Japan, but the problem is that there are so few politicians in this country who seem to have the personal political talents to tap into it.
An usually interesting gubernatorial race is shaping up in Shizuoka Prefecture, with sources confirming yesterday that opposition-supported Heita Kawakatsu will be running for a third term in office.
It was inevitable at some point, but after more than four years of dominating the political landscape, clear signs are emerging that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is losing its discipline and reverting to some of its bad habits of the past, before they were booted out of power in the 2009-2012 period.
