I tend to agree with Mr. Yamamoto on the dispositi...

2008-03-22T18:01:00.000+09:00

I tend to agree with Mr. Yamamoto on the disposition of most of the LDP members. After Koizumi (and facing an opposition where the leader has been in position going on two years now) it seems a little silly to get rid of your PM after only half a year. It makes the LDP look ridiculous. And I don't know that Fukuda's potential replacement (Aso) has done enough to assuage the party that he is not just a slightly less serious version of Abe.

Having seen Fukuda in action though, I think the reason he doesn't really care about his popularity ratings is that he doesn't really care about being Prime Minister. I don't think that like Abe he saw the position as part of his destiny. It was, like politics, just an opportunity that came along and he took it.

After Abe, I think he is doing OK. I don't really know what the LDP can do to revive its chances at the next election. I certainly don't think replacing Fukuda with Aso will improve the party's chances.

Trying to follow your reports and ruminations on F...

2008-03-22T10:58:00.000+09:00

Trying to follow your reports and ruminations on Fukuda's and the LDP's political plight and an occasional foray into the very inadequate news stories in the Asahi Shimbun, still leaves me in mystery on what is actually broiling Japanese politics today. Fukuda still seems to me to have restored some semblance of moderation and sanity after the absurd and neurotic Abe prime ministership. Could you try to clarify in some future article what you think is really causing this uncertainty and dissatisfaction concerning the Fukuda leadership?

Comments on Observing Japan: What, me worry?

I tend to agree with Mr. Yamamoto on the dispositi...

Trying to follow your reports and ruminations on F...