Japan General Discussion

[jaichind]

Abe's approval rating falls below 50%.  Mostly because of new conspiracy bill seems to be dragging down Abe.




Overall Abe's support is a lot higher amount the youth than other age groups.




LDP support (purple) falling a bit





While DP support (Blue) rising a bit from a very poor level

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

What is this "conspiracy bill"?

[jaichind]

What is this "conspiracy bill"?

New Bill/Law Abe is pushing which pretty much gives the government the right define as a crime “planning the execution of a serious crime for a terrorist or other organized crime group.”  The claim is that this law is needed to comply with  U.N. Transnational Crime Convention.

Main reason that it is controversial is that it is written in way that does not only targets terrorist activities but also any act that if carried out would violate the law.  An example would be conspiring to avoid consumption tax or favor some creditors over others — even directors “conspiring” to pay dividends in violation of a corporation’s charter may become a crime.

Polling has


Support 29
Oppose  23
DK        39

[jaichind]

New scandals that seems to imply that Abe intervened to help friends of his to accelerate their approval process for a new school plus signs of cover-up plus the anti-conspiracy bill  being passed by unorthodox methods to avoid debate has led to a further fall in Abe Cabinet approval to the lowest level since mid 2015.



 

[vanguard96]

New scandals that seems to imply that Abe intervened to help friends of his to accelerate their approval process for a new school plus signs of cover-up plus the anti-conspiracy bill  being passed by unorthodox methods to avoid debate has led to a further fall in Abe Cabinet approval to the lowest level since mid 2015.



 

Used to live in Osaka for 7 years. My wife is Japanese. I worked for a Japanese companies for 12 years till 3 years ago. Now working for Korean company but still heavily with Japanese automakers.

From a libertarian POV what party seems most in line with ideas of economic freedom? I don't see any great examples.

Of course few are involved in politics. Except when it was sort of too late some millennials were protesting the role of the military or a good deal of nuclear energy post-Fukushima.

Campaigning seems so quaint with the posters and the little vans. Except when the uyoku vans roll by.

[jaichind]

Used to live in Osaka for 7 years. My wife is Japanese. I worked for a Japanese companies for 12 years till 3 years ago. Now working for Korean company but still heavily with Japanese automakers.

From a libertarian POV what party seems most in line with ideas of economic freedom? I don't see any great examples.

Of course few are involved in politics. Except when it was sort of too late some millennials were protesting the role of the military or a good deal of nuclear energy post-Fukushima.

Campaigning seems so quaint with the posters and the little vans. Except when the uyoku vans roll by.

For me Your Party which became defunct came the closest Libertarian ideals.  While it was there I backed YP.  I think in theory Koike's TPFA could also become such a party.  Both has the problem of being just another LDP faction that uses neo-liberal economic ideals to attract votes but the real agenda is personal aggrandizement. 

[vanguard96]

Used to live in Osaka for 7 years. My wife is Japanese. I worked for a Japanese companies for 12 years till 3 years ago. Now working for Korean company but still heavily with Japanese automakers.

From a libertarian POV what party seems most in line with ideas of economic freedom? I don't see any great examples.

Of course few are involved in politics. Except when it was sort of too late some millennials were protesting the role of the military or a good deal of nuclear energy post-Fukushima.

Campaigning seems so quaint with the posters and the little vans. Except when the uyoku vans roll by.

For me Your Party which became defunct came the closest Libertarian ideals.  While it was there I backed YP.  I think in theory Koike's TPFA could also become such a party.  Both has the problem of being just another LDP faction that uses neo-liberal economic ideals to attract votes but the real agenda is personal aggrandizement. 

Yuriko Koike - the governor of Tokyo? It seems at a glance she is not very libertarian. What gives you that feeling?

[Lachi]

Used to live in Osaka for 7 years. My wife is Japanese. I worked for a Japanese companies for 12 years till 3 years ago. Now working for Korean company but still heavily with Japanese automakers.

From a libertarian POV what party seems most in line with ideas of economic freedom? I don't see any great examples.

Of course few are involved in politics. Except when it was sort of too late some millennials were protesting the role of the military or a good deal of nuclear energy post-Fukushima.

Campaigning seems so quaint with the posters and the little vans. Except when the uyoku vans roll by.

For me Your Party which became defunct came the closest Libertarian ideals.  While it was there I backed YP.  I think in theory Koike's TPFA could also become such a party.  Both has the problem of being just another LDP faction that uses neo-liberal economic ideals to attract votes but the real agenda is personal aggrandizement. 

Koike is very much a conservative, and I don't think she would let her party go in that direction.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Tbh one could make a decent case that the Democrats are more 'libertarian' than the LDP, given the way political power works in Japan. They obviously have their allies with the communist cult and trade unions, but they also are far more critical of corporatism. (Of course the DP is completely incoherent as a party so this doesn't way much).

[vanguard96]

Thoughts on Japan-EU trade deal?

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/18/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-eu-trade-deal-sight-gaps-narrow-autos-farm-produce/

How close is it to getting signed?

[jaichind]

Tbh one could make a decent case that the Democrats are more 'libertarian' than the LDP, given the way political power works in Japan. They obviously have their allies with the communist cult and trade unions, but they also are far more critical of corporatism. (Of course the DP is completely incoherent as a party so this doesn't way much).

Well both LDP and DP has libertarian factions.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Tbh one could make a decent case that the Democrats are more 'libertarian' than the LDP, given the way political power works in Japan. They obviously have their allies with the communist cult and trade unions, but they also are far more critical of corporatism. (Of course the DP is completely incoherent as a party so this doesn't way much).

Well both LDP and DP has libertarian factions.

The way I interpret it though is that LDP's libertarianism will always be subordinate to the rural power base while DP has more idealogical flux.

[jaichind]

Koike is very much a conservative, and I don't think she would let her party go in that direction.

True. But for now TPFA is projecting itself as a centrist force but can pull in supporters from both Right and Left.  In fact it refers to itself sometimes as the LREM of Japan or at least Tokyo.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election today.  Counting ongoing now.  Pro-DP incumbent is expected to cruse to re-election over pro-LDP independent.  Back in 2013 it was

pro-DP independent (running for re-election)    72.61%
pro-LDP independent                                       23.22%
pro-JCP                                                             4.16%

Japanese governor re-elections always goes heavily in favor of the incumbent if there are no scandal that goes beyond the partisan divide of said prefecture.  The battle this elections is of the pro-DP incumbent can maintain the same level of vote share especially with the JCP not in the race.  

With around 1% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      66.5%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      33.5%

[jaichind]

Back in 2009 when 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata) was first elected it was very close.  It was

川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)    39.58%
pro-LDP independent               38.76%
Right wing DP rebel                 18.09%
JCP                                           3.57%  

In fact that election was the first time in the post-1945 era that an anti-LDP (or proto-LDP) won the governorship in 静岡 (Shizuoka)

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 3% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      66.6%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      33.4%

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 6% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      66.4%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      33.6%

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 19% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      63.2%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      36.8%

LDP making gains from 2013.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 26% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      60.7%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      39.3%

LDP making gains from 2013.

[jaichind]

pro-LDP Mizoguchi Noriko who is making a run out of an election that the incumbent was certain to win was a Judo champ that represented Japan at the 1992 Olympics winning a silver medel.  She later coached the Japanese Judo team as well as the French Judo team.  She is currently a professor at Shizuoka university. 

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 33% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      61.5%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      38.5%

LDP making gains from 2013.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 62% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      59.1%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      40.9%

LDP making gains from 2013.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 70% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      59.2%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      40.8%

LDP making gains from 2013.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 76% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      59.7%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      40.3%

LDP making gains from 2013.  It seems from a better quality candidate relative to 2013.

[jaichind]

静岡 (Shizuoka) prefecture governor election

With around 99% of the vote counted

pro-DP 川勝 平太 (Kawakatsu Hirata)      59.7%
pro-LDP 溝口 紀子(Mizoguchi Noriko)      40.3%

LDP making gains from 2013.  It seems from a better quality candidate relative to 2013 than any inferred changes in party strength.